This past weekend my scouting schedule landed me at Michigan State University for the Spartans’ weekend series versus rival Penn State in a key Big Ten matchup.
Michigan State is loaded with drafted and developing prospects, while Penn Stateâ€s lineup also includes drafted players as well as top 2026 prospect Gavin McKenna.
MSU skated away with a two-game sweep over the Nittany Lions. Fridayâ€s game was a closely contested 2-1 victory compared to Saturdayâ€s 5-0 Spartans win. The ice was severely tilted in all categories on Saturday and left me with the concrete impression that MSU definitely deserves their top ranking in the NCAA.
Here are my scouting notes from an entertaining weekend at Michigan State:
Gavin McKenna, F, Penn State
The top-rated prospect for the 2026 NHL Draft chose Penn State over Michigan State in his recruiting cycle over the summer and the Spartans faithful made sure he heard about it whenever he touched the puck. So the fans in attendance had McKenna under the microscope, but both games were heavily attended by members of the NHL scouting community and the media, who were also watching him closely for their own reasons.
• McKenna skated over 22 minutes in each game. He scored from the half-wall on Friday night when a simple shot from the perimeter ping-ponged off a couple bodies in front of Trey Augustine in the MSU net and trickled over the goal line. The bulk of McKenna’s ice time, as per usual, came at even strength and the power play.
• McKenna was plus-1 in Friday’s narrow loss, but struggled to a minus-3 rating on Saturday. He was aggressive attempting to direct pucks on net in both contests. On Friday he attempted 13 shots on goal and followed it up with eight attempts on Saturday. It should be noted that, out of the 21 total shot attempts, 13 came on the power play.
• Through the first 12 games of his NCAA career, McKenna has produced 4G-10A and ranks 14th overall in NCAA scoring. Surprisingly, he is the only the fourth-leading producer at Penn State.
McKenna is a supremely talented prospect with significant offensive upside, a winger who has top-line NHL potential. He is elusive in small areas and difficult to contain if defenders arenâ€t quick to take away time and space with proper body positioning and active sticks. He craves having the puck on his stick in the offensive zone. Penn Stateâ€s power play starts with McKenna on the breakout and pucks go through him once the Nittany Lions establish control in their opponentâ€s zone.
My concern is more about McKenna’s overall game, because when he’s not producing offence he isnâ€t providing the off-puck detail and effort I require from a player with his level of talent. He isnâ€t a heavy-set forward (listed at 6-foot, 165 pounds) so I donâ€t expect him to grind out shifts along the boards or blow people up with a body-check in open ice. I do, however, require McKenna to be more engaged on the defensive side of the ledger.
Hereâ€s an example of a sequence that happened far too often this past weekend:
McKenna provides back pressure and ends up with the puck on his stick for a zone exit, but he turns the play over when he attempts to sauce a backhand pass to his line mate in the neutral zone. Once MSU enters the Penn State zone notice how passive McKenna is when he has an opportunity to kill the play with his stick, or at least keep it high in the zone. Heâ€s straight legged and far too deliberate in his lacklustre approach following the turnover in the neutral zone. The sequence led to extended zone time for MSU.
My takeaway from the weekend is that I continue to value McKenna’s offensive potential, but Iâ€m growing more and more concerned about the entirety of his game. He needs to elevate his three-zone detail to at least average to eliminate my concerns.
In short, when he isnâ€t scoring, I need him to be more trustworthy in other areas of the game.
Trey Augustine, G, Michigan State
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound goaltender is a Detroit Red Wings prospect after they drafted him in the second-round (41st overall) in 2023. Augustine was excellent in both games. I fully anticipate he will turn pro at the conclusion of this season and looks pro ready. Augustine is a big reason why MSU looks poised to challenge for a national championship.
Augustine isnâ€t the tallest goaltending prospect, but he has a wide stature that takes up plenty of net. I especially appreciate how fluid he is moving side to side. He tracks the play very well and almost never strays outside his post. His rebound control was spot on as well over the weekend.
Through seven starts this season Augustine now sports a 6-1 record, combined with a 1.41 GAA and .944 save percentage.
Porter Martone, F, Michigan State
Martone was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round (sixth overall) of the most recent NHL Draft.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound winger has transitioned nicely from Brampton in the OHL to MSU at the NCAA level. His size and muscle stand out and he plays to his strengths. Heâ€s a powerful forward who is very difficult to check along the boards and contain out in front of the net. Martone was held off the scoresheet on Friday, but contributed 1G-1A on Saturday. Through his first eight games with the Spartans Martone has contributed 4G-7A and heâ€s an impressive plus-9.
I fully expect Martone to play a key role on Team Canadaâ€s entry at the world juniors in Minneapolis over the Christmas holidays. Heâ€s been skating on Michigan Stateâ€s top line and averages around 15 minutes per night being deployed at even strength and on the power play.
Cayden Lindstrom, F, Michigan State
Lindstrom is another former CHL player who made the move from Medicine Hat in the WHL to MSU in the NCAA. He and McKenna were teammates last year with the Tigers.
Lindstrom was selected fourth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2024. His combination of size (6-foot-3, 220 pounds) and power obviously intrigued the Blue Jackets enough to step up and select him despite the fact he was battling a back ailment at the time. He ended up missing the majority of last year rehabbing the injury.
Watching him over the weekend, Lindstromâ€s game concerned me. His overall timing is off and heâ€s pressing offensively. Lindstrom needs time to adjust to the NCAA game. His pace was fine, and he was generally engaged from shift to shift, but heâ€s clearly growing frustrated with his lack of output and execution with the puck to the point where heâ€s displaying very poor body language that is affecting him and his line mates.
So far this season Lindstrom has produced 1G-1A. Heâ€s averaging 14 minutes per game of ice time while being deployed at even strength and on the second power play unit.
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Charlie Stramel, C, Michigan State
The Minnesota Wild selected Stramel in the first-round (21st overall) in 2023 and for the first couple years of his college career it looked like Stramel could be a bust. He transferred from Wisconsin to MSU for his junior year last season and wearing the green and white Spartans uniform clearly agrees with him.
Now a senior, Stramel appears to be in the best shape of his career. Heâ€s listed at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds and is playing the game with more speed in addition to his power in the hard areas of the ice. Stramel is being deployed in all situations and averaging over 18 minutes per game. He was a man amongst boys for most of his shifts this past weekend. Stramel is up to 5G-5A on the season after his 2G-2A game on Saturday.
Jackson Smith, D, Penn State
I thought Smith was the most engaged Penn State player on the weekend. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound, left-shot defenceman is also a Columbus Blue Jackets prospect. He was selected 14th overall this past June.
Smith is averaging close to 22 minutes per game and being deployed in all situations. Heâ€s been active pushing the play up ice with the puck on his stick and joining the rush as an extra layer. Smith is also very aggressive pinching down the wall in the offensive zone to extend plays. Heâ€s contributed 2G-6A so far this season. Heâ€s an excellent skater who projects as at potential top pairing, transitional defenceman at the NHL level.
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Although they were held off the score sheet this past weekend, a couple of Penn State players who will be free agents at the end of the season intrigued me and are off to solid starts overall.
J.J. Wiebusch is a right-shot forward who has been logging over 18 minutes per game and being deployed in all situations. The sophomore is listed at 6-foot-1, 180 pounds. Heâ€s a right-shot who possesses good hands in tight areas and shows a willingness to battle for position and extend plays in the trenches. He currently sits third in the entire NCAA with 11G-7A through 12 games played. Some people might say he is benefitting from playing alongside McKenna for most of his shifts, but Iâ€m looking at it the other way. Wiebusch provides a lot of the small details that lead to chances for his line mates and himself. Not to mention the fact he produced 14G-19A last year as a freshman when McKenna wasnâ€t on the roster.
Matthew DiMarsico is also listed at 6-foot, 180 pounds. Heâ€s a left-shot centre who can slot into a variety of roles up and down the lineup. I appreciate the fact he is deployed in all situations and plays the game with reliable detail in all three zones. DiMarsico is quick out of the blocks and a threat in open ice. He plays an attacking style and checks back to assist defensively with enthusiasm. Heâ€s averaging over 18 minutes per game and has produced 8G-7A so far this season.
Team Canada executive and current London Knights (OHL) GM Mark Hunter was in attendance on Friday evening. The viewing provided Hunter an opportunity to see Martone, Smith and McKenna in the same game.
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