In just three months, freshman forward Kason Muscutt has gone from riding the bus between Sioux City and Fargo to a member of the No. 1 seed Michigan hockey team and a Big Ten Tournament champion. Next week, he’ll board a plane to Las Vegas to play in the Frozen Four.
It’s been quite a start to 2026 for him.
“It’s been awesome,” Muscutt said Tuesday. “I feel like I’ve said it a million times, but I just couldn’t ask for a better situation. It’s unreal just being at the University of Michigan, but honestly blew my expectations out of the water. (Wolverines coach Brandon Naurato’s) unreal. The boys are just unreal. I genuinely couldn’t have asked for a better situation. I’m very grateful and thank God every day.”
When Muscutt first joined Michigan, he fully expected to be spending time in the press box. But he’s become a mainstay in the lineup over the course of the season. Naurato has shifted to running a lineup of six defensemen and 13 forwards, determining that Muscutt brought more to the lineup than the extra defenseman he’d used prior.
That change only fully took effect after the Ohio State series in late January when Muscutt took shifts as a regular forward, filling out the lines in senior forward Josh Eernisse’s absence. In those games, Muscutt took shifts on the penalty kill and proved himself to be very effective on the ice — earning himself a position as the 13th forward when Eernisse returned the next weekend.
“If my son, who’s 11, turned out to be the type of person that he is, I’d be the proudest dad in the world,” Naurato said Tuesday. “… He’s just so hard to play against. He provides value whether he plays five minutes or 25 every night. It’s a goal one night, it’s drawing a penalty, it’s blocking a shot. He’s really good.”
Muscutt doesn’t typically play many minutes, but what he brings in his limited ice time adds a lot to the Wolverines’ play. He was advertised as a hard-nosed, gritty, defensive player willing to go to the mat for any of his teammates any time. Muscutt has proven that again and again, with multiple teammates fondly describing him as a “psycho.”
He’s also very skilled at getting under opponents’ skin. Against Penn State in February, Muscutt and forward Lev Katzin exchanged words — and sometimes punches — the entire night. Against No. 4 seed Bentley on Friday, he deliberately moved all the way down the bench so that he and forward Michael Mesic could continue heckling each other across the dividing glass. Michigan has plenty of players who are more than willing to talk trash — look no further than the infamous penalty box video of sophomore forward Michael Hage and freshman forward Malcolm Spence chirping Wisconsin forward Simon Tassy for proof — but it’s an integral part of Muscutt’s game.
“I’m here because I’m not afraid to bring that physicality, that game inside of the game, the hard work, the rattiness,” Muscutt said. “I don’t care if people like me. I don’t mind being hated, and that’s how I find myself useful.”
Last weekend, Muscutt got the chance to bring more to the Wolverines’ lineup than just his rattiness, slotting in as the third-line center on the line sheet due to Hage’s injury. He hit a collegiate career high in minutes with a 9:34 TOI against the Falcons on Friday, and recorded a goal, battling in front and knocking the puck across the line for his third goal at Michigan.
Now, he gets to take his growing game to Vegas, where his entire family will be traveling to see him play. In just three months, it’s clear Muscutt has come a long way from Sioux City.