3 Key Notes on MSU Hockey As Another Massive Season Nears
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EAST LANSING -- No head coach on Michigan State's campus has had more success over the last few years than Adam Nightingale.
The Spartans' head hockey coach enters his fifth year with the program. He's won three straight Big Ten regular-season titles, two conference tournament championships, had a Hobey Baker Award winner in Isaac Howard, and has consistently had MSU ranked among the nation's best after a bit of a rebuilding season in Year 1.
A few things are notably absent from the trophy case, though, and that only makes the 2026-27 campaign all the more interesting for the Spartans.
Specter of NCAA Tournament Woes
Michigan State's lack of success in the NCAA Tournament under Nightingale is a bit of a head-scratcher. In fairness to Nightingale, it certainly beats the more than decade-long postseason drought he initially inherited, but MSU has been a top seed in its respective region for three seasons in a row now, and yet the Spartans still haven't made it to the Frozen Four.
MSU had a two-goal lead over Wisconsin in the third period in March during the "Elite Eight", but blew the lead and lost on a soft goal in overtime. Michigan State was upset in the final seconds by Cornell during the first round the year before that. Then before that, the Spartans also lost to Michigan with a Frozen Four spot on the line.
The 2-3 record during the tourney could be chalked up to a bit of randomness. If a 16-team, single-elimination tournament were proposed for hockey today, that person would be laughed out of the room because hockey is too random a sport to have it come down to just one game every single round. It's not like football or even basketball.
"I've always been a believer that frustration is a waste of emotion," Nightingale said Wednesday about the lack of a Frozen Four and national title. "Pissed off, for sure. But this is the sport we play, right? We have to reset, and that's in the past. We have 12 new guys, so 14 have gone through it. To say that you're going to carry that into the next season is probably not realistic -- you've got all these new guys."
Loaded Freshman Class
The group of newcomers Nightingale is referring to is pretty loaded. Michigan State has six new players on this year's roster who are first-round picks, making it nine total first-rounders on the 2026-27 team. If Nikita Klepov hadn't signed with the Anaheim Ducks, which was a bit of a surprise, seven new first-round talents would've joined, bringing the total to 10.
Four of the new first-round picks were chosen by their respective NHL teams this year. Defenseman Chase Reid went seventh overall to Seattle, forward Ethan Belchetz went 17th to Utah, center Jack Hextall went 30th to Calgary, and defenseman Thomas Bleyl was selected 31st by Nashville. Bleyl actually joined MSU a year earlier than expected, which somewhat offsets Klepov's signing, even though they play different positions.
Goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen, whom the team calls "Burger," is another incoming freshman the San Jose Sharks picked 30th overall in 2025. MSU also brought in Arizona State forward transfer Cullen Potter, who went two picks after Ravensbergen.
"Burger's got a pedigree," Nightingale said of Ravensbergen, who is replacing three-year starter Trey Augustine, now with the Red Wings. "He's played a lot of really high-level hockey, and he's looked good in that. Our job is to make sure we do a good job to limit opportunities in front of him. I thought we did a better job each year with Trey on that, and we've got to do that again."
Interesting Update on Lindstrom
The highest draft pick and certainly one of the most scrutinized players on the roster is Cayden Lindstrom. He was selected fourth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2024.
Lindstrom wasn't necessarily expected to instantaneously become a star at Michigan State, given the significant back injury he suffered, but the 10 points and 94 penalty minutes made his first season in East Lansing feel like a disappointment. Nightingale firmly disagrees with that sentiment.
"I actually thought he had a great year last year," Nightingale said about Lindstrom. "When he got to us, he couldn't go up a flight of stairs. So he was still hurt, and you think about the fact that he got healthy. You watch how he's moving, how he's moving way different, and that was the goal of the season. If you're playing hockey the whole year, that means you're chipping away and having a good season."
"I thought the fact that he was able to get healthy and play coming off of what he came off of -- that was a major surgery. This summer, I mean, he's moving way better, and we're going to need him to be a big part of it... Now, when I watch him on the ice, it's definitely a different player, and we're gonna need him to have a good season."
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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