Winnipeg Jets select Wolverines forward and Ann Arbor native Andrew Copp

By Michael Caples –

When the puck drops to open the Michigan Wolverines’ season next fall, it will be the first time in a decade that Andrew Copp and Jacob Trouba won’t be taking the ice together as teammates.

Yet somewhere down the road, they might just be reunited in the NHL.

Copp, an Ann Arbor native and former teammate of Trouba’s at Compuware and the National Team Development Program, was selected by the Winnipeg Jets at the 2013 NHL Draft – a year after Trouba was picked ninth overall by the same team.

“I’ve been playing with Jake since I was 10 or 11 years old so it’s pretty cool,” Copp said to the media Sunday evening after being selected 104^th overall by the Jets. “He’s been texting me up in the stands, waiting for me to get picked by Winnipeg and fortunately it happened.”

For Copp, hearing his name called was a moment that had to be put on hold for a year, after he went undrafted in 2012. Being selected by the Jets during the 2013 Draft made everything better for Skyline High School alum, however.

“It means a lot, it’s just one step towards the ultimate goal, obviously, but it’s a nice feeling to be wanted and especially in the second year, just [for them] to notice you’re improving.”

Being selected by a NHL club at the draft means fielding questions about your playing style by journalists unfamiliar with your body of work; the sophomore forward described himself as being responsible at both ends of the ice to the Winnipeg media members in attendance.

“Just a two-way centerman,” Copp said. “I think I can play in any situation, PK, power play, end of the game on a six-on-five I can be out there, trying to score the game-winning goal or when we need to stop them from getting a goal, so, just a complete type of player.”

He also acknowledged that despite his strong freshman season in Ann Arbor, he has plenty of work to do. Copp had 11 goals and 10 assists as a rookie with the Wolverines as he slowly worked his way up Red Berenson’s depth chart, finishing the season on the first line.

“I need to get a little quicker and faster and I obviously need to get stronger, better hands,” Copp said. “You can never get enough of any one thing. Obviously I want to start concentrating on finishing my career at the University of Michigan and see what happens from there.”

The new member of the Jets confessed that he doesn’t know much about Winnipeg, but has heard good things from his old teammate.

“Not a whole lot, other than it’s the second year back in the city, and it’s a lot of fun,” Copp said. “Jake’s been texting me a lot, saying they have great fans and a great arena out there, so I’m looking forward to it.”