Adam Nightingale doesn’t often losing major recruiting battles these days and it’s because he’s growing a heck of a directory of Michigan State hockey players in the NHL.
When the top recruits in hockey see that Michigan State is producing top draft picks yearly and developing them into NCAA stars, they’re more willing to give Nightingale a shot. East Lansing has been a hotbed for hockey talent and the Spartans were this close to landing projected No. 1 overall NHL draft picks in consecutive years.
Last year, Michigan State was right there in the mix for Gavin McKenna before he narrowed his list down to the Spartans and Penn State. He chose the Nittany Lions and is now projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
This offseason, Nightingale was right there in the final two for the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 NHL Draft, Landon DuPont.
Unfortunately, the potential future No. 1 overall pick is headed to Michigan State’s top rival.
Projected top-pick of the 2027 NHL Draft, Landon DuPont, has committed to the University of Michigan for the 26-27 season, per multiple sources.
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 24, 2026
The 17-year-old defenceman put up 73 points in 63 games for the Everett Silvertips this season. pic.twitter.com/ehxekOjA3S
That’s right, Michigan State lost the sweepstakes for DuPont who’s widely considered the best prospect for next year’s draft and who had 73 points in 63 WHL games. He’s now heading to Ann Arbor to play for Brandon Naurato and the Wolverines, making Michigan State’s road to a fourth straight Big Ten title and first Frozen Four in decades that much tougher.
Fortunately, the Spartans are going to be just fine.
Michigan State’s roster is still riddled with talent
Fortunately, the Spartans have an embarrassment of riches on their roster already with guys like Chase Reid, Ethan Belchetz, Jack Hextall, Tommy Bleyl, Brooks Rogowski, and Nikita Klepov.
And those are just the newcomers who are projected to go in the first round later this week.
Anthony Romani, Ryker Lee, Joshua Ravensbergen, Cullen Potter, Cayden Lindstrom, Shane Vansaghi, Patrick Geary, Gavin O’Connell, and Tommi Männistö are all going to be key members of a national title-contending team. This roster should be one of the most loaded in Michigan State hockey history and a Frozen Four should be the expectation.
I hate to call any season a “national title or bust” year, but after missing the Frozen Four in three straight Big Ten title-winning seasons, Nightingale needs to at least prove that he can get to the big stage. He was minutes away from a Frozen Four this year before an epic choke against Wisconsin.
The 2026-27 season is going to tell us a lot about this hockey program. I do know one thing: this is going to be a fun team to watch.
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