One of the biggest losses the MSU hockey team suffered following last season was the graduation of defenseman John-Michael Liles.
A confident kid with a constant smile on his face, according to MSU head coach Rick Comley, the Zionsville, Ind., native plays for the Colorado Avalanche and is in contention for the Calder Trophy, awarded to the NHL's Rookie of the Year.
Michel Goulet, Vice President of Player Personnel for Colorado, said Liles is day-to-day with a bruised knee injury he suffered Tuesday. The Colorado organization has a policy in place regarding injured players speaking to the media.
Goulet said what he's seen from Liles is his love for the game.
"He's a positive guy," Goulet said. "I really believe he enjoys playing hockey and practicing - it's nice to see that."
The fans in Colorado have embraced the former Spartan because of what he brings to the ice every day, Goulet said.
"They enjoy what he does best - moving and skating," he said. "We know he's not the biggest guy, but he's willing to do whatever it is to do on the ice."
Jeff Mackie, Web columnist and statistics editor for The Hockey News, said he's been pleasantly surprised this season with Liles' poise under pressure for someone his age.
Mackie saw Liles play when the Avalanche visited Toronto in a loss to the Maple Leafs last Saturday.
"You look at him, (you don't think) he's necessarily 23," Mackie said. "He's an excellent skater that can move the puck well. That's what I got from the game."
Even though Colorado's blueline already boasts All-Stars Rob Blake and Adam Foote, if Liles isn't back by April 7, the start of the playoffs, it would be a big loss for the Western Conference powerhouse. Liles averages a little over 16 minutes of ice time each game.
"Depending on the severity of the injury, to lose a player like Liles as they enter the playoffs - as good as Colorado is …" Mackie said, adding that the loss of Derek Morris, a good puck-moving defenseman, will hurt.
Comley and Mackie agree Liles has been a regular in the lineup because of the style of head coach Tony Granato who played at Wisconsin. Mackie agrees.
"There are so many offensive players in Colorado," Mackie said. "It helps that they're looking for defenseman looking to move the puck well and rush and compliment the forwards.
"That's pretty much the style Colorado plays - that up-tempo style - and so does he."
Liles' mark as a Spartan is felt in East Lansing. He led the team in scoring in his last two years at MSU, was a Hobey Baker finalist as college hockey's top player, was a two-time All-American and a two-time member of the All-CCHA First Team.
He wrapped up his career as the top goal-scoring defenseman in MSU history and became the third-highest scoring defenseman with 138 career points.
The current team has had to pick up the scoring slack of Liles and Brad Fast, last year's captain who finished four points behind Liles. To say the current Spartans team misses their offense would be an understatement.
"They made everybody a better offensive player because they joined the rush so much, they created the scoring chances," Comley said. "Everybody picked up more points.
"Nobody lost two players of that magnitude. Nobody in the country."
Last season, Liles' locker buddy was current sophomore forward David Booth, who said Liles had the respect from every single teammate.
"I looked up to him," Booth recalls. "He led by on-ice example and off-ice. He embraced me as a freshman and he was just a great leader and a great athlete."
Booth said he's kept in contact with the Spartans' former assistant captain and knows how much he's enjoying his current team.
"He loves it there, he tells me he rooms with Joe Sakic (and) sits next to Peter Forsberg in the locker room," Booth said. "It's amazing that he's sitting next to me the previous year and now he's sitting next to some of those guys.
"Who wouldn't love to play in Colorado?"
