Michigan State is undergoing a hockey renaissance unlike anything seen since Ron Mason. Forward Daniel Russell is an example of everything that is right with Adam Nightingale's program.

The most recent United States College Hockey Organization (USCHO) Poll still has Michigan State ranked at No. 2 in the country. The Spartans received seven first-place votes, nonetheless. The Green and White had been No. 1 for a good part of the 2024-2025 hockey season.

Coming off an outright and Big Ten Tournament title, both firsts for the program, Adam Nightingale's squad looks even better than the previous season's.

Nightingale's turnaround of a once-proud hockey tradition has been nothing short of incredible. In Year 3, his accumulative record sits at a healthy 63-31-8. His NHL pipeline, maybe even healthier.

That is one of the key catalysts to the Nightingale tenure -- landing blue-chip hockey talent. One reliable source told me it is a product of the current college hockey renaissance that has been put into motion by NIL; players from the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) are choosing the NCAA for its offering of the best of both worlds -- fiscal benefits and a college training program that boosts their physical development more than the grind of junior puck.

Perhaps the biggest example of this NCAA vs. major junior hockey argument was seen over a decade ago in former Michigan State defenseman Torey Krug, who was able to make the adjustment with the Boston Bruins and contribute sooner than most despite his small stature (5-foot-9, 194 pounds) and UDFA status.

Now, consider the fact that members of the CHL will be eligible to play collegiately starting the 2025-2026 season. That will enhance Nightingale's talent pool by a wide margin.

Nightingale might be one of the best recruiters in the country, and one former highly successful Big Ten hockey player told me it is because of the incredible connections the Spartans coach has throughout the pro and minor levels; Nightingale doesn't have to leave East Lansing to make big moves on the trail, thanks to those connections.

But what about the Nightingale prototype? Is it hockey prowess? Good hands, skating ability, vision on the ice? Forwards comfortable in their own end, defenseman that serviceable moving the puck? Is it the little things like edge work and stick positioning? Toughness?

Perhaps it is a combination of all of those; and perhaps the best example of what Nightingale has done so well in East Lansing, where he played under one of the best to ever do it, Ron Mason, is junior forward Daniel Russell. Yes, a Danton Cole commit, but nonetheless the right kind of player for Nightingale.

Russell was not a highly touted prospect like Artyom Levshunov (No. 2 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft), and he isn't a big-time point producer like fellow junior Isaac Howard, who leads the nation with 39.

Russell is a reliable top-sixer who stresses the details as much as Nightingale. That is the difference.

"He's a competitive player, a smart player, and he's very athletic," Nightingale said of Russell, per College Hockey News. "I know he's not the biggest guy, but pound for pound, might be our most explosive athlete on our team. So, and right from the start, he's been really good for our team. He plays in all situations. He is on the penalty kill. He's on the power play with the goalie out, with the goalie in. He's out there and just continues to improve.”

Nightingale called the legacy prospect's background "humble," Russell bounced around from USHL to the grind-heavy North American Hockey League, which one source told me has earned every bit of its nickname -- the "Viet-NAHL." That hockey background (and fortitude) is exactly what the Spartans want, according to Nightingale.

"Guys that want to come and earn it, and nothing's ever been handed to Danny,” Nightingale said. “He went down to the North American [Hockey] League and got called back up to the USHL and then back to the North American League."

What will make the Nightingale era special won't be the fact he brings in the big names. It will be because he gets the right ones.

In hockey, that philosophy is often stated in press conferences, with the flashing cameras and rolling video. Putting it on the ice? A lot more difficult.

Michael France is Sports Illustrated's Michigan State recruiting beat writer, covering all things Big Ten recruiting for Spartan Nation. Be sure to follow him on Twitter/X@michaelfrancesi for exclusive Spartans recruiting coverage.

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MSU's Nightingale Era Summed Up By One Player