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Published Aug 2, 2023
Breaking down Michigan State hockey's 2023-2024 roster
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Brad LaPlante  •  Spartans Illustrated
Staff Writer
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@bradlaplante

Michigan State hockey has recently announced its 2023-2024 roster.

In total, MSU has 15 new additions to its roster, including 10 freshmen and five transfers.

Those freshmen that have been added are goaltender Trey Augustine (Team USA NTDP), defenseman Patrick Geary (Waterloo), defenseman Artyom Levshunov (Green Bay), defenseman Austin Oravetz (Green Bay), defenseman Maxim Štrbák (Sioux Falls), right wing Tommi Männistö (Tappara U20), left wing Griffin Jurecki (Omaha), right wing Owen Baker (Waterloo), right wing Gavin O'Connell (Waterloo) and goaltender Luca Di Pasquo (Penticton).

As far as incoming players go, Michigan State was able to add five transfers to its roster. Centerman Red Savage (Miami) will have two years of remaining eligibility; right wing Reed Lebster (UMass) is in his final NCAA season; left wing Isaac Howard (Minnesota-Duluth) is a first-round NHL Draft selection with three years of NCAA eligibility, although he may leave before then; right wing Joey Larson (Michigan Tech) has three years left; and defenseman James Crossman (Brown) is entering his final NCAA season.

MSU had several outgoing players. For starters, Griffin Loughran ended up transferring to Canisius. Loughran last played with Michigan State during the 2021-2022 season, but was cut midway through the season for not meeting academic standards. He entered the portal last summer and officially transferred out on July 13, 2023.

Center Zach Dubinsky (Vermont), center Jesse Tucker (Clarkson), left wing Kyle Haskins (Canisius), defenseman Powell Connor (Canisius) and left wing A.J. Hodges all entered the portal and found new teams. Goaltender Pierce Charleson, right wing Ryan Nolan and defenseman Cal Dybicz have entered the portal, but have yet to find new homes.

"We're very excited about our incoming players," Michigan State head coach Adam Nightingale said in a statement. "They are all team-first guys and the type of players and people that our great fan base will enjoy watching. We're looking forward to the upcoming season to show our fans our growth and are hoping to see the same sold-out atmosphere we enjoyed at the end of last season."

Nightingale will be entering his second season behind the bench at Michigan State University.

Two incoming freshmen - Augustine and Štrbák - were selected by teams in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. Augustine was picked by the Detroit Red Wings (No. 42 overall) and Štrbák by the Buffalo Sabres (No. 45 overall); both were taken in the second round.

Meanwhile, Savage was selected by Detroit in the fourth round of the 2021 NHL Draft, while Howard was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round (No. 31 overall) of last year's draft. Already on the team, defenseman Viktor Hurtig was selected by the New Jersey Devils in the sixth round of the 2021 NHL Draft, while the Washington Capitals selected defenseman David Gucciardi in the seventh round last year.

NeutralZone ranks Michigan State's incoming freshman class as No. 3 in the country.

Let's break down some of the newcomers further (in numerical order based on jersey).

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No. 1 - TREY AUGUSTINE (DET) - G - Team USA NTDP - Fr.

Augustine is considered to be one of the best young goaltenders in the country and he has the numbers to show it. While at the Team USA National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Michigan, he had historic statistics.

He won 30 games last year (fourth-best ever for an NTDP goaltender), had a save percentage of .926, which is only second to Jeff Frazee in NTDP history, and his goals-against-average was just 2.13 (also fourth-best all-time).

At just 17 years old, Augustine led the Americans to a bronze medal in the 2023 World Junior Championships. He also led the U.S. to a gold medal victory in the Under-18 World Championships, a game where his performance arguably led to a win in the finals against Sweden where Team USA was down 2-0 entering the third period.

Freshman goalies aren't incredibly rare in college hockey anymore, especially for those of Augustine's caliber. If Augustine lives up to lofty expectations, expect Michigan State to make the NCAA Tournament.

No. 2 - Patrick Geary - D - Waterloo - Fr.

No. 3 - Viktor Hurtig (NJD) - D - Växjö - So.

No. 4 - Nash Nienhuis - D - Omaha - Sr.

No. 5 - ARTYOM LEVSHUNOV - D - Green Bay - Fr.

It's likely that Michigan State waited until the end of July to unveil its roster for the 2023-2024 season because of this addition. Artyom Levshunov wasn't announced to be added to the roster until very recently.

Levshunov will be eligible for the NHL Entry Draft in 2024 (he's nearly a month too young to have been eligible for this year's draft). Some analysts have said that Levshunov would've been the first defenseman taken in this year's draft if he'd been eligible. According to The Athletic's Corey Pronman's preliminary 2024 prospect rankings, Levshunov is No. 7. FloHockey has him at No. 3.

It's likely that Levshunov's main reason for choosing the NCAA for his development was that Russian and Belarusian players were barred from being imported into the Canadian Hockey League. But he's an incredibly unique talent. His production last season was higher than Owen Power's was in his draft-minus-one season with the Chicago Steel. Power was the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2021. Levshunov had 42 points while Power had 40.

No. 6 - Austin Oravetz - D - Green Bay - Fr.

No. 7 - David Gucciardi (WSH) - D - Waterloo - Jr.

No. 8 - MAXIM ŠTRBÁK (BUF) - D - Sioux Falls - Fr.

There's plenty that Štrbák does right. He has the size and frame that NHL scouts look for and was a hot commodity on draft day. It's why he went in the second round to Buffalo.

Physically, his game should translate well into college since he has the size. He'll see a lot of ice time, but it's unclear as to how much he'll see at the start of the season. By the end of the first half, I expect him to receive top-pair minutes.

Štrbák is a pass-first defenseman and doesn't shoot the puck a lot. He could end up being the guy MSU needs to quarterback a power play. East Lansing is very excited to have him.

No. 9 - Matt Basgall - D - Tri-City - So.

No. 10 - Tommi Männistö - RW - Tappara - Fr.

No. 11 - Jeremy Davidson - RW - Fargo - Sr.

No. 12 - Griffin Jurecki - LW - Omaha - Fr.

No. 13 - Tiernan Shoudy - LW - Youngstown - So.

No. 16 - Owen Baker - RW - Waterloo - Fr.

No. 18 - Joey Larson - RW - Michigan Tech (T) - So.

No. 19 - NICOLAS MÜLLER - C/RW - MODO - Gr.

Nicolas Müller had a career season last year. After averaging a total of 7.3 points per season in his first three with Michigan State, Müller led the Spartans with a total of 34 last season.

It seems that he thrives under Nightingale. Last year, he was paired with both Jeremy Davidson and Erik Middendorf. A lot has changed since last season, though. MSU's second line last year is likely a third or fourth line on this year's team. But Müller deserves to be in one of the top-two lines.

I imagine that Nightingale mixes it up and plays Müller with some of MSU's talented additions such as Howard or Lebster. If that's the case, I expect his production to slightly decline in terms of goals. He could end up with a ton of assists, though.

No. 20 - Daniel Russell - RW/C - Sioux Falls - So.

No. 21 - Redmond "Red" Savage (DET) - C - Miami (T) - Jr.

No. 22 - Isaac Howard (TBL) - LW - Minnesota-Duluth (T) - So.

No. 23 - Reed Lebster - RW - UMass (T) - Gr.

No. 24 - James Crossman - D - Brown (T) - Gr.

No. 26 - Tanner Kelly - RW - Muskegon - Jr.

No. 27 - Gavin Best - LW - Minnesota (NAHL) - So.

No. 28 - KARSEN DORWART - C/LW - Sioux Falls - So.

Karsen Dorwart was not scouted heavily and came to Michigan State for lack of depth at the center position. In his first season, he had 10 goals and 17 assists.

The most impressive aspect about Dorwart's game is his vision, especially on the power play. He's able to set up teammates, play moves on goaltenders and does a lot from the half-wall.

If Dorwart and Russell get a serious playmaker on the wing with them, that line could be lethal.

No. 29 - Gavin O'Connell - RW - Waterloo - Fr.

No. 30 - Jon Mor - G - Langley (BCHL) - Sr.

No. 31 - Luca Di Pasquo - Penticton (BCHL) - Fr.

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