MSU Makes NHL Draft History

Four incoming Spartans heard their names called in the first round Friday night in Buffalo, with Chase Reid going seventh overall to the Seattle Kraken, Nikita Klepov going 15th to the Anaheim Ducks, Ethan Belchetz going 17th to the Utah Mammoth and Jack Hextall going 30th to the Calgary Flames.

Four first-round picks from one incoming class is impressive enough. But the bigger story is what it says about where Michigan State hockey has gotten under head coach Adam Nightingale.

With the four selections, Michigan State will have nine first-round NHL draft picks on its upcoming roster, breaking the previous NCAA record of seven held by Michigan in 2021-22.

And these aren’t just four players who were drafted because they might become good someday.

Reid was ranked No. 2 among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting and put up 48 points in 45 OHL games. Klepov led the entire OHL in scoring with 97 points and became just the third player in league history to lead the OHL in scoring while also winning Rookie of the Year. Belchetz put up 59 points in Windsor while playing a 6-foot-5, 230-pound power-forward game, and Hextall recorded 58 points in 58 USHL games.

Suddenly, the argument that Michigan State has become one of the premier destinations in college hockey doesn’t feel like much of an argument anymore.

The Spartans already have three consecutive Big Ten regular-season championships. Now, they’re bringing in a recruiting class that has four first-round NHL picks.

That’s what a program at the top of college hockey looks like.