Buffalo — The newest Michigan State defenseman had to wait around a little bit longer on draft night to hear his name called.
Chase Reid, a right-handed defenseman who spent last season with the OHL’s Soo Greyounds, went seventh overall to the Seattle Kraken in the 2026 NHL Draft at Buffalo’s KeyBank Center. The right-handed defenseman from Chesterfield, Mich., will skate for Adam Nightingale’s Spartans this coming season.
Reid was the fourth defenseman off the draft board and slipped a bit compared to pre-draft predictions. He could’ve gone as early as second by some projections, though he wound up slipping. Then again, maybe that was a blessing. After the second pick, Reid had to leave the draft floor to address some personal business.
“I was gonna pee my pants, so I had to go to the bathroom,” Reid said with a grin.
The landing spot in Seattle is one that Reid is happy with, he says.
“I can’t wait to get started,” Reid said. “It’s all in God’s hands. Whatever the best fit was, was gonna happen, and I think that’s what happened.”
The best fit wound up being from a team led by a former Michigan Wolverine. When Kraken general manager and former Michigan letterman Jason Botterill called Reid to welcome his new top prospect to the organization, of course the rivalry came up early.
“When I talked to him, he was like, ‘It didn’t kill me to draft a Michigan State player this time,'” Reid said.
Reid is the highest drafted defenseman for Michigan State since Artyom Levshunov, who went second overall to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2024 after a standout freshman season at Michigan State. He ended up signing with Chicago that offseason. This time, Michigan State will gets its star defenseman post-draft, with Reid expected to play a defining role on the blue line of a roster shaping up to be one of the best in both the Big Ten and the NCAA.
Reid, who turned 18 in December and measures in at 6-foot-2 and 194 pounds, is an active puckmover whose playmaking stands out as his premier asset. Reid heard from NHL teams that he needs to work on the defensive side of his game, which he intends to address at Michigan State after making progress with the Greyhounds.
“Everybody really said that I didn’t have a defensive side to my game, and I just want to prove everyone wrong like I have my whole life. I took that to heart and really stepped into that,” Reid said.
Despite being healthy scratched by USHL Waterloo in 2024 before being sent down to the second-tier NAHL’s Bismarck Bobcats, Reid broke out as a star over the past two seasons. He found his rhythm in the NAHL, then thrived almost immediately after his transfer to the Soo Greyhounds, an avenue opened up by new NCAA eligibility rules regarding Canadian major juniors.
Seven goals and 36 assists in 44 games played his first season with Soo made Reid an all-rookie selection in the OHL. Last season, as a second-year draft eligible playing 30 minutes of ice time some nights, Reid took his game a step further with 21 goals and 33 assists in 55 games, 10 of those in the OHL playoffs. He also starred for the U.S. National Team at the 2024 World Junior Championship, though the Americans did not medal after back-to-back gold in 2023 and 2024. Reid had two goals and two assists in five World Junior appearances.
Reid will come to Michigan State as part of a major recruiting class that includes fellow first-round hopefuls winger Ethan Belchetz (Windsor Spitfires), winger Nikita Klepov (Saginaw Spirit), center Jack Hextall (Youngstown Phantoms) as well as 2025 first-round pick goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen (Prince George Cougars).
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@ConnorEaregood
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Chesterfield’s Chase Reid drafted seventh overall by Kraken in NHL Draft
Reporting by Connor Earegood, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Connor Earegood, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
