What a first round of the 2026 NHL Draft it was for Adam Nightingale and Michigan State.
After watching three future Spartans go in the top 20, two more were selected right at the end of the first round at Nos. 30 and 31. Tommy Bleyl capped off an incredible first round for Michigan State, becoming the fifth Spartan to be selected. He went No. 31 overall to the Nashville Predators.
Here’s how the rest of the first round went for Michigan State players:
- Chase Reid — No. 7 overall to the Seattle Kraken
- Nikita Klepov — No. 15 overall to the Anaheim Ducks
- Ethan Belchetz — No. 17 overall to the Utah Mammoth
- Jack Hextall — No. 30 overall to the Calgary Flames
- Tommy Bleyl — No. 31 overall to the Nashville Predators
And the final Spartan picked in the first round might end up being one of the steals of the draft as Bleyl was a consensus first-round pick by pretty much every NHL draft expert.
The incoming freshman from New York is a 6-foot-0, 170-pound defenseman who is considered a two-way player. While he is one of the top defensemen in the class, he’s also considered a weapon on the other end of the ice, being dubbed as an “offensive defenseman”.
According to NHL Central, Bleyl‘s overall skating could be at the top of the draft class and he has speed and mobility that makes him difficult to beat 1-on-1. There’s a lot to like about Bleyl as a prospect and his sky-high potential.
Tommy Bleyl joins a national title favorite
There are going to be 3-4 teams that clear the rest in the NCAA this season and Michigan State is one of them. Unfortunately for the Spartans, so is Michigan.
Michigan State has won three straight Big Ten titles under Nightingale and continue to impress on a national level during the regular season, but the Spartans have been sort of like the Gonzaga of college hockey over the past three years: dominant regular seasons followed by NCAA Tournament flops. That needs to change and I think everyone trusts that Nightingale will fix it.
Adding six (counting Cullen Potter) first-rounders to his 2026-27 roster is a good start.
You know that you’re about to have arguably the most talented roster in program history when you’re approaching a dozen first-round picks and your sixth-best newcomer was just drafted No. 31 overall.
Munn is going to be rocking this season.
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