MSU Hockey Secures First Commit from Transfer Portal

Michigan State's hockey season didn't end how it would have liked it to. The transfer portal has led to multiple players entering the portal to potentially go elsewhere.

Tanner Kelly and his MSU Spartan hockey team celebrate the Spartan's Big Ten Championship after / Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal

Michigan State’s hockey's season ended with a regional loss to Michigan, thus, starting its offseason. The Spartans immediately went to the transfer portal to replenish outgoing talent.

Nicklas Andrews is a native of Canton, Mich. who last attended Colorado College. The defenseman recently committed to Michigan State. Andrews registered three goals and 14 assists for Colorado College this past season.

Before attending Colorado College, Andrews played hockey with the Little Caesars AAA team before going on to become a four-year player with Colorado College.

Andrews will play at MSU as a graduate transfer. In his junior year, he had 15 points and finished second on his team with over 40 blocks. This year, Andrews was a National Collegiate Hockey Conference Defensive Defenseman of the Year finalist.

Heading into next season, MSU will be tasked with replacing six seniors from this season’s roster, including forwards Reed Lebster, Jeremy Davidson and Nicolas Müller. They will also be replacing defensemen Nash Nienhuis and James Crossman, as well as goaltender Jon Mor.

The transfer portal opened on Sunday but Mor entered his name a day early. Underclassman forward Gavin Best, freshman forward Owen Baker and defenseman Viktor Hurtig all entered the portal on Monday.

Hurtig appeared in 34 games for the Spartans as a freshman last season, registering one goal and four assists. However, he would only register one goal and one assist this season, likely playing into why he decided to give the portal a try. Hurtig only had one goal and one assist this past season, while appearing in nine games.

Hurtig was drafted by the the New Jersey Devils in the 2021 NHL Draft.

Best only appeared in 12 games in his two seasons in East Lansing and did not record a single point. Baker dressed for seven games this season, including a win over Ohio State in which he recorded a goal and an assist.

The Spartans did not end the season the way they would have liked, but they have already started to turn their focus towards improving their team for next season by wisely using the transfer portal to bolster their roster.

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