Senior forward Thomas Ebbing (28) skates one last time around the rink after the game against Penn State on Feb. 25, 2017 at Munn Ice Arena. The Spartans were defeated by the Nittany Lions, 4-1.
—Following graduation, two former MSU hockey players will be continuing their professional careers, after the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL announced May 26 they have agreed to terms with free agent forward Thomas Ebbing.
The Canadiens said in the press release Ebbing inked a one-year two-way contract with their AHL and ECHL affiliates for the 2017-18 season.
In his final season with the Spartans, the 22-year-old Ebbing scored three goals and 13 assists in 2016-17. As a junior, Ebbing — a Troy, Mich., native — was named MSU's Most Improved Player after completing a career-best 19-point season, and also had 59 blocked shots, the fourth-most among forwards in the NCAA.
Ebbing will join former teammate and defenseman Rhett Holland, who signed an ECHL contract with the Idaho Steelheads on March 20, announced by head coach and Director of Hockey Operations Neil Graham.
Holland played 139 games for MSU, spanning five seasons. Holland was a fourth-round draft pick of the Arizona Coyotes in 2012 and spent four seasons at MSU with Steelheads defenseman Travis Walsh.
Holland, a Calgary native, played three seasons in the Alberta Junior Hockey League prior to college, where he skated for the Okotoks Oilers from 2009-2012 and scored eight goals, recording 32 points in 135 junior games.
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