Six Michigan State hockey commits and signees were selected in the first 33 picks of the 2026 NHL Draft this weekend and then a seventh went in the fourth round, putting Adam Nightingale just one draftee away from tying the program record.
Well, he did that in the fifth round as 2027 defenseman commit Nick Bogas was selected No. 139 overall by the St. Louis Blues.
Bogas was the record-tying draftee for the Spartans and he’s another guy who won’t be joining the roster until next season, but he’s proof that Nightingale is just stockpiling talent at this point. Bogas isn’t the household name that Chase Reid, Nikita Klepov, or Ethan Belchetz are, but he’s a very solid complementary piece who’s going to play a key role for Nightingale’s Spartans for years, starting in 2027-28.
The 2008-born defenseman from Royal Oak, Mich., is actually a legacy recruit whose father, Chris Bogas, played for Michigan State in the late 1990s. He’s been committed to Michigan State since August 2024, so he’s known for a while that he’s wanted to be a Spartan.
Although he’s “just” a fifth-round draftee, he’s still just 17 years old and he’s going to do a lot of growing as a player before he even gets to campus. Then Nightingale can get to work.
The 17-year-old defenseman is touted as a “throwback defender” by Elite Prospects and he’s also been called “relentlessly physical”. Those are two attributes that are going to help him fit in really well when he gets to East Lansing next year.
Adam Nightingale is loading up on elite defensemen
With the selection of Bogas at No. 139 overall, he became Michigan State’s fourth drafted defenseman (there was later a fifth) in this year’s class alone. Not only is Nightingale stocking up on defensemen, but he’s bringing that toughness back to the program — we’ve seen that happening for years now.
Bogas is “relentlessly physical” and having a throwback defender as your fourth-best draftee at the position just goes to show just how well Nightingale recruits.
Before Bogas went 139th, Chase Reid was selected at No. 7 overall by the Seattle Kraken, Tommy Bleyl went 31st to the Nashville Predators, and Jonas Kemps went just before him at No. 98 overall to the Florida Panthers. Four Michigan State defensemen were selected in the top 139 picks of the 2026 NHL Draft — that’s just insane to think about.
Nightingale is going to have the best defense in the NCAA soon enough.
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