St. Cyr, Underwood, Krygiers to Play for 2022-23 Spartans

Michigan State is bringing in two NCAA-experienced recruits—four if you count a pair of returnees to East Lansing and the Big Ten conference.

Dylan St. Cyr (Quinnipiac) and Mike Underwood (Clarkson) will both join MSU for the 2022-33 season as graduate transfers. Both are Michigan natives, St. Cyr from Northville and Underwood from Bloomfield Hills, and are taking advantage of the NCAA's fifth year of eligibility provided by the shortening of the 2019-20 season due to COVID-19.

St. Cyr, the son of former professional and Olympic goaltender Manon Rheaume, spent last season at Quinnipiac after three years at Notre Dame. He has posted a 37-27-4 record in 46 career NCAA appearances in net with a 2.08 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage. He went 10-2-1 (1.16, .936) in 13 games with the Bobcats last season.

Underwood has tallied five goals and 13 assists for 18 points and 98 penalty minutes in 130 NCAA outings while playing the past four seasons at Clarkson. He notched a career-best 2-5—7 points to go with 26 PIM in 36 games last season with the Golden Knights.

Returning to the Green and White next season on the blueline will be twins Christian and Cole Krygier, who had tested the waters of the transfer portal before deciding to play one more season at Munn Arena. Christian Krygier has notched 3-13—16 points and 183 PIM in 130 career games with the Spartans, while Cole Krygier has registered 10-15—25 points and 117 PIM in 122 career outings for MSU. Both hail from Novi, Mich., and are the sons of former UConn and NHL forward Todd Krygier.

Jacobs Leaves MSU for OHL

Michigan State will need to shore up its blueline a bit next season.

First, Brock Krygier gave up his final two years in East Lansing to transfer to Arizona State's nascent Division I program as a graduate student in April.

Earlier this week, Josh Jacobs made it one-and-done with the Spartans to join the OHL's Sarnia Sting. A second-round NHL draft choice (41st overall) by the New Jersey Devils last year, and was a fourth-round choce by Sarnia in the 2012 OHL Draft, Jacobs tallied nine assists in 35 NCAA games last season with MSU.

According to the MSU website, the Spartans are still expected to return five of their eight defensemen from the 2014-15 season, a campaign in which they finished 17-16-2 overall, and second in the Big Ten with an 11-7-2 conference mark. MSU was also one of the nation’s top defensive teams all season, finishing first in the Big Ten and 13th in the country in goals allowed per game (2.29).

Chicago Blackhawks blueliner Duncan Keith, who begins the Stanley Cup Final tonight in Tampa, is believed to be the last Spartan to leave Michigan State for the major junior ranks, having joined Tacoma (WHL) in 2002. Lansing native and former MSU recruit Reid Boucher jumped to Sarnia in 2011 before ever playing a game for the Spartans, and is now in New Jersey's system.