51ºÚÁÏ

Standing out was difficult at Blues development camp, which lasted just four days last week.

One immediate standout, however, was defenseman Colin Ralph — in a physical sense, at least.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, Ralph is hard to miss on the ice. The 2024 second-round pick found the week productive.

“Try and learn something every day,� Ralph said on what he wanted to accomplish. “Learn as much as I can from the other players. ... And then, just reconnect with guys. A lot of these guys might be my future teammates.�

After playing his freshman season at St. Cloud State (about an hour north from his hometown of Maple Grove, Minnesota), Ralph is transferring to Michigan State with three years of eligibility remaining.

While the Huskies are a storied program (16 NCAA Tournament appearances in the 21st century), the Spartans also are an upper-echelon NCAA squad. They’ve won three national championships and have 11 Frozen Four appearances. Recently, MSU is fresh off of two consecutive Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles, becoming the first program in Big Ten history to accomplish such a feat.

“I was really impressed with the way they conducted professionalism within their program,� Ralph said. “They have similar goals to me, and the coaching staff and the resources they have there ... (it’s) just too good of an opportunity to pass up in my eyes.�

Michigan State is coached by Adam Nightingale, the 2024 Big Ten coach of the year who helped push his alma mater back to national relevance since being hired in 2022. Prior to the 2023-24 season, MSU hadn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2012.

Plus, his efforts have helped some Spartans to the NHL. MSU has had three draft picks over the past two years, including the No. 2 overall pick in 2024, defenseman Artyom Levshunov (Chicago). Blues assistant general manager Tim Taylor thinks a year in East Lansing will be a great help for the 19-year-old Ralph.

“I think that team’s going to be very good. A lot of players that are going to Michigan State all have the same aspirations and dreams of playing in the NHL,� Taylor said. “As a group, they’re going to push each other, and I think that they’re going to have a great year, and he’ll benefit from it.�

In addition to playing for a lauded program, Ralph will get an extra year in the NCAA, which Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said will help Ralph improve physically.

“College hockey is beneficial in some ways because of the training,� Armstrong said. “You get to get bigger, stronger. More days in the gym, less games.�

Despite Ralph’s youth, he’s already accomplished quite a bit on the ice. After a brief stint locally with Kirkwood High during the 2021-22 season, he played two seasons for the 18-under team at Shattuck-St. Mary’s, a college prep hockey powerhouse about an hour south of Minneapolis. Notable alumni include Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Toews and many more. Nightingale coached the school’s Bantam team from 2014-16.

Ralph helped Shattuck-St. Mary’s to consecutive Youth Tier I 18U national championships in 2023 and 2024, logging 91 assists across the two seasons. Last year, he played for the U.S. at the U20 World Juniors, where the Americans won the gold medal.

“I’ve always been taught that winning is a skill, and that’s something they really hammered home at Shattuck,� Ralph said. “Not just being able to win but being able to replicate it and do it consistently.�

“Obviously, it’s harder and harder to do at each level you go up, but being a winner is something that people can’t really take away from you. I think if you bring that, guys recognize it, and it just helps the whole team.�

In his lone season at St. Cloud State, he made the NCHC All-Rookie team, tallying eight points in 35 games.

Since the start of last season, Ralph said he’s improved his confidence, a major boost for a player whose elite defensive IQ and skating ability have drawn rave reviews from scouts. Combined with his unique size, Ralph’s NHL prospects are awfully bright.

For years, Ralph has stood out on the ice, both physically and statistically. He’ll look to keep building upon his past success in East Lansing.

“I think we’re going to have a lot of good players coming in, and we’re going to have a really good team. I think we’ll be in the running for a national championship,� Ralph said. “Hopefully, I’ll play a big part in that.�