There’s an interesting dynamic developing within the Nashville Predators’ organization that involves both Michigan and Michigan State hockey players.
The Predators have drafted their fair share of Big Ten players over the years, and over the past two, they’ve selected a couple of Spartans. Rkyer Lee was their first-round pick in 2025 before he went on to star at Michigan State where he will continue that in 2026-27 and Tommy Bleyl was a first-round pick by Nashville just last month.
After the draft, each NHL team has its own development camp and that’s a good opportunity for each organization’s prospects to get comfortable and acclimated with one another, but according to Predators beat reporter Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean, the Michigan guys are claiming that they don’t like the Michigan State guys.
Michigan goalie, and the second-round pick of the Predators a year ago, Jack Ivankovic told Daugherty that he’ll talk to the State guys during development camp, but once the college hockey season starts, they don’t speak at all.
"We do not like the (Michigan) State guys. Coming in here, we’ll talk ... but once the (college) season starts, there’s definitely no talking at all."Jack Ivankovic, Michigan goalie
Honestly, we wouldn’t have it any other way.
If the Spartans and Wolverines mixed well while still playing college hockey, it wouldn’t feel like much of a rivalry. The fact that Michigan players who were drafted by the Wolverines are open and honest about not liking the Michigan State guys is actually pretty honorable. I respect that more than them acting with fake hate during the rivalry and buddy-buddy afterward.
Once these guys all reach the professional level, I don’t mind them being friends and having some friendly rivalry bets, but while they’re still at Michigan and Michigan State, respectively, there’s no reason to be buddy-buddy.
Keep the rivalry heated.
The Michigan vs. Michigan State hockey rivalry is always heated
Since Adam Nightingale took over and breathed life into the Spartan hockey program, there has been much more intensity in the rivalry. Not only are the Spartans holding their own, but they’re actually winning the Duel in the D regularly which was something that didn’t happen much before Nightingale.
There’s also a ton of intensity on the ice. These guys clearly don’t like each other and all you need to do is watch about two minutes of a Michigan vs. Michigan State game to realize that.
Michigan vs. Michigan State has to be one of the best rivalries in hockey and it being competitive again just turns up the intensity level. The same could be said for the football programs. If both Michigan and Michigan State football are good at the same time, it’s almost a guarantee that the game will be one of the most heated in college football.
The rivalry is only going increase in entertainment level when the Spartans and Wolverines continue to produce elite NHL draft picks and they go head-to-head in the league.
We’re about to see the golden era of the Michigan vs. Michigan State hockey rivalry, and we’re seeing it happen already in the Nashville Predators’ organization.
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