On a couch in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Detroit Red Wings draft pick Brent Solomon could only watch with his USHL teammates as Wisconsin played for a national championship this past April. A period away from a national championship, instead the Badgers blew a lead to Denver in a 2-1 loss.
Now, Solomon joins Wisconsin eyeing redemption.
“It puts a little chip on our shoulder that we have one game to win next year,” Solomon told The News. “And we want to get back to that game, and that’s going to be the goal all summer.”
It’s been a busy summer for Solomon, who the Wings drafted in the fourth round, 109th overall in June’s NHL Draft. He is coming off a 24-goal, 59-point regular season with Sioux Falls, plus eight points during its run to the USHL Clark Cup championship.
This week, Solomon is participating in the World Junior Summer Showcase with Team USA. He notched a power-play goal for Team White in a 4-1 loss to Finland on Sunday, off a slick feed from Teddy Mutryn.
“(Mutryn) made a good play. Got the guy off him, and I kind of just tried to find the soft ice,” said Solomon, who scored from the slot about five feet off the goaltender. “He made a great pass to me, and I just tried to put my best shot on it.”
Heading into Wisconsin, Solomon is setting a goal to get stronger and faster to match with the college game. At 6-feet tall and 180-plus pounds, Solomon isn’t small, but playing older opponents in the NCAA will be a greater physical challenge than junior competition.
“The college game’s a lot faster than the junior game,” Solomon said. “So that’s obviously a goal of mine to get bigger and obviously kind of have an impact on that team this year going in.”
Solomon said he is looking forward to being coached by Mike Hastings, whose tough coaching style (think Tom Izzo on skates) is a big plus for the Minnesota native.
“He’s obviously a great coach. He knows how to develop guys, and he’s going to be tough on you, and he needs to be,” Solomon said. “And that’s kind of what I look for in a coach, where they’re not just going to sugarcoat everything. They’re going to be straight to the point. And he does a great job of that.”
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Wings draft pick Solomon eyes NCAA title redemption at Wisconsin
Reporting by Connor Earegood, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Connor Earegood, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
