Players to watch at 2022 NCAA men’s Frozen Four

The 2022 NCAA men’s Frozen Four is set to get underway Thursday from TD Garden in Boston, Mass., with the Michigan Wolverines, Denver Pioneers, Minnesota State Mavericks and Minnesota Golden Gophers vying for college hockey’s top prize.

The first semifinal features a duel of No. 1 seeds as Michigan and Denver are set to face off with some of the top prospects in hockey.

Watch Michigan take on Denver Thursday at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT followed by Minnesota taking on Minnesota State at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT streaming on TSN.ca and the TSN App.

Michigan boasts a star-studded lineup, including a pair of top defencemen in Owen Power, the No. 1 pick by the Buffalo Sabres at the 2021 NHL Draft, and Luke Hughes, who was taken fourth overall in the same draft by the New Jersey Devils.

Power has three goals and 32 points in 32 games this season for Michigan and skated for Team Canada at the Beijing Olympics and the World Junior Championship, where he became the first Canadian defenceman to net a hat trick before the tournament was cancelled.

“He’s the best prospect outside the NHL,” said TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button on Power. “He does it all. He’s in full control of the game at every moment. That’s a No. 1 defenceman.

“His intelligence, his ability to size up each and every situation, know how to handle it, how to take advantage of it, is what makes him so good. There’s no area he doesn’t excel in.”

Hughes is looking to follow in the footsteps of his older brothers [Vancouver Canucks defenceman] Quinn and [Devils centre] Jack to the NHL. The co-champion of the NCAA’s Big Ten rookie of the year, Button sees a different player in Luke, who had 17 goals and 39 points in 40 games this season.

“Luke is not like his brothers,”