MSU hockey roster coming together amid wild offseason

While the Minnesota State men’s hockey team was making its Frozen Four run last month, a chaotic offseason was already beginning.

With each player having an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic, the transfer portal was busier than ever, but the Mavericks were still playing, so the focus was on the ice.

The portal is still open, but nearly six weeks after MSU’s disappointing loss to St. Cloud State, coach Mike Hastings and his staff have been able to tend to their business, and next season’s roster is starting to come together.

Of the nine seniors on MSU’s 2020-21 roster, Hastings said only Reggie Lutz and Jack McNeely are returning to MSU for a fifth season.

其他七继续追求其他的朋友rtunities, with several hoping to sign professional contracts. Walker Duehr signed an entry-level contract with the Calgary Flames last month, and Hastings indicated Todd Burgess was on the verge of signing a professional contract. Dallas Gerads and Riese Zmolek are also looking to play professionally.

Hastings confirmed that both Colby Bukes and Chris Van Os-Shaw have transferred, with Bukes headed to Merrimack and Van Os-Shaw going to American International. No other MSU players have left the program at this time.

“Those are the ones that we’re planning on coming back,” Hastings said of McNeely and Lutz. “The other guys are looking to either start their career professionally, hockey-wise, or in something other than hockey.

“We’re excited for the two guys that are coming back because I think they’re coming back with a purpose, and we’re excited for the guys that are moving on because they’re trying to move on into something that they feel is most important to them. All of them have their degrees, which I think is outstanding.”

Hastings said Nathan Smith, a third-round draft pick of the Winnipeg Jets, had an opportunity to sign, but elected to return to MSU for his junior season.

“He wants to come back and continue to develop and put himself in a spot to be successful out of the gate when he starts his (professional) career,” Hastings said.

MSU has brought in three transfers, including New Hampshire defenseman Benton Maass, Michigan forward Josh Groll and Alaska Anchorage forward Zach Krajnik.

Maass, an Elk River native and graduate transfer, has played in 120 games for the Wildcats over the past four seasons. He’ll join an experienced MSU defensive core that will include McNeely, Akito Hirose, Andy Carroll, Wyatt Aamodt and Jake Livingstone, all of whom were regulars in the lineup last season.

Groll played in only two games for the Wolverines last season, but had 42 points in 41 games for the United States Hockey League’s Lincoln Stars in 2019-20. Krajnik played no games last season after UAA opted out. He finished with 56 points in 51 games for the North American Hockey League’s Kenai River Brown Bears in 2019-20.

The Mavericks have six incoming freshmen: Keenan Rancier, goalie, Minot (NAHL); Andrew Miller, goalie, Fargo (USHL); Bennett Zmolek, defenseman, Youngstown (USHL); Steven Bellini, defenseman, Tri-City (USHL); Will Hillman, forward, Youngstown (USHL); and Brenden Olson, forward, Sioux City (USHL).

Due to the long season, academics and pandemic, Hastings said MSU hasn’t had organized spring workouts, but the plan is to have a normal summer schedule.

In a normal year, most MSU players spend approximately six weeks in Mankato during the summer-school session, working out together and preparing for the new season.

However, last year, only a handful of players were in town due to the pandemic.

“It’s a very developmental part of our season in building to allow our group to be as comfortable as they can be coming in in August,” Hastings said. “It allows the guys that have been here before to put their arms around, support and allow the guys that are new to our program to acclimate themselves as quickly as possible. ...

“It allows us to start to build our foundation of what we want to have for the upcoming season, both on and off the rink.”

Follow Kevin Dudley on Twitter @Dudley7Kevin.