The 2023 NHL Entry Draft is officially complete. Michigan State saw two of its top players get selected.
Freshman goaltender Trey Augustine was the first MSU player off the board. The Detroit Red Wings used a second-round pick to get him at No. 41 overall.
Augustine is a native of South Lyon, Michigan. He spent last season with the Team USA National Team Development Program, where Michigan State head coach Adam Nightingale previously coached.
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound goaltender had a .926 save percentage (second at the NTDP all-time) with the under-18 team and won a gold medal with Team USA in the Under-18 World Championships.
“Being able to finally get drafted and hear my name called, it’s what you’ve been dreaming of your whole hockey career,” Augustine said after his selection.
Moments later, freshman defenseman Maxim Štrbák was selected No. 45 overall by the Buffalo Sabres.
“It’s such an incredible feeling to finally get your name called,” Štrbák said. “I’m excited for the future.”
Štrbák spent last season with the Sioux Falls Stampede in the USHL where he led defenseman in points with 18.
He was also the captain for Slovakia’s team at the Under-18 World Championships. Slovakia lost to Team Canada in the bronze medal game.
Other MSU commmits, left wing Michael DeAngelo and center A.J. Lacroix, were eligible for the 2023 NHL Draft, but were not selected.
Augustine and Štrbák will head to their teams’ respective development camps in July and will arrive on campus with Michigan State closer to the start of the semester in late-August.
With the selections of Augustine and Štrbák, there are now six players on Michigan State’s active roster that have been selected by NHL teams. Junior center Red Savage was selected by Detroit in the fourth round in 2021; sophomore defenseman Viktor Hurtig by the New Jersey Devils in the sixth round in 2021; sophomore left wing Isaac Howard by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round in 2022; and junior defenseman David Gucciardi by the Washington Capitals in the seventh round in 2022.
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