MSU Hockey: Youth development and returning defensemen to provide foundation for next year

Nathaniel Bott
Lansing State Journal
Michigan State second-year hockey coach Danton Cole believes his program is further along than he anticipated.

EAST LANSING – The progress may be slow, but it is real for the Michigan State hockey team.

The Spartans, in coach Danton Cole's second season, took a decent-sized jump from last season, finishing with 30 points in the Big Ten compared to just 21 last season and picking up some quality non-conference wins – most notably a sweep of then No. 8 Cornell.

MSU finished 12-19-5 overall and 8-12-4-2 in the Big Ten.

"Looking back at the season, progression wise there was a lot of good things," Cole said. "Not that I'm one to compare myself to coach (Ron) Mason, but looking at his first two seasons and some of the things they had to go through, I think there are some very similar situations."

MSU must replace national scoring leader

On March 12, MSU junior forward and NCAA points leader Taro Hirose made the jump to the NHL, signing a two-year, entry-level contract with the Detroit Red Wings. Hirose made his debut on Tuesday night, netting his first career NHL point with an assist.

Hirose's move leaves a big hole for next season, but it's also a feather in the cap for the MSU program.

"Good players are going to leave and they are going to have great success," Cole said. "But that culture (at MSU) is something that will stay with him. I'd say that by Christmas we were pretty sure he wasn't going to come back. But for us, it's an incredibly positive thing."

Hirose was also named the Big Ten Player of the Year – only the second Spartan (Jake Hildebrand, 2015) to win the award – to go along with being the only unanimous selection to the All-Big Ten first team. Hirose was also named as one of the 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, which is given to the best player in all of college hockey.

The good news? Cole is getting increasingly confident that Hirose will be the lone Spartan to depart, outside of the three seniors who have already left. That means indications are that junior center Patrick Khodorenko will be remaining in the green and white for his final season.

"There's always those possibilities, but I met with (Khodorenko) and I think he's in a very similar situation that (Hirose) was in last year," Cole said. "He had a great year, but people still want to know what his limit is. My goal for him is that coming back he should want to be on first team all-league and want to be a first team All-American and have multiple NHL contracts."

As for the obvious hole in production created by Hirose's departure, Cole is confident that some player development and incoming talent, which he would give specifics about, will be able to make up for some of the playmaking Hirose leaves behind. 

"We have two guys coming in that will be here and one of those two if not both of them, I'm hoping they can play in the top six on this team," Cole said. "It's going to come down to our depth and our new guys coming in and we will see how that goes."

MSU defense poised to be strong

On defense, MSU loses senior Zach Osburn, who was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection. But the Spartans will return six defensemen who all saw substantial ice time this season.

"The strength and training aspect will be huge for them," Cole said of the returners. "The weight room will be their friend, that's where they have to live."

Redshirt-senior Jerad Rosburg will be the leader of the back unit, but the key will be the increased development of the three sophomores-to-be – led by freshman All-Big Ten selection Dennis Cesana, who tied for the league lead for freshman with 24 points, and his 21 assists were the most nationally among rookie defenseman.

"I think offensively, we knew that capability was there for (Cesana)," Cole said. "His IQ and his hands are there, and on the defensive side he just kept getting better and better. I think he exceeded our expectations this year."

The goaltending situation should improve as well, with John Lethemon returning for his senior season and freshman All-Big Ten selection Drew DeRidder coming off a solid campaign in his first year.

Contact Nathaniel Bott at nbott@lsj.com and follow him on Twitter @Nathaniel_Bott

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