With the 2026 NHL Draft in the books and several future Michigan State hockey players now having eventual NHL homes, Adam Nightingale and the Spartans can finally relax.
It’s been a whirlwind of a past couple of weeks for Nightingale, landing a commit, missing out on the No. 1 prospect for 2027, and breaking some records in the 2026 NHL Draft. He has really done it all this offseason from picking up an elite transfer that will help immediately to adding some first-round NHL talent for the 2026-27 season just a month ago.
Something that he’s also doing that’s flying under the radar a little bit is building a projected roster full of giants for the 2027-28 season.
Don’t believe me? Just look at the size of some of the Spartans who will be on the roster next season.
Michigan State's penciled-in roster for 2027-28 includes: 6-5 Matthew Gard, 6-5 Ethan Belchetz, 6-6 Sean Barnhill, 6-6 Matthew Lahey, 6-6 Cole Ward, 6-6 Jonas Kemps, 6-6 Mason West and 6-7 Brooks Rogowski. https://t.co/ZG55LAcwhw
— Brad Elliott Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) June 25, 2026
That’s eight (!!) guys on a single roster who are 6-foot-5 or taller. Not even 10 percent of all NHL players are 6-foot-5 or taller and Michigan State is going to potentially have eight at once. That’s unheard of in ice hockey. The average height of a pro hockey player is just over 6-foot-1, for reference.
Losing to Wisconsin in the second round this past season after almost locking up a Frozen Four berth must have made Nightingale want to build a team of Monstars (please tell me everyone gets the Space Jam reference).
Goaltenders are usually the biggest guys on the ice, but Michigan State’s lineup could consist of five guys who stand 6-foot-5 or taller and that’s not even counting Joshua Ravensbergen in net who is also 6-foot-5. That’s a lineup that would have Bugs Bunny summoning Michael Jordan (or I guess whoever the current NHL equivalent is).
Adam Nightingale can smell that national title
Forget Frozen Four, Nightingale is building a roster ahead of the 2026-27 season with nine (!!) first-round draft picks that can realistically win a national title. Not only can this team win, but it should absolutely break the Frozen Four drought.
No one likes to put too lofty of expectations on a group of college kids, but the reality is: this will be one of the most talented teams ever, on paper. It’s up to Nightingale to coach them into a champion.
Nightingale has won three straight Big Ten titles and was just knocking on the door of his first Frozen Four a couple of months ago. He’s sick of coming up short and it’s obvious that he’s going all in over the next two years, at least, with the next two seasons’ rosters looking elite.
This year, it’s a team of first-rounders, and next year, it’s first-rounders and giants. Exciting times ahead at Munn.
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