Michigan State Hockey Lands Projected First Round Pick

On Tuesday, Michigan State hockey and Adam Nightingale landed a massive commitment, with a projected top-15 selection in the NHL Draft announcing his commitment to head to East Lansing. The Spartans landed Ethan Belchetz, a massive (6-foot-5, 228 pounds) forward.

More on Ethan Belchetz

Belchetz has the size and physicality needed to excel in collegiate hockey, and he is a viable option for penalty kill, powerplay, along with being able to be an instant impact top six forward on the 2026-2027 Michigan State hockey roster.

He is a left winger that scored 59 points in his 57 games with the Windsor Spitfires (OHL) last season. With the Oakville, Ontario, Canada player on the roster, it eases concerns over losing the entire first line (Porter Martone, Daniel Russell, and Charlie Stramel) to the NHL and graduation.

Belchetz will be 18 for most of his first season with MSU (born March 30, 2008). He is the slot-in replacement for Porter Martone, which is amplified by the Spartan commit drawing comparisons to Martone by NHL analysts.

“When healthy, the 18-year-old nearly was impossible to handle down low in the offensive zone because of his size (6-5, 228) and skill set, similar to how Philadelphia Flyers forward Porter Martone played last season in the OHL with Brampton,” NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman said on Belchetz.

As it stands, Belchetz is the no. 9 skater among North Americans in this season’s draft class, per NHL Central Scouting.

When combined with Arizona State transfer Cullen Potter, and fellow commits including projected top-five pick Chase Reid, there is a dangerous threat looming in East Lansing.

It is worth noting that Potter is also a left-handed player that played left wing last season, but with the holes on MSU roster, it is expected that Potter and Belchetz will either be the first- and second-line left wingers or a potential move for Potter to the center position could be in the works.

With the commitment of Belchetz, pending any players being signed to their NHL squads during offseason camps, the Spartans are projected to roll out nine first-round picks on opening night this season.

Regardless, Spartan hockey got better today in their push to get to the next step of making (and potentially winning) the Frozen Four.