My apologies for the delay, but here is a review of the latest additions to the Huskies after I finally wrote about Chris Lipe and Brendan Datema back in September. The only players left to talk about are forwards Logan Ganie and David Raisanen. At least for my sake, both of them committed in 2019 so I’m not too far behind on these guy. Logan Ganie hails from Irma, Alberta and spent the last three seasons play for Spruce Grove in the AJHL. Ganie and fellow freshman Parker Saretsky played together for the Saints all three seasons.

While Saretsky exploded in his second year for 60 points and top 20 in scoring within the league, Ganie built year over year before getting 53 points including 24 goals in his final year with the Saints. His goal total was good for 24th in the league and 7 better than his teammate. According to the Spruce Grove GM, the Huskies got a steal in the 5’10” forward:

When the season is on the line and the games matter most, Logan Ganie is the player you want on the ice.  He has out produced many players in the past two seasons who had scholarships in hand, it is very fulfilling to see him get rewarded for his efforts. Logan is an absolute gamer who is a proven scorer that isn’t afraid to go to the dirty areas. Michigan Tech is going to be very happy to have landed Logan on their team. He knows what it takes to win and we are so proud of him, he deserves this scholarship

Rob Sklaruk, Spruce Grove Saints GM

Ganie has played in six of the Huskies’ first nine games and has been held pointless thus far. He’s played mostly center for the Huskies taking the fourth most face-offs on the team, but has the worst percentage of all Husky center icemen with at least 15 draws. That’s definitely an area the Huskies need to fine improvement but hopefully he and fell freshman Logan Pietila will improve as they adjust to the level of skill in opposing centers.

The last player to be named to the 2019-2020 Michigan Tech roster is “family” member David Raisanen. The 6-5 forward from Cokato, Minnesota has an interesting story. He actually gave up hockey after high school and went to college before changing his mind and heading to junior hockey to chase a chance at Division I hockey. That journey led him to two years with the Minot Minotaurs in the NAHL where as a 19 year old he managed just 8 points in 34 games. Last year, he found a scoring touch and managed 24 goals and 50 points in 60 games. That was good enough to lead Minot in both categories.

Having a family connection to Michigan Tech likely gave Raisanen a chance to tryout and he made the most of it, earning a walk on spot with the Huskies. His size will likely give him a chance to play whenever head coach Joe Shawhan feels the team needs to be more physical, at least once he reaches a level that the staff is comfortable with his participation on gameday. Thus far he has only dressed for one game, the 7-0 dismantling of Robert Morris in the second game of the season. His biggest limitation in development is the fact that his NCAA “clock” started once he went to class back in 2016-2017 so without some kind of one-time waiver from the NCAA, Raisanen only has this year and next available to play for Michigan Tech.

Both Raisanen and Ganie add different dimensions to the Huskies roster, with Ganie filling a need at Center and Raisanen a big physical kid likely to play a specific role when called upon. Time will tell who will have the larger impact on the Huskies but given the eligibility issues, I’d put my money on Logan Ganie, especially if he and Parker Saretsky can tap into some the connection they have from their time together in Spruce Grove.

Podcast on the way

We’re recording our first Chasing MacNaughton trailer and probably our first podcast. If you have questions you’d like ask, email us at ChasingMac@techhockeyguide.com or tweet at @ChasingMacPod. We’ll be discussing the Huskies and WCHA including if there is anything interesting from Joe Shawhan’s show this morning. To support the podcast and THG in general, sign up to order an authentic jersey or check out our patreon page and join at the level you’re comfortable. We need your support to keep this site going strong!

Featured image courtesy of the Spruce Grove Saints

Tim is a 2004 graduate of Michigan Tech. He is a co-founder of both Mitch’s Misfits and Tech Hockey Guide. With recent additions to the staff, Tim is again able to focus on his passion, recruiting. He currently works as an environmental engineer and resides in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Area.