Considering no other school has won a Big Ten men's hockey regular season championship, the results of the preseason coaches poll announced Monday should not be considered a surprise.
The coaches of the seven teams picked the Gophers to win their fifth Big Ten title in a row. If they do, that would be seven conference titles in a row for the Gophers, starting with WCHA titles in 2012 and 2013.
Minnesota finished with a conference record of 14-5-1 last season.
Conference newcomer Notre Dame was selected second in the poll, with Wisconsin third and defending Big Ten tournament champion Penn State fourth.
The coaches also selected the Big Ten preseason watch list, featuring 17 of the best players. The Gophers' Tyler Sheehy, the 2017 Big Ten player of the year, and Wisconsin's Trent Frederic were the only two unanimous selections.
Sheehy, a junior forward, was an All-America pick and a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award last season after amassing a career-high 53 points (20 goals, 33 assists) — the most points in a season by a Gopher in the past decade.
The Gophers also had three other players on the watch list: forwards Rem Pitlick and Casey Mittelstadt and defenseman Ryan Lindgren.
preseason coaches poll
Rank, team2016-17 Big Ten record
1. Minnesota14-5-1 43 points
2. Notre DameNot in conference
3. Wisconsin12-8-0 36 points
4. Penn State10-9-1 31 points
5. Ohio State11-8-1 35 points
6. Michigan6-12-2 22 points
7. Michigan State3-14-3 13 points
Preseason watch list
Ryan LindgrenDMinnesota
Casey MittelstadtFMinnesota
Rem PitlickFMinnesota
Tyler SheehyFMinnesota*
Quinn HughesDMichigan
Will LockwoodFMichigan
Josh NorrisFMichigan
Jake EvansFNotre Dame
Jordan GrossDNotre Dame
Andrew OglevieFNotre Dame
Mason JobstFOhio State
Matthew WeisFOhio State
Peyton JonesGPenn State
Denis SmirnovFPenn State
Trent FredericFWisconsin*
Kyle HaytonGWisconsin
Cameron HughesFWisconsin
*-Unanimous selection