Checking In with Andrew Cogliano

Getting to know the 2005-06 hockey freshman class continues on with Andrew Cogliano. A natural center with speed to burn, the Woodbridge, Ontario, native has drawn comparisons to Wolverine playmakers like T.J. Hensick and Mike Cammalleri, who was his neighbor as a youngster and still keeps in touch with him.

Cogliano

Along with fellow newcomer Jack Johnson, Cogliano was a first round pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft in late July. Although he was not present at the draft when the Edmonton Oilers announced him as the 25th overall pick he still enjoyed the much-anticipated day at home with his family.

Cogliano posted phenomenal numbers last year with the St. Michael's Buzzers of the Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League. His 63 goals and 91 assists in 131 total games have many anxiously awaiting his debut wearing the Maize and Blue. Cogliano is comfortable with the rising expectations and hopes to continue the legacy of the number 9 jersey.

On who his roommate is ...
"Tim Miller. We've played against each other pretty much all the way up. He played for Little Caesar's and I played for the Vaughn Kings. So, I knew who he was. We were put together by (associate head coach) Mel Pearson, and I was fine with that. Tim's a good guy. We're in West Quad, Lloyd House. We've got a flat screen-type of TV. It's going pretty well. The room's a little messy right now, so we've got to clean it up."

On learning about his 10 classmates ...
"We're already coming together as a family. We're always hanging out with each other and going to class with each other and eating meals. I think by the end of the year, we're going to be best buddies. By next year, we're going to be hanging out again, probably get a house. Right now, we're getting to know each other."

On how he likes Michigan so far ...
"Campus is nice, but we Kinesiology majors have to walk all the way over to the CCRB. It's kind of a pain to have to do that everyday, but we're learning how to use the buses. Today, we took the bus to the arena."

On when he began to play hockey ...
"It probably started when I was about three or four, watching my brother (Matt) play. He's two years older than me, so I started watching him play and kind of took over from there."

On what his nicknames are ...
"Cogs. That was pretty much it. My family used to call me Drew. For the most part, those two nicknames."

On if he has any pregame superstitions...
"I'm pretty superstitious. If I play really good one game, I'll try to do the exact same thing the next game. Every game, I tie my left skate first. If it doesn't work, I start all over."

On what the recruiting process was like for him ...
"I started getting recruited around my Bantam year or my minor-midget year, when I played for Vaughn. I came down (to Michigan) a couple of times to watch games. I took two visits, one to New Hampshire and one to Michigan State, before making Michigan my last visit. When I came here, I obviously knew I wanted to go here. I was just waiting to see if Michigan would want me and make it known. I verbally committed (to U-M) when I was 15 and from there on, the past few years were just trying to develop as a player."

On how he knows former Wolverine Mike Cammalleri ...
"He was my next door neighbor when I was probably one or two. I talked to him right before I came down to Ann Arbor. He gave me a couple of pointers about studying and stuff. I try to keep in touch with him about once a month, but when he came down here, I gave him a call."

On what Cammalleri said about being at Michigan ...
"He basically talked about how much fun he had down here, what a good experience it was. He kind of expressed how sad he was about leaving and how he would have liked to have been in my shoes right now. He said he was kind of jealous I was going and he wasn't able to."

On the impact seeing a game at Yost Ice Arena had on him ...
"I saw a game against Ferris State. The game I saw was when I was like 13 or 14 years old. We came down to watch Cammalleri. It was a big impact (on my decision) and it always stuck in my mind."

On how he picked his jersey number ...
"I either wanted 9 or 26. Nine is a pretty famous number, but I'm trying to keep up the tradition as much as possible. This year, I'm just going to play my game, and hopefully I can fit in that role the other players have."

On if he had a favorite Michigan player ...
"Maybe not a favorite, but I've always watched guys like Cammalleri and Tambellini, those kind of guys you want to model yourself after. Maybe even Hensick."

On who his favorite NHL player is ...
"Joe Sakic. He's probably my favorite NHL player because of his skills both on and off the ice and his honesty on and off the ice. He's always playing for Canada's Olympic team and things like that. He represents his country."

On how he knows fellow freshman and Canadian Jason Bailey ...
"I played with Bailes on the Ontario Under-17 team. We had a good tournament there, won the gold. We became buddies, and once he committed here, we became even better buddies. He's a really good guy. We're always making jokes and he's always fun to be with."

On his thoughts about Bailey playing for Team Ontario and then Team USA ...
"I think it was his own decision, and I respect that. I think it worked out for the best for him. He would have been playing back in juniors in Ottawa. I think he had a better challenge with the United States team. He did what he had to do and I think he made a good decision. No hard feelings."

On not attending the 2005 NHL Draft and being a first round draft pick ...
"It was good and bad I think. I was at home with my family. It would have been nice to be on stage and get my jersey and everything. But I was with my family and that was the biggest thing for me. Just to be able to hang out with them and have a party afterwards. But the Oilers sent me the jersey after."

On what allows him to have a good game ...
"I think part of it is I like getting off to a fast start whether it's making a good play, or getting an assist, or scoring a goal. When I do that, I have a better game. If I don't show up for the first period, I get down on myself and it's an uphill battle for the rest of the game. I like getting a good start early and when I do that I gain confidence. Then my speed and my skill and my vision just take over. I try as much as possible to get it started and if I don't then I just work harder in the second and the third periods."

On how quickly he can name his 10 classmates ...
"Nar, Sauer, Swystun, Bailey, Jack, Turnbull, Fardig, Miller, MacVoy."

Cogliano ran off the first nine of his fellow freshmen in just nine seconds. He hit the wall though, figuratively and literally (in frustration), and could not come up with Mark Mitera until seeing the list.

Checking In with ... Schedule
Sept. 12 -- forward Jason Bailey
Sept. 13 -- forward Andrew Cogliano
Sept. 14 -- forward Danny Fardig
Sept. 15 -- defenseman Jack Johnson
Sept. 16 -- forward Zac MacVoy
Sept. 19 -- forward Tim Miller
Sept. 20 -- defenseman Mark Mitera
Sept. 21 -- forward Brandon Naurato
Sept. 22 -- goaltender Billy Sauer
Sept. 23 -- forward Tyler Swystun
Sept. 26 -- forward Travis Turnbull

Contact: Matt Trevor (734) 763-4423

University of Michigan Athletics

Players Mentioned

Jason Bailey

Andrew Cogliano

Danny Fardig

T.J. Hensick

Jack Johnson

Zac MacVoy

Tim Miller

Mark Mitera

Brandon Naurato

Billy Sauer

Tyler Swystun

Travis Turnbull

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