Meet Hockey Valley's official recruiting class of 2025-26

Penn State men's hockey is one month away from its first puck drop of the season. Coming off its best season in program history with a 22-14-4 overall, 9-11-4 Big Ten record and its first Frozen Four appearance, Hockey Valley is becoming a hot spot. The Nittany Lions recruited seven incoming freshmen and two transfers this upcoming season. Projected No. 1 overall 2026 NHL Draft pick Gavin McKenna headlines the group.

Meet the new faces on Penn State men's hockey's roster.

Penn State men's hockey brings in seven freshmen for 2025-26, all from the CHL

Jackson Smith committed to Penn State on June 15. In the 2025 NHL Draft, the defenseman was the No. 14 overall selection, going in the first round to the Columbus Blue Jackets. He will wear No. 7 for the Nittany Lions.

With the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League (WHL), Smith logged 54 points on 11 goals and 43 assists in 2024-25. He also had four goals and one assist in the U18 World Juniors Championship for Team Canada, which brought home the gold medal in the tournament.

The biggest transition from juniors to college for defensemen is hammering down on the actual defense side of the position, whether it's controlling backwards skating or closing seams and not screening the goaltender. Smith is still developing his shot, though, offensively and wasn't relied on heavily for goal-scoring in the WHL. The first-rounder should not be overwhelmed in adjusting defensively to the NCAA, especially with an older, experienced group at Penn State's backend.

Luke Misa announced his Nittany Lion commitment on May 5 rather than go into the National Hockey League (NHL) from the CHL. He told The Hockey Writers he wanted a couple more years before starting his professional career, and now with the recent rule changes for CHL players, the NCAA was the perfect route for him. Misa was the No. 150 overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft. The Calgary Flames drafted him in the fifth round. The forward will wear No. 11 for Penn State.

In 2024-25, Misa recorded 85 points on 34 goals and 51 assists with the Ontario Hockey League's (OHL) Brampton Steelheads. His speed and transition from defense to scoring is impressive for a young forward. Given a breakout opportunity, opponents better watch out for this new Nittany lion on the ice.

Lev Katzin was an early 2025-26 commitment for Penn State. The forward committed on Oct. 17, 2024, and transitioned from the United States Hockey League's (USHL) Green Bay Gamblers to the OHL's Guelph Storm after the rule change allowed him to play out the 2024-25 season in the CHL. He was a surprising undrafted prospect in the 2025 NHL Draft. Katzin will wear No. 33 for the Nittany Lions.

Katzin had 48 points on 16 goals and 32 assists with th Guelph Storm in 2024-25. He also had a 10-point performance in the U18 World Juniors Championship for Team Canada, posting four goals and six assists.

As a smaller player at five-foot-eight-inches, Katzin will have a lot of physicality to enhance in the NCAA. Though he has a year of the CHL under his belt, the USHL is not a dominant junior league and often takes roughly a year for forwards, especially, to adjust physically to the speedy, physical, and aggressive collegiate-level game.

Josh Fleming announced his commitment on January 22. After Penn State lost goaltender Arsenii Sergeev after the 2024-25 season, it'll need to get young guys meaningful reps to adjust. The incoming freshman will wear No. 34 for the Nittany Lions.

Fleming had a .908 save percentage in 2024-25 over 53 games and 3,000 minutes played with the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League's (QMJHL) Acadie-Bathurst Titan in 2024-25. He had a 3.08 goals allowed on average as well with 157 pucks going past him out of 1,542 shots faced. Fleming also posted two shutouts.

McKenna committed to Penn State on July 8. He is projected to be the No. 1 overall draft selection in the 2026 NHL Draft and the Nittany Lions reportedly put a lot of NIL funds aside to get him in Happy Valley. He's the headliner of this class, and arguably the Penn State team in its entirety. All eyes will be on the former CHL forward as he transitions into the college lifestyle on campus and collegiate sheet on skates. McKenna will wear No. 72 this season as a 17-year-old freshman during his draft year.

With the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL, he finished 2024-25 with 129 points on 41 goals and 88 assists. He also found the back of the net once in the U20 World Juniors Championship for Team Canada against Finland in a 4-0 win. Fans shouldn't expect McKenna to come fresh out of the locker room scoring points and logging assists left and right. There will still be a transition period even for this generational talent. However, the jump to the NCAA will be a lot easier for him, especially coming from a better-developed junior league (the CHL) than the USHL.

"I'm kind of a guy who likes to pave his own path in a way. I think Penn State, the biggest reason I [committed] there was because [of] seeing what they did last year to go to the Frozen Four, being a newer type of school up-and-coming, it's exciting being a part of that," McKenna said in regards to him committing to Penn State. "I think they have a chance to win it, so that was a huge part of my decision and getting to play with some pretty amazing players . . . They've got the team to do it."

Nolan Collins committed to Penn State at the start of the new year. At six-foot-four-inches, he becomes the biggest Nittany Lion defenseman for the 2025-26 season. Collins will wear No. 77 for Penn State.

As an alternate captain for the OHL's Flint Firebirds in 2024-25, Collins logged 17 points on four goals and 13 assists. Similar to Smith, Collins will need some time to get comfortable with the NCAA level of hockey. It should be expected for the former Firebird to take a backseat and not be an immediate name on the linechart. If anything, he will start the season as an extra defensemen, and soon enough once the skill matches his size, he'll be more of a consistent face as the season goes on.

Shea Van Olm committed to Penn State on Jan. 14. Van Olm brings size to the Nittany Lions that their forward group needs to balance out the shorter guys, five-foot-10-inches and below. At six-feet-one-inch and 200 pounds, he can be put on a physical line or a smaller line to keep each shift competitive for Penn State.

In 2024-25, Van Olm logged 92 points on 49 goals and 43 assists with WHL's Spokane Chiefs as an alternate captain. It should be expected for Van Olm to become a reliable third- or fourth-liner for the Nittany Lions to start.

Penn State men's hockey adds two transfers for the 2025-26 season

Penn State not only got a top-10 Hobey Baker finalist from 2024-25 from the Transfer Portal, but head coach Guy Gadowsky got his son, Mac, in Happy Valley. Mac Gadowsky transferred from Army West Point to the Nittany Lions on April 16. He'll wear No. 4 at Penn State this season.

The first-team All-American logged 42 points on 16 goals and 26 assists as a defenseman for the Black Knight last season. He returns home to State College as a junior after being one of the most breakout stars as a sophomore. He should be expected to make the lineup as two spots opened up at defense after 2024-25.

Kevin Reidler completes the transfer pair. He transferred two days before Mac Gadowsky, making it official on April 14. Reidler was a fifth round selection by the Ottawa Senators in the 2022 NHL Draft, going No. 151 overall. He'll wear No. 35 for the Nittany Lions.

With Sergeev gone and senior John Seirfarth only having six games and just under 314 minutes under his belt, Reidler was a necessary addition to complete a goaltending trio and bring in more NCAA experience to the group, even if it's just a little. Reidler played eight games for Nebraska-Omaha in 2024-25, posting a .920 save percentage with 2.74 goals allowed on average.