Kornacki: Grow Blue Cause Hits Home for Compher
12/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Ice Hockey
Dec. 2, 2015
JT Compher with his family
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan's ice hockey team has supported "Movember" for several years with its own "Grow Blue" campaign. Many of the Wolverines' players and coaches grow facial hair during the month of November to support raising awareness for various cancers, particularly prostate, along with the need for early detection through examinations and other men's health issues.
For Michigan center JT Compher, "Movember," a term combining moustache and November, is personal. His father, Bob, who owns a construction company in the Chicago area, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2011.
Compher, who has two younger sisters, debated whether he should move to Ann Arbor that fall to join the U.S. National Team Development Program as a 16 year old. He knew his mother, Valerie, was strong, but JT wanted to be there to support his father and sisters Morgan, now 18, and Jesse, now 16.
"I had committed to coming to Ann Arbor for the national program," said Compher. "We got the news about my dad about a month before I was set to leave. It was tough finding out about that. But my parents were adamant that nothing was going to change. So, I was going to Ann Arbor. We've always been so close and were able to get through it.
"My mom, who has always done everything for everyone, was going to be able to take care of my sisters and father, when he got rested up after the surgery. It was a little weird being away from my family, especially when they were going through a tough time. But I talked to my sisters on the phone whenever they needed, and my mom was a rock. She's able to stay calm."
A few months after making the move to Ann Arbor to play in the under-18 program and attend Pioneer High, his mother called with the good news.
"I got to the rink, and my coach told me to call my mom," said Compher. "I called her, and she said the surgery had gone really well, and that he was in recovery. It looked like he was going to be in remission and be cancer free. So, that was huge for me mentally. I was still transitioning from being away from home.
"But to know everything had gone according to plan, just like our parents told us, let me focus on what I came to Ann Arbor to do -- to play hockey and chase my dream. My parents were incredibly calm."
JT said his father has remained cancer free for four years and said they play golf and ride bikes together when he's home.
"It's like nothing ever happened," said JT. "My dad found the cancer early enough. But whenever you're dealing with cancer you kind of space out. You get scared as a kid, and as an adult, too. But as close as my family is, going through this made us even closer. Our dad was able to fight through this, and we were able to be there for him."
Compher was thrilled when he found that Michigan's team founded "Grow Blue" and joined right in with his teammates and coaches. The Wolverines put their own original spin on what has become a bit of a phenomenon. According to the web site for the Movember Foundation, us.movember.com, the movement started in 2003 in Melbourne, Australia, with 30 men and had grown to include five million participants in 2014.
"Our older guys started it at Michigan," said Compher, a junior. "I want to say it was my freshman year. It's just something the guys can do to raise awareness. We're limited in how we can raise money as student-athletes, and so any way we can raise awareness for men's health and prostate cancer is a small sacrifice for the publicity it gets and the awareness it raises."
Compher said "some of the guys get superstitious" about the facial hair as December arrives if they are playing well. He said some grow full beards as he did, but keeping the moustache is the only stipulation. Compher said former teammates Mike Chiasson and Alex Guptill started "Grow Blue." Justin Selman, a senior forward and alternate captain, also is particularly active in the cause.
"It's nice to have the team do it," said Compher, adding that his father "is a clean-shaven kind of guy," but has grown a moustache and gets involved by stressing the need for prostate cancer checkups.
His parents gave him the first and middle names of Joseph and Taylor, but he's always gone by his initials.
"My dad thought of the name JT," said Compher. "I rarely get called Joseph unless someone is messing with me. It's always been JT."
Compher said his father played football and baseball, and JT became involved in hockey when asked by a friend to tryout along with him when they were four or five years old. His youngest sister, Jesse, also plays hockey and is a center, too.
"She's just committed to Boston University to play women's hockey," said JT. "So, for a non-hockey family, we've had a little bit of success."
Compher was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and an All-Big Ten second team selection in 2013-14. He scored 11 goals and led Michigan with 20 assists and a plus-13 rating.
Last season, Compher had 12 goals and 12 assists, getting hot at the end of the season, when he notched hat tricks against Wisconsin and Penn State and scored the game-winner in the Big Ten semifinal game to eliminate Michigan State.
He's off to a slow goal-scoring start with one goal this season but leads the team with 10 assists.
"I think I'm playing good hockey," said Compher. "The main thing for me this year is I'm playing well when I'm moving my feet and being physical. The goals haven't come so far, but that's the way hockey is. I've been through it both previous years at Michigan, and I've also gotten hot. I have the ability to score goals, and my confidence hasn't wavered. Scoring goals will come.
"You just have to make the best play in front of you, and I've been able to set up a few teammates. If we're scoring goals and winning, I'm doing my job."
Compher was drafted early in the second round of the 2013 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres, who sent his signing rights to the Colorado Avalanche in June as part of a five-player trade. The 5-11 forward has become bigger and stronger at Michigan, and he credits team strength and conditioning coach Joe Maher. Compher weighed 180 pounds entering Michigan and now is at 195.
"He has made sure that I can fine tune myself athletically," said Compher. "It's been things like flexibility, quickness and helping me put on weight and becoming more explosive. Putting on the weight has helped me play more physical."
The Wolverines (7-2-2) open the Big Ten season Friday night (Dec. 4) at Yost Ice Arena with Wisconsin.
"I think we've made some good strides this season," said Compher. "But the main focus for us is playing good team defense. It's been a struggle my first two years here, and that's been one of the main focuses.
"Obviously, our goal is the NCAA Tournament. But we just have to take it step by step. We have to start out well in Big Ten play, and we need to get off on the right foot to chase that first Big Ten championship, both regular season and in the tournament. And we're on the right track."
Michigan, ranked No. 11 nationally, has gotten off to a good start in October and November, as well as "Movember."
