Truth be told, if Rick Bennett were still the coach at Union, Collin Graf would still be there, too.
But stuff happens. Bennett, who guided the Dutchmen to the NCAA championship in 2014, moved on in January.
And at the end of last season, so did Graf.
He transferred to Quinnipiac and is now tearing it up for a team that is ranked second in the Pairwise Rankings this week. On Saturday, the sophomore winger torched his former Union teammates for a goal and four assists in an 8-1 win.
“There was a little bit of nerves the first shift, couple of words I heard, but it was fun to see some of my old friends, especially the guys in my class. We showed why we’re one of the best teams in the country,” Graf said.
With 18 points in his last nine games, he’s put himself on the map as an offensive force. He is tied for third in the country with Adam Fantilli of Michigan with 26 points (9 goals, 17 assists) in 18 games.
Graf (Lincoln, Mass.) couldn’t be more pleased with his decision to transfer.
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“When I committed to Union, coach Bennett was the coach. My first half of my first year, it was great. Unfortunately, he had to step down at mid-year. After that there was a lot of uncertainty on what direction the program was going after the season ended,” Graf said.
“The uncertainty made me nervous about what was going to happen, so I decided to go in the (transfer) portal and I’m really happy that I did. It’s been awesome here (at Quinnipiac) and I really appreciate all that they’ve helped me with so far.”
Quinnipiac associate head coach Joe Dumais said the Bobcats were all in on Graf once he hit the portal.
“He was one of the main guys we went after,” he said.
Graf had an excellent freshman season at Union with 11 goals and 22 points in 37 games. Quinnipiac’s staff saw him as a potential top-of-the-lineup addition.
“He was in our league last year. We were like, he’s an '02 with 11 goals, he could easily have 15-plus goals this year,” Dumais said.
“We expected him and we told him he was going to be top two lines and he was going to get a chance to play on our first power play. We told him we didn’t have many right shots on our team, we were pretty left-shot heavy. So the opportunity was there. It’s been a home run for us and obviously for Collin, too.”
Expecting this much, this soon might have been unrealistic, but Graf has delivered.
“We expected him to come in (and be productive). Now, do you expect him to be this good? I don’t know, but we thought he was going to be a first- or second-line player for us,” said Dumais.
Said Graf: “I have confidence in myself, but I’ve gotten off to a little bit better start than I anticipated.”
Graf's line with sophomore center Jacob Quillan and freshman left wing Sam Lipkin has been dynamic since the coaching staff put them together.
“It’s as good a line as I’ve seen in my time here at Quinnipiac. It’s been that good,” said Dumais.
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“They’re all similar. They just love hockey. They’re rink rats. They’re all smart players. Jacob is kind of the engine. He’s just a bull out there. Graf and Lipkin are extremely smart players that can do a little bit of everything.”
Graf agrees that the trio has a lot going for it.
“We’re a good blend of speed and skill. We’ve got a little size, obviously, with Sam Lipkin (6-foot-2, 192) who is off at World Juniors right now. We were put together three weeks ago and ever since we’ve been clicking, off the ice and in practice, really getting to know each other, knowing where we’re going to be. I think that showed last weekend,” he said.
Besides Graf’s 26 points in 18 games, both Quillan and Lipkin have 19 points in 18 games.
Graf followed a bit of a different path to college hockey for a New England kid. He didn’t play high school or prep school hockey.
After starting out in youth hockey with the Assabet Valley Patriots, he skated for the '02 South Shore Kings and '02 Providence Capitals before heading to the U16 Junior Bruins.
“My freshman year of high school I think I was 5-foot-1 and 100 pounds flat. I don’t think I was physically ready for high school hockey, playing against older guys, so I played U16,” Graf said.
“Once I got to my junior year (of high school) you could see how I was progressing with the Junior Bruins and I decided to keep going up to U18 and then NCDC for two years. I made the right decision for me personally because it allowed me to continue to play while growing into my body. I didn’t rush into something where I wasn’t physically ready to play.”
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Graf is now 6 feet, 181 pounds. “He’s a kid who grew late. He’s a strong kid but there’s still a lot more room for him to grow,” said Dumais.
“I was actually surprised he wasn’t drafted last summer. I thought someone would take a flyer on him in the seventh round. Now he’s getting a ton of attention.”
Does it bother Graf that he was never drafted?
“Of course it does. Growing up, that’s a big goal. The disappointment of not being drafted is a chip on my shoulder every time I go on the ice, trying to prove them wrong,” he said.
Graf went to development camp with the Florida Panthers last summer and had a blast.
“Awesome job by them, they made it fun. They put us right near the beach, we got to hang out there when we had some down time,” he said.
“It was really an eye-opening experience for me, to see and compete against players that are playing pro hockey or have signed contracts or been drafted. It showed me what I need to do to become a pro player.”
Before that, there’s work to be done at Quinnipiac, which is gearing up for a run at the national championship.
“In the first month he was good, but he’s a whole different player right now. I think he’s going to keep getting better and better,” said Dumais.
