Minnesota State junior defenseman Jon Jutzi left school for undisclosed personal reasons this past September, with hopes that he would re-enroll in school and re-join the team sometime after Christmas.
It's now after Christmas, and Shane Frederick of the Mankato Free Press reports that Jutzi is still on track to do just that. Minnesota State head coach Mike Hastings told Frederick that Jutzi is enrolled in school for the second semester and is skating with the team.
While Hastings said he would wait to see how Jutzi performed in practice before inserting him into the line-up, there's little doubt that his presence would improve the MSU blue line if he was able to perform near the same level he did in the previous two years. Jutzi is a quiet, reliable defensive defenseman and an excellent shot blocker that would give the Mavericks a strong stay-at-home defensive presence.