Tropp, Petry have NHL decision ahead

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As the season likely has come to a close for the No. 16 MSU hockey team, two players have big decisions looming.

Junior defenseman Jeff Petry and junior forward Corey Tropp might decide to leave school early to join the NHL teams that own their rights.

The two players will have to weigh the decision of staying one more year and earning their degree from MSU, or trying their hand professionally.

Head coach Rick Comley said he expects both players to have the opportunity to leave early, but said he doesn’t know if they will act on that opportunity.

If they leave early, it is doubtful they will break into an NHL lineup right away. They likely will have to pay their dues in the American Hockey League before being called up to the NHL.

“I think with the two of them, they both could play in the American League,” Comley said. “NHL teams don’t give college kids much of a chance to take the direct step. They are just going to have to value out how close they want to get to their degree before they leave. For some kids it’s different than others.”

Petry was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the second round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. After an outstanding freshman season, Petry struggled his sophomore year.

This season, Petry bounced back and established himself as the Spartans’ shutdown defenseman and was named a co-captain of the team at the start of the season. His numbers improved as well, as he recorded four goals and a team-high 25 assists with a plus-1 rating.

Tropp was selected in the third round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres. He played in every game as a freshman, but as a sophomore he battled mononucleosis and served a season-ending suspension after a slashing incident that occurred in a Jan. 24 game against Michigan.

This season, Tropp rebounded and led the country in goals and points for most of the year. He was the only CCHA player to record 20 goals in the regular season and he finished the year with a team-high 20-22-42 scoring line.

Although Comley said he doesn’t want to see either player go, he said if they do decide to leave, he hopes they make their decision early in the summer to prevent a repeat scenario that happened prior to the 2008 season that left the Spartans high and dry without three of their top players.

Along with Petry and Tropp, many thought junior forward Andrew Rowe also might leave school early. But he hasn’t been drafted by an NHL team, and Comley said Rowe told him “he’s definitely not leaving.”

Comley said he understands if Petry and Tropp decide to leave, although he said their return would be a huge boost to the Spartans’ lineup next season. Comley just doesn’t want to see them get stuck in the AHL.

“You talk to every one of our kids that left here to go in the American League and they don’t like it,” Comley said. “They all dream that they are going to play in the NHL. But I think it’s a waste of time to leave school to play in the American League.”

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