It’s hard to imagine freshman forward David Wohlberg — the Michigan hockey team’s second-leading goal scorer — being moved off the Wolverines’ top line.

But last year, while playing for the U.S. National Development Team, he wasn’t just demoted to a lower line for a few weeks in the season’s second half — he was sent down to the under-17 team from the under-18 squad.

“It’s like going from the varsity to the JV,” associate head coach Mel Pearson said. “So it was a wake-up call, but I thought he handled it extremely well.”

On Monday, Wohlberg was named to the CCHA’s All-Rookie Team by the conference's coaches. The South Lyon native has .85 points per game, a CCHA best among freshmen.

“I think it all started with last year,” Pearson said. “It’s a demotion, so I think at that point it all started there.

“I think he used that as motivation coming into this year, and he was prepared right from the get-go to compete for a job here.”

Wohlberg came in unconcerned with what line he would play on or how much ice time he would get. Michigan coach Red Berenson started him off centering the Wolverines’ fourth line. He slowly gained Berenson’s confidence with a strong defensive mindset and reliable penalty killing.

As Wohlberg moved up to the third and second lines, playing each forward position along the way, the goals started to come as well. Wohlberg scored his first goal eight games into the season against Ohio State, a shorthanded marker that began a three-game goal streak for the freshman.

“Here he is this year having a surprising, a better-than-anyone-expected season," Berenson said. "We expected him to play well, but we didn’t expect him to score as consistently as he has."

Wohlberg posted two two-goal games and two three-assist games over a six-game period in late November and December. In his past five games, he’s tallied six points.

Wohlberg, however, will rarely take credit for his success. Last season’s demotion certainly influenced his attitude, which Pearson thinks has driven his success.

So what’s the main difference this year for Wohlberg?

“New opportunities, new coaches,” Wohlberg said. “(Last season’s coaches) knew what I could do, but they didn’t know what I really could give completely. (Having a) new start, that’s helped a lot.”

What makes Wohlberg’s season more remarkable is how, despite his typically defensive mindset, he has put up 13 goals while usually facing opposing teams’ top blueline pairings. Just one freshman in last year’s 11-player class scored more goals the entire season: Max Pacioretty, who now plays in the NHL. Sophomores Louie Caporusso and Matt Rust lit the lamp 12 times apiece last year.

Senior forward Tim Miller, who plays on Wohlberg's opposite side, sees the same thing.

“He plays the game like I do,” Miller said. “He has a defensive mind first, then he also has offensive capabilities.

“After that first game, you could tell he was a playmaker, you could tell he was going to score goals.”

And anyone who is asked about Wohlberg's first-year success can't help but admire his modesty.

“If he scores a good goal in the game, he’s pretty excited about it, and he likes to say how nice his goals are, something like that,” Miller said. “But after the game, he’s humble about it and he knows that it’s a team effort and it wasn’t just him that created the goals.”