The Penn State men's hockey team is slowly building its repertoire in NCAA Division I hockey.
In the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft on June 27, future Nittany Lion Jackson Smith was selected No. 14 overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets. On Saturday, June 28, current Penn State center Charlie Cerrato was selected in the second round by the Carolina Hurricanes. He was the 49th overall draft pick.
Penn State men's hockey forward Charlie Cerrato is drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes No. 49 overall
The rising sophomore was unexpectedly chosen by the Hurricanes. Cerrato was ranked 110th out of the eligible athletes, so going in the second round was certainly a surprise.
Carolina's draft strategies have always been unconventional. Its known for trading away first round picks to acquire more picks in later rounds. In the 2025 NHL Draft, the Hurricanes traded its Friday night first round selection to Chicago and received picks 39 and 62 in return. On Saturday, the 34th pick was traded to Montreal for No. 41 and No. 49. Carolina also has the 87th pick in round three from Tampa Bay, round four's No. 125, round six's No. 183 from the Lightning and No. 189 from Canadiens, and round seven's No. 221.
With the Nittany Lions in 2024-25, Cerrato skated in 38 games and was the second-highest scorer on the team. He had 42 points on 15 goals (two power play goals) and 27 assists, which led him to becoming No. 2 in the country in points and assists by a freshman and third in goal-scoring among freshmen. In the Big Ten, he was the conference's leader among freshmen in points, assists, and goals. Cerrato also ended the season plus 16.
In Penn State's upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Cerrato had three assists against Maine and followed that performance in the Frozen Four with two assists against UConn.
During conference playoffs, Cerrato tallied five assists and one goal. He had three assists against Michigan in the first best-of-three game and a fourth in game two. He also tallied a goal in the second game. Against Ohio State in the semifinals, Cerrato had one assist.
Cerrato was the fourth current Big Ten prospect selected in the 2025 NHL Draft. Michigan had two players, No. 24 overall William Horcoff and No. 48 Shane Vansaghi. Wisconsin's Logan Hensler was No. 23 overall.
Penn State Nittany Lions selected in the 2025 NHL Draft
Future teammate Kieran Dervin was also selected in the 2025 NHL Draft. Dervin will be joining the Nittany Lions in the 2026-27 season. He went to Vancouver as a third-rounder and No. 65 overall. Shea Busch of the Western Hockey League and also a Nittany Lion commit went in the fourth round to Florida No. 128 overall. Kale Dach, another Penn State commit, was a seventh-rounder that went No. 201 overall to the Penguins.
Lev Katzin, William Tomko, and Liam Beamish have yet to be selected, but that was to be expected. The three went into the draft as anticipated late-rounders.