The Landon DuPont sweepstakes didn’t play out quite like Adam Nightingale and Michigan State hockey had hoped. The Spartans missed out on the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 NHL Draft, but to make matters even worse, he chose the Michigan Wolverines.
Not only did Michigan State miss out on the nation’s No. 1 overall prospect, but he’s playing for the Spartans’ top rival who will also have a loaded roster next year.
Missing on DuPont hurt, especially since Michigan State was right there, but the writing had been on the wall ever since his visit to Ann Arbor. Michigan was the presumed leader throughout and Nightingale just couldn’t make up the necessary ground.
Now the rosters are likely set for the 2026-27 season and the 2026 NHL Draft is upon us.
And I’m here to tell you that this Michigan State hockey team is going to be just fine without DuPont.
Landon DuPont would have been the cherry on top
Michigan State has one of the most loaded rosters in the country heading into the 2026-27 season and every single rankings projection will have both the Spartans and the Wolverines somewhere in that preseason top five.
Obviously DuPont would have made Michigan State the national title favorite, but the Spartans have experienced this heartbreak before and it didn’t slow them down. Last year, they lost Gavin McKenna, the nation’s top NHL draft prospect, to Penn State and the Spartans won the season series against him and looked like the far better team.
DuPont is now on Michigan and the Spartans just have to treat him like they treated McKenna this past season and just beat him.
Michigan State is loaded with talent
Looking at the projected roster for next season, Michigan State is going to have one of the most loaded rosters in Spartan hockey history.
Not only is Michigan State bringing back a top-10 roster along with bringing in an elite recruiting class which features six first-round projected picks this year along with elite transfer Cullen Potter. The Spartans have experience, depth, talent, and now an influx of youth. This is how national champions are born.
Nightingale needs to get over that Frozen Four hump this season and win two NCAA Tournament games in a row for the first time since taking over as Michigan State’s head coach.
Crazy that he hasn’t accomplished that yet. This year’s team will do it.
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