A second-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers, Petry
will return to East Lansing for his sophomore
season in 2008-09. |
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Key Statistics: Petry
finished his freshman year with three goals and 21 helpers
for 24 points and was +2 on the season, earning him
a few notable additions to his personal trophy case.
After being tabbed as USA Hockey’s Junior Player
of the Year in 2007, Petry was named to the NCAA West
Regional All-Tournament Team, the CCHA All-Rookie team
and won Michigan State’s Top Rookie and Outstanding
Defenseman awards.
What He Does: To hear
Michigan State coach Rick Comley say it, Petry “doesn’t
really have any deficiencies.” He’s a complete
player who handles the puck well, has great skating
ability, can get physical and is strong defensively
as well. While people have been praising him for all
of these things since his days in Des Moines and at
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s High School in Michigan,
he continued to polish all parts of his game at Michigan
State.
The Bigger Picture: With
the early departure of forwards Justin Abdelkader and
Tim Kennedy, as well as blueliner Mike Ratchuk, Petry,
for better or worse, will be thrust into the spotlight
with Lerg this season as the team’s top two returning
players. Count on Petry playing a lot of minutes as
a member of the Spartans’ top defensive pairing
and on the power play. As for his future at Michigan
State beyond this year, it’s hard to say; the
Edmonton Oilers have certainly made it known that they
envision him suiting up in copper and blue in the not-too-distant
future. At least Petry has adequate mentorship about
what it takes to make it: his father, Dan, is a former
Major League Baseball All-Star and World Series-winning
pitcher.
Michigan State head coach Rick
Comley on Petry: “I thought that on some
nights he was our best player and other nights, he played
more like a freshman. All-in-all he’s certainly
an offensive defenseman and I think where we’ll
really see improvement this year is on the power play.”
—
James V. Dowd |
