August 1 is like a holiday in the college hockey calendar. It is the date when rising high school juniors are allowed to receive scholarship offers from teams, and also at that time players are then eligible to make verbal commitments. This is not the sole way to build a roster, and often fan excitement outweighs the importance of this day from coaching staffs, but it is a fun time to see some of the top young players make their (initial at least) commitment.

There is work to be done by the player; developing in their time in junior hockey, getting bigger and better and maintaining their spot. For coaching staffs, the rest of a class will still need to come together, balanced with later developing players, and they need to stay recruiting commits who could choose other schools or routes such as moving into the major junior (OHL, WHL, QMJHL) development path that, at this time, makes them ineligible for NCAA play.

With all the caveats out of the way, lets dive into how yesterday went for Michigan State.

Ok, so I will provide more analysis than a Larry David gif provides, but if you were to not read further you can tell your friends who ask, Michigan State's hockey class is looking pretty good to start right now.

The Spartans received a total of three commitments on opening day from two defensemen and one forward. All three players will be playing in the USHL, the top NCAA eligible hockey league in the world next season, and each player has the potential to be NCAA impact players whenever they arrive to campus. Without delay, let's take a look at who made their verbal pledges to Adam Nightingale and staff yesterday.

Scouting Report: Chase Reid was the second commit of the day, and as a December 30, 2007-born player, he had to wait until this August to make to his pledge known. I have watched and followed Reid for going on three years now and he has made the strides you want to see in a young talented hockey player.

Reid plays a hybrid style defensively, he has offensive skills that are a plus, he takes chances to join the rush and make pinches, but he is also old school in his way of being sound defensively.

Reid has a solid frame at 6-foot, 161 pounds as a 16-year-old, and he is not afraid to engage physically. I had the chance to watch his most recent video from the USA Hockey Select 17s festival in New York, from earlier in July and came away still impressed with where Reid is at in comparison to his peers. Reid is a plus skater, strong on his edges, he flips his hips well, making him solid in transition and he makes the smart play just about every time.