What’s holding Michigan Hockey back from winning a National Championship

Michigan Hockey remains one of the premier blue blood programs in the nation. Whether it be the Wolverines’ continual standing near or atop the Big Ten, deep postseason runs or a flood of NHL talent, Ann Arbor is still a top destination.

However, Michigan has not won a national championship since 1998, and until it does, the when question will linger. This is not to say the Wolverines have underwhelmed. Since 2022, they have reached the Frozen Four four times (minus a 2025 campaign in which they did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament) and three of those semifinal losses (2022 Denver, 2023 Quinnipiac, 2026 Denver) came to eventual champions.

Perhaps the most recent loss stung the most, as this 2025-26 team felt different from years past. It defended at a high level and had a deep blue line, Jack Ivankovic was the best goalie head coach Brandon Naurato has had at Michigan, and the likes of T.J. Hughes, Michael Hage, Will Horcoff and Jayden Perron maintained a seemingly perpetually strong forwards group.

Was this team good enough to win it all? Certainly. But the Pioneers’ Johnny Hicks made 49 saves, and Denver once again found a way to eliminate the Wolverines. We now enter the offseason with the same question: Why not Michigan?

The Denver problem

Regardless of who head coach David Carle has in his lineup, regardless of who graduated or departed to the pros or sustained injury, the Pioneers have been right in the mix all decade.

No, they are not the sole reason behind the Wolverines’ playoff letdowns. But we have seen the same story over and over when they face in a do-or-die situation, with Denver coming out victorious in all of the recent meetings.

Michigan is never going to be like Denver. The Wolverines’ outrageous NIL money and proximity to the USNTDP create different boundaries than the Colorado school, which relies on recruiting student-athletes that are committed to the full experience and buy into Carle’s message.

This is not to say Naurato does not have a grip on the culture — far from it. Yet, the Pioneers are the standard in college hockey in large part because of their culture. Every team should want to emulate them, but what can the Wolverines steal from their counterparts?

Too much talent?

What is Michigan’s relationship with the NHL like? Take the 2022 draft for example. went No. 1, was No. 2, was No. 4 and was No. 5. None of them made it past their sophomore years in Ann Arbor.