A whiteboard stood propped up against the home bench inside Yost Ice Arena.

The eager Michigan hockey team huddled around two players, who were drawing plays and drills on the board.

Usually soft-spoken and quiet, senior captain Mark Mitera shouted out instructions to his teammates, who then skated into four separate lines.

Mitera and junior alternate captain Chris Summers exchanged a laugh before following suit. Together, the two maintained full control of the productive captains’ practice.

But the leadership Mitera and Summers bring to this year’s squad wasn’t always a given.

Finishing what they started

Both Summers and Mitera were first-round NHL draft picks, and both could have left Michigan this past off-season to play professional hockey.

And while Mitera said gave the decision more thought than usual this summer, Summers said it was never a question in his mind.

“It’s kind of a no-brainer,” said Summers. “You come here to be a student-athlete, and the ‘student’ obviously comes first. It’s never been a question whether I would stay or leave. I’ve always been dead-set on staying.”

Both Mitera and Summers realize the significance of earning a degree from Michigan as well as fulfilling their commitment to the hockey program.

Mitera is just the second first-round draft pick in Wolverine history to play four years. Eric Nystrom (2002-05) was the other.

“They’re taking advantage of their Michigan time,” Michigan assistant coach Billy Powers said. “You only have four years, and it’s quick. You can’t get them back if you leave. … These kids have bought into that belief that you came here to finish four years and then move on, and more importantly get your degree. It’s just great for the young kids to see these examples.”

Michigan coach Red Berenson has long been a strong advocate for players staying four years and rarely thinks a player is ready to leave early. He has used Kevin Porter and Chad Kolarik’s success as seniors last year as an example for Mitera and his younger teammates.

“I stand for kids finishing school and becoming dominant players, becoming leaders, … and just doing everything they can at this level before they move on,” Berenson said.

Beyond loyalty on the ice, Mitera and Summers both chose to stay in Ann Arbor because of family and friends pushing them to earn degrees.

“We really value the importance of an education,” Mark’s father, Ken Mitera, said. “Mark has always been a pretty bright kid. … He felt personally that it was important to him to finish his degree, and whatever was waiting for him after that would still be there. I think he’s very comfortable with his decision.”

Mitera planned to be a biophysics major, a path he followed until this season, when he realized that upper-level labs would interfere with his hockey schedule.

Summers started as an architecture student and finished all the prerequisites until he was told studio time would conflict with hockey practice.

Needless to say, he chose hockey.

As a result, both Summers and Mitera are now enrolled in the General Studies program.

But it wasn’t just textbooks and lectures that drove the duo to stay in school — the college lifestyle was a big factor, too.

“Chris is really enjoying every minute — not just hockey, but he’s enjoying the campus life and his friends and classes. I think that’s what also helps to motivate him to stay in school,” said Lori Summers, Chris’s mom.

On-ice growth

Extra ice time can’t hurt.

And with that reasoning, a few years of college hockey can only make a player better, growth Mitera and Summers have seen within their own games since arriving at Michigan.

Powers called each player a “shut-down defenseman,” saying Mitera in particular has developed into one of the top defensemen in the nation during his collegiate career.

Last season, Mitera recorded career highs in points (23), assists (21) and plus/minus (+30). He was named Inside College Hockey’s Defenseman of the Year and earned Michigan’s Vic Heyliger Award as the season’s outstanding defenseman.

“He’s bigger and stronger and has more offense to his game now,” Powers said. “He’s still a defenseman that we can rely on to put out on a 5-on-3 penalty killing or match against the other team’s best players.