Michigan State University Athletics
MSU Hockey Summer Notebook I
6/12/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
June 12, 2002
THAT CHAMPIONSHIP FEELING
The Michigan State hockey team has won its share of titles over the years. Apparently, that tradition of winning has a carryover effect to the next level.
No fewer than seven former Spartans won playoff championships in 2001-02. Defenseman Mike Weaver helped the Chicago Wolves to the American Hockey League's Calder Cup as they downed Bridgeport in the league finals in five games. Forward Bryan Adams also played with the Wolves but missed all but five postseason contests with an injury. Wing Damon Whitten skated with the East Coast Hockey Leauge's Greenville Grrrowl, which swept Dayton to capture the Kelly Cup. Forward Rustyn Dolyny was a member of the United Hockey League champion Muskegon Fury. The Fury, coached by ex-Spartan Danton Cole, won the Colonial Cup over Elmira in six games.
The trend wasn't just a North American phenomenon as three former MSU letterwinners won championships in Europe. Goaltender Jason Muzzatti backstopped the Milano Vipers to an Italian League title, forward Kevin Miller played for Swiss National League playoff winner HC Davos and forward Dwayne Norris won a Deutsche Eishockey Liga crown with German team Kolner Haie.
"There's a lot of alums that win championships and I think it definitely stems from the program," said Dolyny. "It usually doesn't happen in one year like it did this year. (MSU) players have always had success at the next level, so it's good to see it continue."
Yet another former Spartan - centerman Rod Brind'amour of the Carolina Hurricanes - has a chance, albeit a slim one, to add his name to the list of ex-MSU skaters earning championship rings this season.
CAROLINA CONNECTION
East Lansing is a stone's throw from Detroit, but don't be surprised if you find a few Spartans pulling for the Eastern Conference-champion Carolina Hurricanes.
Three Carolina draft picks are currently on the MSU roster. Defenseman Brad Fast was a third-round selection (84th overall) in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, forward Troy Ferguson was chosen in the ninth round (276th overall) in the 2000 draft and wing Kevin Estrada was picked in the third round (91st overall) of last year's draft.
"It's very impressive the way they've been playing," said Fast. "Nobody really expected anything from them in the playoffs this year. For them to win a couple of playoff series is great. It's unbelievable to see them playing in the finals."
Ferguson's dad, Sheldon, is the Hurricanes' director of player personnel amateur scouting and is widely credited with assembling the core of the Carolina roster with draft picks such as Sami Kapanen, Erik Cole, Josef Vasicek, Jaroslav Svoboda, David Tanabe and Niclas Wallin.
FEELING A DRAFT
Freshman forwards Lee Falardeau, Brock Radunske and Jim Slater attended the National Hockey League Central Scouting Services pre-draft combine in Toronto two weeks ago. Top prospects from around the world were invited to the three-day event to take part in physical tests and meet with representatives from NHL teams.
"The whole process was pretty amazing," said Slater, who's rated 11th among draft-eligible North American skaters in the final CSS rankings. "Teams are watching your every move. I had 22 interviews with different NHL teams. I was kind of nervous going in there, but once you get a few under your belt it starting coming easy to me. It was pretty overwhelming, but pretty fun at the same time."
The 2002 NHL Entry Draft takes place June 22-23 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
MALONEY UPDATE
Wing Brian Maloney, returning to the Spartans for his senior year after a devastating kidney injury that ended his junior campaign in early March, has resumed workouts and is days away from getting a clean bill of health for the 2002-03 season.
"I was supposed to get some tests done last week but I had a family matter come up so I had to head home," said Maloney, who scored 17 goals and 16 assists for 33 points in 37 games last season. "I pushed all the tests back a week. I should be 100% by the end of the week. I've just got to get the go-ahead from the doctor."
Maloney suffered a lacerated kidney and broke two ribs after crashing into the boards during the second period of the Spartans' CCHA first-round playoff matchup against Bowling Green at Munn Ice Arena March 8. The Bassano, Alta., native has been able to work out for about three months, starting with light cardiovascular exercises in April and moving onto weightlifting. He has not been cleared for any contact.
"I feel 100%," said Maloney, "but I won't know until that first game when I start banging."
HALL IN THE HALL
The stick used by 2001-02 captain Adam Hall is just one of the items from last season's MSU-Michigan hockey game at Spartan Stadium that will be on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. The items from the event, which attracted a world-record crowd of 74,554, will be part of the Hall's annual highlighting some of the previous season's biggest moments.
"It's kind of surreal right now," said Hall. "Just the thought of being in the Hockey Hall of Fame with such great players who've been in the NHL for years and hold all kinds of records - obviously it's a great honor. There's a lot of people associated with that game who put in a lot of hard work and I think it deserves to be recognized that way."
HHOF officials expect the items - which also include each of the six goal pucks from the contest, game programs, line charts, game notes, media passes and newspaper accounts of the game - to be available for public viewing no later than August.
THIS N' THAT
* Hall made his National Hockey League debut on the last day of the regular season, earning an assist in the Nashville Predators' loss 6-4 to Phoenix April 16. The Kalamazoo, Mich., native spent the final two weeks of the American Hockey League regular season with the Predators' top minor-league affiliate in Milwaukee before being summoned to Nashville.
"Even getting into the game in Nashville was a surprise for me," said Hall. "Everything happened so fast, I didn't really have time to think about it and take it all in. It didn't really even hit me until a couple weeks later when I had time to sit back and think about things."
* This marks the second straight season the Spartans have been represented in a Hockey Hall of Fame display. The Hall requested items from goaltender Ryan Miller, including his game-worn sweater and stick, following his record-breaking season in 2000-01.
* Slater is projected as a possible first-round draft pick. MSU hasn't had a player chosen in the first round since 1990, when Michael Stewart went 13th overall to the New York Rangers and Bryan Smolinski was taken with the 21st overall selection by the Boston Bruins.
* Four Spartans - Falardeau, Radunske, Slater and defenseman Duncan Keith - are expected to be chosen in this year's NHL Entry Draft. Should that happen, MSU would have nine draftees in its roster. The quartet of sophomores-to-be would join Estrada, Fast, Ferguson, defenseman John-Michael Liles (picked by Colorado in the fifth round of the 2000 draft) and Miller (selected by Buffalo in the 5th round of the 1999 draft) on that list.
* Five Spartans - Fast, Ferguson, Hall, forward Tim Hearon, defenseman Joe Markusen and Miller - were named to the Big Ten's all-academic team. To be eligible for all-academic honors, student-athletes must be a letterwinner in at last their second academic year at their institution and carry a grade point average of 3.0 or better.
* Two of the three coaches to win CCHA and WCHA regular-season championships have MSU ties. Current Spartan bench boss Rick Comley won CCHA crowns with Lake Superior State (1974) and Northern Michigan (1980 and 1981) and guided the Wildcats to its lone McNaughton Cup (1989). Former MSU assistant George Gwozcecky did it in the CCHA with Miami (1993) and in the WCHA with Denver (2002).
