It was a hectic weekend for nearly a dozen Michigan State hockey commits as nine were selected in the 2026 NHL Draft and a whopping five of them went in round one.
One of those first-rounders was actually the last Spartan to commit in the 2026 class to join the program for the upcoming season. Ethan Belchetz was selected No. 17 overall by the Utah Mammoth and the pick was so good that they were given one of the best draft grades in the class.
Belchetz was expected to go a little earlier in the first round, but the Mammoth were thrilled that he fell to No. 17 and they weren’t about to take any chances, trading up from No. 19 to grab him.
The incoming freshman was listed as high as the No. 9 prospect (the lowest was 20th) in this year’s draft class and I saw him primarily projected in that 10-15 range as the Spartans’ second draftee behind Chase Reid, but that didn’t play out the way I expected. He dropped to Utah and now he’s going to be a key piece to the expansion team’s future.
Now he’s off to development camp this week to learn from the organization and improve before heading to East Lansing this fall.
Ethan Belchetz is off to Mammoth dev camp! https://t.co/KaDXoYdLti
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) June 28, 2026
Belchetz is sure to stand out among the other invitees to the Mammoth development camp.
The 6-foot-5, 229-pound forward from Canada put up some big numbers with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires over the past two seasons, totaling 97 points over 113 games. He’ll be one of the five incoming first-rounders to join Michigan State’s roster this season.
Ethan Belchetz, new Utah Jazz star cross paths
It’s not often you get a good pro sport crossover, but the Utah Jazz and Utah Mammoth each got their first-round picks together for a light-hearted shooting session.
And it wasn’t the shooting session that Kansas basketball star Darryn Peterson is used to.
Instead of getting shots up at the gym, the Jazz sent him to meet Belchetz and get some shots on net. The incoming Spartan hockey star got to give the future NBA star some pointers on how to hold the stick and what his form should be on a wrister at the net.
First rounders 🙌 @utahjazz pic.twitter.com/zC9aWZ5o0j
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) June 28, 2026
This is a pretty cool crossover and I wish more pro sports teams who share a city with each other would do this. Belchetz and Peterson may have never crossed paths otherwise.
Michigan State hockey fans are elated to have this guy in the green and white.
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