As one of the most heralded skaters in MSU’s highly touted, eight-player recruiting class, freshman defenseman Duncan Keith had plenty of expectations coming into his rookie season.
He furthered his reputation by scoring in his first collegiate game, “The Cold War.” His laserlike slap shot helped the Spartans tie archrival Michigan, 3-3.
He tallied again in his fifth game, a 4-3 loss to Nebraska-Omaha on Oct. 26, and celebrated by tugging the front of his jersey in a show of his might.
In all, the 6-foot, 165-pounder from Penticton, British Columbia, racked up two goals and six assists in his first six games as a collegian and seemed to be backing up his brashness.
Then he went cold, icy cold.
He only managed one assist in November, two in December, and another in January. That’s four points and no goals in three months for a player who torched the British Columbia Junior Hockey League for 18 goals and 64 assists in 60 games last season.
“There’s ups and downs every year,” Keith said. “This is definitely my biggest drought I’ve had probably in all my life. But that’s all part of the learning process.”
Learning is exactly what Keith has been doing all season. Although he is a defenseman by trade, defense was not his strong suit coming into college. He admits he is still trying to master playing in his own zone and he also needs to bulk up his still-developing frame.
“He was learning things other than offense,” junior defenseman Brad Fast, Keith’s defensive partner, said of the drought. “He’s been improving all year - he’s getting stronger and smarter back there. Just because he wasn’t scoring doesn’t mean he was in a slump.”
Because of his booming slap shot and quickness, Keith stayed on one of MSU’s power play units despite his slump. He is one of the fastest and most agile skaters on the roster and has exceptionally quick acceleration.
Then, in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Notre Dame, Keith finally shined again. He benefited from a string of lucky bounces in the first period to notch his third goal of the season and assisted on Fast’s goal in the second for his 11th assist.
“I think he’s recognizing more and more the things he can do here,” MSU head coach Ron Mason said. “And he was rewarded with some points, finally, which I think is good for him. He’s a kid who’s used to getting a lot of points, so points mean a lot to him.”
Keith agreed.
“It’s nice to get the monkey off my back, that’s for sure,” said Keith, who is ranked the 69th best North American prospect in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. “Not scoring kind of bugged me at the start, but as the time wore on, it didn’t bug me as much.
“I just kept going out there and working as hard as I could and eventually one came to me. Hopefully I can get a few more.”
