GREEN & WHITE HOCKEY

New coach Danton Cole hopes to find right recruiting mix for Spartans

Chris Solari
Detroit Free Press
New MSU head hockey coach Danton Cole speaks to the media on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 at Munn Ice Arena at Michigan State University in East Lansing.

EAST LANSING – Now comes the hard part for Danton Cole.

Michigan State’s epic fall from college hockey royalty to the basement of the Big Ten relies on one thing: high-level talent. And the Spartans’ new coach has the background to potentially bring impact players back to Munn Arena.

“We’ll identify, recruit and sign elite players to come here and to join the guys that are already here, and the pressure will be on them to get that momentum going and teach those young guys when they come in so they can take over for them,” Cole said during his introductory news conference Tuesday. “That excellence on and off the ice is very important.”

Tom Anastos went 78-122-24 in six seasons after taking over in 2011 following the retirement of Rick Comley. Anastos honored all of Comley’s commitments.

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The last of those Comley recruits – Rhett Holland and Joe Cox – were seniors during this winter’s 7-24-4 last-place finish in the Big Ten. The Spartans had the fewest wins of any NCAA Division I school in the state during Anastos’ tenure. MSU had just two drafted players on its roster this season in the now-graduated defenseman Holland and sophomore forward Mason Appleton.

According to CollegeHockeyInc.com, Anastos left behind 20 committed junior hockey players who are scheduled to arrive between this fall and 2020. Nine of them listed for the 2017-18 season

Cole would not yet guarantee that he would honor those commitments but plans to talk with Anastos assistants Tom Newton and Kelly Miller to get a feel about the long-term recruits.

“I'd like to know exactly who's where or who's offered what,” Cole said. “The current guys I know, the incoming guys I know. But after that, I'd like to get a little better read on where all that's at.”

The difference between Cole’s old job as a head coach with the U.S. National Team Development Program – “a candy store for coaches,” as he called it – and his new one is being able to convince players to come play at MSU. Many of them are teenagers who weren’t born during Ron Mason’s golden era and aren’t old enough to even remember the Spartans’ 2007 NCAA championship under Comley.

The best in the country try out for the USA Hockey program. That gives Cole a leg up on finding the next batch of elite American players, in and out of the NTDP. He and his staff there have been scouting players as young as 13 years old, which should benefit the Spartans long-term recruiting.

“It used to be midget and junior coaches. You're starting a lot younger now, so now it’s bantam coaches and people running those organizations,” Cole said. “It's good to be part of that process – being at the festivals, seeing where the good players are coming from and knowing what they're attracted to. So I think it gives us a good head start. Certainly those are the level players that we're going to be recruiting.”

One thing Anastos avoided was bringing in older players. It’s been a debate in recent years among college hockey coaches – especially since the launch of the Big Ten – as to whether historic powers should go after older players who will stay four years or chase younger players who might leave for the pros or major juniors after a short stay in college.

Cole wants a blend of both.

“That's the state of the game,” he said. “The guys are one-, two- and three-year players quite a bit right now. There's also guys that are a little bit older and might take a little longer to percolate and may be four-year guys. … You also want to be a place where elite guys are going to come and know they can develop and move on when the time is right.”

Contact Chris Solari:csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.

MSU COMMITMENTS

Here’s a look at MSU’s 20 commitments in hockey, via CollegeHockeyInc.com:

2017-18

Tommy Apap, C (Youngstown, USHL)

Thomas Miller, D (USA NTDP U18)

David Keefer, RW (Des Moines, USHL)

Ryan Bederka, D (Madison, USHL)

Jake Smith, LW (Chilliwack, BCHL)

Broderick Stevens, RW (Green Bay, USHL)

Jagger Joshua, F (Detroit Victory Honda 18U)

Matthew Miller, C (Sioux City, USHL)

Nolan Moyle, RW (Green Bay, USHL)

Reed Lebster, RW (Des Moines, USHL)

Mitch Lewandowski, LW (Chicago, USHL)

Noah LaLonde, C (Omaha, USHL)

Ty Farmer, D (Muskegon, USHL)

2018-19

Jagger Joshua, F (Detroit Victory Honda 18U)

Matthew Miller, C (Sioux City, USHL)

Nolan Moyle, RW (Green Bay, USHL)

Reed Lebster, RW (Des Moines, USHL)

2019-20

Bradley Marek, LW (Fox Motors HC 16U)

Cam Knuble, RW (Fox Motors HC 16U)

Brian Silver, D (Chicago Mission 16U)

Cole Kodsi, LW (North Jersey Avalanche 16U)

Drew Deridder, G (Cedar Rapids, USHL)

Skyler Brind'Amour, C (Selects Academy 18U)

2020-21

Josh Nodler, C (Detroit HoneyBaked 16U)