Brendan Brisson, a former Los Angeles Jr. King, has committed to attend and play his NCAA Division I hockey at the University of Michigan following his junior career.

Brisson, a Manhattan Beach native and forward who played the last two seasons at Shattuck-St. Mary’s prep school in Minnesota, began his youth hockey career with the Jr. Kings as a Mite and helped the program’s Bantam AAA1 team capture a Pacific District championship in 2016.

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“Michigan was always one of my dream schools,” said the 2001-born Brisson, who’s expected to begin his freshman season with the Wolverines in the fall of 2020. “Ever since I was a Jr. King, whenever we had the opportunity to visit the campus and watch a game at Yost Arena (the Wolverines’ home rink), I just loved the atmosphere.”

Brisson, who’s participated in two USA Hockey National Select Festivals (2017 and 2018), was selected by the Green Bay Gamblers in Phase I of the 2017 United States Hockey League Draft and will play for the club this season.

“Being a part of the Jr. Kings family gave me the opportunity to develop my game thanks to the support from all the great coaches and teammates I’ve had along the way,” Brisson added. “It’s such a rewarding environment to learn and improve and I’m extremely fortunate to have grown, both as a player and a person, through those years of experience.”

Led by head coach Mel Pearson, the Wolverines are members of the Big Ten Conference and have won nine national titles in their history – the most recent in 1998.

Current California natives with Michigan include sophomore forward Dakota Raabe (Capistrano Beach) and junior forward Jake Slaker (San Diego).

— Brian McDonough

(Sept. 18, 2018)