Jacoby Windmon believes he can be a dominant third-down edge threat. He feels like he has gotten a lot better working with BT Jordan. He is rushing with moves and not just rushing.

Here is my story.

East Lansing, Mich. -- Michigan State hockey coach Adam Nightingale has announced the addition of graduate transfer Ryan Nolan (Winnetka, Ill.) to the Spartan roster for the upcoming season.​

Nolan is the 13th addition to the roster for the Spartans for the upcoming season. He previously played at and graduated from Merrimack College, where he was a letterwinner and earned his degree in business administration, graduating Magna Cum Laude.

"Ryan Nolan is a hard-working physical forward who's effective on the forecheck, holding pucks down low, and creating a presence at the net front," noted Nightingale. "As a veteran in the college game, we see him as a player who will help set the tone in games, practice, weight room, in the community, & in the classroom. We're excited to welcome him to East Lansing."

Here is my story on DJ Barker. Sounds like he is on schedule. He is excited about the chance to play for a winning team. Likeable kid.

Freshmen:

D Viktor Hurtig - Växjö Lakers HC J20 (Nightingale recruit)
F Karsen Dorwart - Sioux Falls USHL (Nightingale recruit)
D Matt Basgall - Tri-City USHL (Cole recruit)
F Tiernan Shoudy - Youngstown USHL (Cole recruit)
F Daniel Russell - Sioux Falls USHL (Cole recruit)
F Gavin Best - Minnesota NAHL (Cole recruit)

Sophomores:

D David Gucciardi - 5G 6A 11PTS
F Jesse Tucker - 2G 22A 24PTS
F Tanner Kelly - 3G 2A 5PTS

Juniors:

D Nash Nienhuis - 3G 11A 14PTS
D Powell Connor - 0G 0A 0PTS
D Cal Dybicz - 0G 0A 0PTS
F AJ Hodges - 0G 4A 4PTS
F Jeremy Davidson - 11G 11A 22PTS
F Zach Dubinsky - 10G 10A 20PTS - RPI
F Kyle Haskins - 0G 1A 1PTS
G Pierce Charleson - .904 SV%
G Jon Mor - N/A

Seniors:

F Nicolas Muller - 1G 5A 6PTS
F Jagger Joshua - 2G 6A 8PTS
F Erik Middendorf - 12G 8A 20PTS

Graduates:

D Cole Krygier - 4A 7G 11PTS
D Christian Krygier - 2G 6A 8PTS
F Justin Jallen - 10G 7A 17PTS - Brown
F Miroslav Mucha - 10G 25A 35PTS - Lake Superior State
D Michael Underwood - 2G 5A 7PTS - Clarkson
F Ryan Nolan - 1G 2A 3PTS - Merrimack
G Dylan St. Cyr - .936 SV% - Quinnipiac

Just to set some expectations for the upcoming Aug 1st date.

Been talking to different people and have a pretty good sense for the philosophy of the staff. I’d expect 1-2 commitments maybe for the 2006 kids in August but they won’t rush it. Philosophy is lots of mistakes are made Aug 1 (I agree and last staff missed more than they hit). May be some guys who you need to open that lane to, to get their pledge but I assume those are going to be your NTDP or high high level young kids capable of playing USHL next year.

They also are focused on the upcoming classes next fall and fall after which would have no 2006s. So look for a lot of commits to drop off in this process. Guys who have made pledges are under the gun to keep their spot, and top 2003-05s are going to be hearing from this staff. Any late bloomers who pop are going to get heat.

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Posted by Sam Dodge and M-Live . It is for concealing Covid 19 cases prior to NCAA last year. Gender discrimination and other things to come out shortly. This is on top of ducking the GLI tournament .

We aren't able to do a "State of the Program" on every single position group. But as we get interview opportunities, some of these spring up. We ran deep-read stories on the RBs and TEs earlier in the summer.

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NZ from NTDP Eval

Lucas Van Vliet #17 (F, 6’0?, 160, Detroit Little Caesars U15, 01/01/2006) – Van Vilet is a high skill playmaker out of Little Caesar’s who we just scouted a week prior at the MAHA state tournament where he helped lead his team to a state title. He has slick and poised hands, he can make defenders miss in open ice and can create space for himself with his ability to read space gaps and exploit the seams. He’s a heads up puck carrier, he shoots to score and has a quick and tricky release. He scored a nice goal on a one-touch at the backdoor but was more of a distributor here than a scorer. He’s a bit perimeter at times and while we are impressed with his poise and vision and has exceptional touch on his passes; he was unable to penetrate the slot area and create scoring chances for himself. He needs to get stronger and play with more assertiveness but the puck skill is undeniable

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From NZ NTDP CAMP EVAL: Baker is a strong, two-way forward out of Little Caesar’s who just captured the U15 State Championship a week prior. He is a balanced skater, strong on his edges and protects the puck well below the dots. He was able to drive wide on defenders and power his way to the net and create space for his teammates attacking the net. He showed some touch around the cage and was able to get his stick on loose pucks and bury it. Baker doesn’t have separation speed or high level skill but plays the game the right way, he’s physical on the forecheck, he stops on pucks and can kill penalties and plays a detailed game. Last week we noted his scoring ability and release but he wasn’t able to create much offense here and didn’t get his shot off often. Just a so-so performance from what we are accustomed to seeing from Baker but he’s got the 200ft game that will translate at the higher levels.

Will there be a downturn in this category? How much?

It's not really a roundtable anymore. There is no table. It's a podium session.

He was good. He was loose, funny, intense at times, all those things. We will have video and notes later.

Some initial info from the session:

* Regarding Adam Berghorst not being on the football roster, and choosing to focus on baseball.

Tucker:

“I love Bergie. He’s a great guy. He’s an outstanding athlete. He is doing some serious things on the baseball diamond and that’s where his focus is right now.

“I love the kid. We need all the help we can get and if he ever wanted to come back, I would be happy to talk to him about it.”

* Strong quote: "We are further ahead as a program than we were a year ago in every aspect, including strength and conditioning and just our overall culture. We are strengthening our culture and cementing it as opposed to building it."

* Sixth-year offensive guard Matt Carrick, a former starter, continues to be on schedule in his comeback from last year's lower body injury:

"Carrick, he's on the mend," Tucker said. "I feel like he's going to be able to help us. He has played a lot of football for us. He's been out but he has worked really hard to get back.

"We'll see how it unfolds when we hit camp and how far he has come."

Carrick is expected to compete for a job at right guard, with Carrick, center/guard Nick Samac and center/guard Brian Greene (Washington State transfer) also in the picture.

* On USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten, and what it can do for Michigan State recruiting in California:

"We recruit coast-to-coast. We have guys on our team from New Jersey and guys on our team from the West Coast, from California, Arizona, Nevada. It's only going to help our visibility and I believe just enhance it, with those players. They are going to see us playing against those teams that they are used to following.

"Those are two really good programs with a lot of history, a lot of tradition, good coaching and good players.

"Michigan State is a national brand and that's why we are able to go across the country and sign players, but I think it is just going to help our visibility and get in more homes of really good players out West."

* On MSU's linebackers:

"I believe it's going to be a really strong group for us and maybe the strength of our defense."

* When asked what was the biggest area of improvement last year, he said: "We took care of the football. We turned the ball over way too much in that COVID season and it cost us some games we really had a chance to win. That was the biggest improvement. The other thing is we were able to run the football more effectively."

* On inheriting Payton Thorne, Jayden Reed and Xavier Henderson when he became head coach:

"A lot gets made about the portal and recruiting, but there was a significant amount of guys on last year's team that were here when I took the job."

* On replacing the explosiveness that Michigan State lost with Kenneth Walker III and Jalen Nailor moving on to the NFL:

"We have guys. We aren't going to leave it up to just one guy to replace one guy. We are going to do it as a team. Guys are going to have to step up but I'm encouraged by what I see. I don't stay awake at night thinking we don't have enough good players."

Yes, you will recall at the time of the Nightingale hiring, i was of the opinion we could do better.
You should also recall that i never said one bad word about Adam Nightingale; i just thought there were better resumes for us to be
considering and hiring.
Now that he has become our coach, i wish him the best; and truly hope he succeeds.
With interest, i logged in and watched his presser ( yes i was one of the few!)

My 2c - brief version

1) Kudos to our AD Haller. He basically stated, and admitted he didnt know much about hockey.
So he learned. He talked with current and former players; he talked with anyone who would discuss Spartan Hockey.
He gathered as much info as possible to help with this decision

2) Shame on you Danton Cole
One of the common themes Haller discovered during interviews is that current players wanted a better / closer relationship
with their coach. How can a coach of young men expect maximum results when he doesnt take the time to get closer to them
individually and collectively. I think Nightingale will be huge difference in this department.

3) Nightingale's message
I think he put focus on the direction to best fit his program.
MSU hockey is going to be an NHL development-like program
Recruit great kids/players, and develop them to be the best they can be; the results on the ice will
take care of themselves
His goal is to get players to the League.
He didnt come off as a 'great speaker', nor did he 'win' the presser. I dont care
Being a good coach that is right for the program is more important; and he seemed to hit all the right notes.

As follow up, i based on what ive researched, and heard from others on this site, very impressed with the coaching staff
he has put together. He went outside 'the family' to bring in who he felt were best suited to direct his program.

Now looking forward to how he does on the recruiting trails; and more importantly in the short term
how he sets up for some portal talent next cycle.

Hoping for the best

just my 2c

He basically says the B1G is renegotiating their TV rights, where each school gets $100M a year. He says why not direct some of that directly to the players, since the players images are used by the networks. He says that is where the big money is. Imagine if each B1G school got $10M to distribute to the players, and $90M to the school. Of course, local programs could supplement that.

Here are some comments from the Freep:


But Harbaugh’s suggestion of schools and conferences entering into a revenue sharing agreement with players was quite progressive, especially when juxtaposed with his school’s rather languid approach to the first year of the NIL era.
“(The networks) use their name, image and likeness on the TV broadcasts,” Harbaugh said. “They’re the ones signing the mega TV deals, and a new one is coming (for the Big Ten). Why can’t that be an NIL deal right from the Big Ten? Because that’s who’s negotiating the TV deals, and that’s where the big money is.”

Reports surrounding the new Big Ten television deal, which will be finalized later this year, have suggested member institutions could receive as much as $100 million annually. The idea of sharing that money with players was also posed to commissioner Kevin Warren, who spoke to the media Tuesday morning, though he was somewhat skeptical of how that would look in practice. He's eager to speak to the new Student-Athlete Advisory and Advocacy Committee about it.

I haven't had season tickets since I moved out of the Lansing area in mid 90's. Is anyone else thinking of purchasing to help move the program forward? Also can you please roll call here if you currently have Hockey season tickets to get a sense of how many of us Spartan Maggers have tix?

EDIT-I've maintained my football tickets since '93 save for a couple of seasons in the late 90's...

Only features one MSU commit, Bo Edmundson. However, there are six additional games from Thursday-Sunday with tons of talent including Stanton Ramil (Thompson HS), Jamal Anderson (Mill Creek), King Mack (St. Thomas Aquinas), Jayden Bonsu (St. Peters Prep), and many more.

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Thursday, August 25th

Bo Edmundson & Austin (TX) Lake Travis vs. Arlington (TX) Martin
8PM EST on ESPNU

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Full schedule can be found below: