Good Dudes Only: Brandon Naurato establishing his culture at Michigan
The slate has been wiped clean and interim head coach Brandon Naurato will have every opportunity to have the interim tag removed from his title with the Michigan hockey program this season.
What happened in the past will stay there and the dawn of a new day within the hockey program is here.
For Naurato, he wasn't afforded much time to get his feet wet with running a hockey program. A former player for the Wolverines and an assistant coach with the program last season, he, fortunately, has a sense of familiarity with many of the players within the program.
Whether it's the 12 incoming freshmen or those who returned to the program, his big task is to establish a new culture in Ann Arbor by giving his players ownership of the program with a simple catchphrase.
Good dudes only.
"It's kind of cliche but our line this year is, 'Good dudes only,'" Naurato said on the Conqu'ring Heroes podcast. "Good dudes only, what that means is you treat people the way you want to be treated. We're always asking each other this question, would a good dude do this? If it's the right choice, the answer is yes. If it's the wrong one, the answer is no. Connecting and doing it for each other. Just trying to build up the culture of how we do things."
Unlike some first-year head coaches or those with an interim tag, the cupboard is far from bare in Ann Arbor.
The Wolverines have plenty of talent to make another run towards the Frozen Four as the program did last season. For Naurato, he has the benefit of being around the players and having familiarity, which has created nothing but a positive atmosphere as the season gets closer.
"Obviously, being part of their recruiting process for the one year that I was here and Coach (Bill) Muckalt has done a great job recruiting and the drafts and all these high-end players that have come in," Naurato said. "Even players that maybe don't play a lot, they're great people. We want to keep getting guys like that. It's been awesome. You'd have to ask them how they feel, I think it's been super positive from what they've said to me. I'm excited about this group. We have 12 freshmen but a lot of leaders coming in from the freshmen class. A lot of leaders coming back."
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