Right wing Steve Jackson and forward Pat Brush have both left the Spartan hockey team, MSU head coach Rick Comley confirmed Monday.
Jackson, who would have been a senior, and Brush, who would have been a junior, are the third and fourth players to prematurely leave the team since Comley replaced Ron Mason in March.
Last month, junior goaltender Ryan Miller left the Spartans to sign with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres and sophomore defenseman Aaron Hundt transferred to Wayne State.
Both Jackson and Brush voluntarily quit the team, Comley said. Attempts to reach the two players were unsuccessful Monday.
The loss of Jackson is the bigger blow to the Spartans. The 6-foot, 187-pounder from Bloomfield Hills played most of last season on MSU’s second line, scoring five goals and seven assists in 36 games.
In his career, Jackson had seven goals and 11 assists in 95 games after joining the Spartans midway through the 1999-2000 season.
“Anytime you lose a player with experience, it’s too bad,” Comley said. “But he left me a phone message saying he had different priorities and a different interest level.
“I think it might be the best thing for everyone. My understanding was that he played some games and didn’t play others (at MSU), and he never really established himself.”
Jackson, 21, was always one of the best skaters on the Spartans, but he never seemed to live up to his potential. He had an above-average slap shot, but he often fired from difficult angles or while fading away from the net.
Last year, he ranked seventh on the team with 83 shots, but his 12 points left him 13th in overall scoring.
Exactly why Jackson quit the team is a mystery, but a source close to the player said he irked coaches by traveling around the country this summer instead of conditioning.
When asked where Jackson spent his summer, Comley replied, “Florida, Las Vegas, New York. Who knows?”
Brush, a walk-on, only played two games in his three injury-plagued seasons with MSU. The 5-foot-8, 165-pound Birmingham native never recorded a point. He redshirted during the 1999-2000 season after dislocating his knee, and he also battled back problems.
“If you’re not in the lineup, just practicing all the time can get to be a grind,” Comley said.
Comley thinks Brush is pursuing a professional hockey career. Brush’s father is the president and general manager of the Florida Everblades in the East Coast Hockey League, although it’s not known if that is the team Brush is eyeing.
Despite the recent spate of defections, Comley said he remains confident in the Spartans.
“Change always creates turnover. But when you start losing the (Jim) Slaters, the (Ash) Goldies and the (Mike) Lalondes, that’s when you start to worry,” Comley said, referring to three sophomore forwards.
“We were in a position where players were going to have to be cut anyway because of the number of players we brought in.”
Comley still plans to add a walk-on, third-string goaltender, which will bring the MSU roster to 28 players. He said he will cut one or two players before the season starts.
