umhockey91
Well-known member
Do you know when the Omaha games are scheduled?
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Wisconsin Badgers 2026 Offseason
- Thread starter srkbadger
- Start date
WiscTJK
Well-known member
Not announced yet. Only one I am aware of is 10/9 - 10/10 at Mankato and that's because Mankato released that. BigTen alwasy slowest in releasing schedule.
Timothy A
Let's go RED!
YES! Free Bruno!
UW student and hockey fan
Active member
Bruno is also type of player who could play net front on the power play with Tassy gone, provided he’s put on some muscle. He's pretty nifty down low and will make some good plays.
I’m still very high on him, I think he just needed (and may still need) some time to get bigger and stronger. He only spent half a season in the USHL too after coming in from Europe. More work this summer with Ottawa should also help
I’m still very high on him, I think he just needed (and may still need) some time to get bigger and stronger. He only spent half a season in the USHL too after coming in from Europe. More work this summer with Ottawa should also help
WiscTJK
Well-known member
Front loaded schedule this year. Hopefully they can get a non conference series in 2027 where they have two bye weeks (Jan 14-17 and Feb 25-28).
uwbadgers.com
Non-conference not included yet, but other Big7 teams released full schedules.
Big Ten men’s hockey weekends announced for 2026-27 | Wisconsin Badgers
The Badgers look to continue the momentum of their run to the NCAA championship game in Las Vegas this past season.
Non-conference not included yet, but other Big7 teams released full schedules.
Is it just me, or do these schedules just stink?! I really do not like having conference games in October, or even Nov for that matter. Why can Basketball front load all their Non-Conf games at the beginning of the season, but it's just simply lost on hockey? The heart of hockey is Jan, Feb, Mar....let's act like it and make everyone run through the gauntlet.Front loaded schedule this year. Hopefully they can get a non conference series in 2027 where they have two bye weeks (Jan 14-17 and Feb 25-28).
Big Ten men’s hockey weekends announced for 2026-27 | Wisconsin Badgers
The Badgers look to continue the momentum of their run to the NCAA championship game in Las Vegas this past season.
Non-conference not included yet, but other Big7 teams released full schedules.
This off-season, from a player front...I do love how, objectively speaking, we came well out on top in terms of the portal AND it's been super quiet on the player front. I feel like that's the type of steely eyed resolve that's needed. I'm extremely encouraged by it. Like the opeining credits in Terminator 2...the flames and the T-1000 head...dun dun dun, dun dun...dun dun dun, dun dun....
Also, with Peruzzi as the new assistant. Northeast D1 coaching, successful USHL background, and from Rochester Hills, MI....right on the back doorstep of the USNDT in Plymouth, MI. I think that's pretty darn important in terms of looking at kids in the Detroit area and being able to compete with the Weasels and Sparty for recruits in the greater Detroit area.
UW student and hockey fan
Active member
I had missed it from over a month ago, but Zajic signed with Youngstown with the USHL and will play next season there. Good landing spot, they churn out some good players over there and the year will be good for his development. I am curious if Hastings and co. pushed for USHL over the OHL for any possible reason.
Also, Murdoch has now apparently left the staff to coach Shattuck St. Mary's.
WiscTJK
Well-known member
Todd Milewski (@ToddMilewski) on X
The Badgers are losing their second assistant coach of the offseason: Kevin Murdock is taking a role on staff at Shattuck. https://t.co/cbxdH7WxhX
This one doesn't bother me too much. Goalies were super inconsistent under Murdock and I questioned whether he needed to be let go. And they need to raise the salary. $57k limits the ability to recruit the best goalie coach. Come on UW, open the purse for the next goalie coach. Salary was listed here:
https://madison.com/sports/college/hockey/women/article_990c1284-c665-56c1-abd3-63db4d744ebf.html
WiscTJK
Well-known member
Thank you! Saved me $45 in September!
Could you offer some insights for those of us without a subscription to the article? Without going to in depth since its behind a pay wall ofcourse.
Timothy A
Let's go RED!
Some things are worth paying for and Todd's work is one of them. I encourage everyone to support the great work Todd does and subscribe.
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Nick Peruzzi is stepping into an important role in acquiring and developing talent for the University of Wisconsin men's hockey team.
It has been a strength for the new Badgers assistant coach, most recently in jobs at Northern Michigan and UConn. Building something meaningful has been part of Peruzzi's definition of success, and he said it doesn't happen without growth.
That's where the story of Peruzzi in coaching intersects with his time in youth hockey in Michigan, where he listed as influences not only former NHL players and eventual rising stars in coaching but his dad.
Mike Peruzzi coached his son with the Oakland Junior Grizzlies, helping set the foundation of his hockey growth not only at the rink but in family settings.
"I think great coaches instill the importance of team and importance of family, importance of being dependable, being counted on when things not only are going good but when things aren't going good," Nick Peruzzi said. "And I think growing up, I was lucky that from a leadership standpoint, from a coaching standpoint, that was something I had 24/7 access to, not only at home but also in our sport."
Nick Peruzzi was associate head coach at UConn before he joined the Badgers staff as an assistant coach.
UCONN ATHLETICS
Nick Peruzzi changed the recruiting landscape when he was at Northern Michigan from 2021 to 2024, Badgers coach Mike Hastings said. Hastings took note when he was coach at Minnesota State and in the same conference.
Peruzzi came up again when Hastings had to hire a new assistant for the Badgers this offseason.
"It's just one of those where you keep peeling layers back, and I kept liking what the next layer was," Hastings said. "And then having some conversations with him on his goals, what my goals are for that position to be filled and what the responsibilities would be, it just ended up being something that I think we're both going to benefit from."
Hastings said after Nick Oliver left the Wisconsin staff in April to become coach at St. Cloud State that he was considering hiring a general manager in that position. Peruzzi doesn't have that official title, but he has a lot of the responsibilities.
Men's Hockey
"One of the most important pieces in my mind as we got into this was recruiting," Hastings said. "In our day and age, it's important to now have the work ethic, the connections, the relationships with advisers, history of recruiting border to border, history of being able to recruit in Europe."
Peruzzi was with Northern Michigan when the school landed commitments from brothers Grant and Hampton Slukynsky, who went on to be big parts of an NCAA championship team after they went to Western Michigan. Peruzzi helped get 6-foot-6 Swedish defenseman Viking Gustafsson Nyberg to Northern Michigan and, after a job change in 2024, to UConn.
The Slukynsky brothers signed with the NHL's Los Angeles Kings after last season, and Gustafsson Nyberg left college early to join the Minnesota Wild as a free agent.
Peruzzi
Peruzzi, who also was in the mix for an assistant coach opening on Oliver's inaugural staff at St. Cloud State, will have recruiting as a major part of his job with the Badgers. There's also a role in helping the growth of players already with the team, and the experience of falling short in last season's NCAA championship game has stood out to him.
"It's already a very motivated group, obviously," Peruzzi said. "You can sense there's a burning desire to get back after this thing."
Peruzzi had former NHL players John Gruden, who led the Toronto Marlies to the American Hockey League title this month, and Dwayne Norris among a group of mentors with the Junior Grizzlies when he was growing up. That turned into a coaching role with the program after Peruzzi was done playing.
Men's Hockey
"All those guys kind of wrapped their arms around me and helped me kind of get my feet wet in the profession back in that time as a younger kind of player, right out of playing, lot to learn," he said. "And I love coaching at that level because it's kind of the roots, foundational piece of coaching, and it really allowed me to kind of cultivate an identity, find a voice."
It has grown quickly for the 34-year-old Peruzzi. The rise has included stops in two levels of junior hockey before the last five years with college teams.
Just as with players, there's a process in progress for coaches.
"It keeps you focused on you're beginning with the end in mind, but there are steps along the way that you can't miss to get there," Peruzzi said. "So I guess in a nutshell, that would be my definition of success, is kind of that never-ending pursuit of just trying to get better."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nick Peruzzi is stepping into an important role in acquiring and developing talent for the University of Wisconsin men's hockey team.
It has been a strength for the new Badgers assistant coach, most recently in jobs at Northern Michigan and UConn. Building something meaningful has been part of Peruzzi's definition of success, and he said it doesn't happen without growth.
That's where the story of Peruzzi in coaching intersects with his time in youth hockey in Michigan, where he listed as influences not only former NHL players and eventual rising stars in coaching but his dad.
Mike Peruzzi coached his son with the Oakland Junior Grizzlies, helping set the foundation of his hockey growth not only at the rink but in family settings.
"I think great coaches instill the importance of team and importance of family, importance of being dependable, being counted on when things not only are going good but when things aren't going good," Nick Peruzzi said. "And I think growing up, I was lucky that from a leadership standpoint, from a coaching standpoint, that was something I had 24/7 access to, not only at home but also in our sport."
Nick Peruzzi was associate head coach at UConn before he joined the Badgers staff as an assistant coach.
UCONN ATHLETICS
Nick Peruzzi changed the recruiting landscape when he was at Northern Michigan from 2021 to 2024, Badgers coach Mike Hastings said. Hastings took note when he was coach at Minnesota State and in the same conference.
Peruzzi came up again when Hastings had to hire a new assistant for the Badgers this offseason.
"It's just one of those where you keep peeling layers back, and I kept liking what the next layer was," Hastings said. "And then having some conversations with him on his goals, what my goals are for that position to be filled and what the responsibilities would be, it just ended up being something that I think we're both going to benefit from."
Hastings said after Nick Oliver left the Wisconsin staff in April to become coach at St. Cloud State that he was considering hiring a general manager in that position. Peruzzi doesn't have that official title, but he has a lot of the responsibilities.
Men's Hockey
"One of the most important pieces in my mind as we got into this was recruiting," Hastings said. "In our day and age, it's important to now have the work ethic, the connections, the relationships with advisers, history of recruiting border to border, history of being able to recruit in Europe."
Peruzzi was with Northern Michigan when the school landed commitments from brothers Grant and Hampton Slukynsky, who went on to be big parts of an NCAA championship team after they went to Western Michigan. Peruzzi helped get 6-foot-6 Swedish defenseman Viking Gustafsson Nyberg to Northern Michigan and, after a job change in 2024, to UConn.
The Slukynsky brothers signed with the NHL's Los Angeles Kings after last season, and Gustafsson Nyberg left college early to join the Minnesota Wild as a free agent.
Peruzzi
Peruzzi, who also was in the mix for an assistant coach opening on Oliver's inaugural staff at St. Cloud State, will have recruiting as a major part of his job with the Badgers. There's also a role in helping the growth of players already with the team, and the experience of falling short in last season's NCAA championship game has stood out to him.
"It's already a very motivated group, obviously," Peruzzi said. "You can sense there's a burning desire to get back after this thing."
Peruzzi had former NHL players John Gruden, who led the Toronto Marlies to the American Hockey League title this month, and Dwayne Norris among a group of mentors with the Junior Grizzlies when he was growing up. That turned into a coaching role with the program after Peruzzi was done playing.
Men's Hockey
"All those guys kind of wrapped their arms around me and helped me kind of get my feet wet in the profession back in that time as a younger kind of player, right out of playing, lot to learn," he said. "And I love coaching at that level because it's kind of the roots, foundational piece of coaching, and it really allowed me to kind of cultivate an identity, find a voice."
It has grown quickly for the 34-year-old Peruzzi. The rise has included stops in two levels of junior hockey before the last five years with college teams.
Just as with players, there's a process in progress for coaches.
"It keeps you focused on you're beginning with the end in mind, but there are steps along the way that you can't miss to get there," Peruzzi said. "So I guess in a nutshell, that would be my definition of success, is kind of that never-ending pursuit of just trying to get better."
WiscTJK
Well-known member
100%. I subscribe to madison.com, just to support Todd's work. The rest of the college sports side at the state journal are good too. But Todd's work on Hockey and the typical not sport related stuff from UW Athletics is all good - Coaches, attendance, construction, etc.