BRETT WYSOPAL
Ferris State
Jr. | D | LaGrange Park, Ill.

Key Statistics: Wysopal finished the year with a plus-minus rating of +3 and started to make a name for himself with 18 points on 3 goals and 15 assists on the offensive end — a quantam leap from 21 scoreless games he amassed in the one season he played for Colorado College before transferring to Big Rapids.

What He Does: Wysopal is small in stature (5-foot-7, 163 pounds) but has a big presence on the ice. The junior rose to prominence when fellow defenseman Scott Wietecha was injured and missed 19 games, logging heavy-duty minutes and contributing on both special teams. If Wysopal can improve on his shooting ability this year, he could help the Bulldogs’ blueline group be the best in the league at both ends of the ice.

The Bigger Picture: The Bulldogs were one of the CCHA’s better stories last season, improving from a ninth-place finish in 2008-09 to third last year. This time around, however, it’ll be tough for Ferris State to run with the conference’s big dogs after losing its top four forwards and steady defensemen Matt Case. While forwards like Justin Menke and Todd Pococke have potential up front, it’ll be on Wysopal and top-line defensemen Zach Redmond and Scott Wietecha to help fill the goal-scoring void left by the graduation of Blair Riley, Casey Haines, and Cody Chupp — either by making plays to get the puck to the goal scorers or by finding the back of the net themselves.

Ferris State coach Bob Daniels on Wysopal: “He had an immediate impact on our team, and was a excellent both offensively and defensively. He was on our power play and penalty kill units and we’re looking for him to play an even larger role this year … There’s absolutely no question that Brett really filled the void of minutes played while Scott (Wietecha) was out.”