No. 6 Penn State men's hockey struck gold with a generational talent in forward Gavin McKenna. Beyond him, though, the Nittany Lions have impressive players up and down the roster, like defenseman Jackson Smith or forward Luke Misa.
Penn State hockey disastrous weekend is exactly what the Nittany Lions feared
The most recent update in college hockey recruitment, allowing Canadian Hockey League (CHL) players to play in the NCAA rather than go through the United States Hockey League (USHL) first to do so panned on well for Penn State. Seven players on its roster came from CHL and another is on his way.
On Saturday, March 7, forward William Yared announced his commitment to the Nittany Lions' program via social media. The 2008-born prospect is projected to be a late-round draft pick of the 2026 NHL Draft. NHL Central Scouting has Yared ranked as the No. 163 North American recruit of the upcoming draft. The young center can join Penn State's squad as soon as the 2026-27 season.
‼️🚨BREAKING🚨‼️
— College Puck NXT (@CollegePuckNXT) March 7, 2026
The Penn State Nittany Lions have received a commitment from William Yared!
🦁🦁🦁
The ‘08 born Forward from Quebec has 25 points in 46 GP during the 2025-26 season for @SJSeaDogs
Ranked the #163 NA skater by @NHLCentralScout for the 2026 NHL Draft pic.twitter.com/COwbUSI9Yr
Four-star forward William Yared commits to Penn State men's hockey
Yared is a 4.5-star recruit from Quebec, Canada. He currently plays in the Quebec Maritimes Juniors Hockey League (QMJHL) and is in his second season with the Saint John Sea Dogs.
In the 2025-26 season, Yared has 25 points on 10 goals and 15 assists over 46 regular season games. During his first season in 2024-25, he logged 30 points on 14 goals and 16 assists over 58 contests. Yared is projected to accumulate a total of 28 points with an additional goal and two assists in the 2025-26 season, according to Elite Prospects.
While Yared is eligible to join the blue and white as early as the next upcoming regular season, it's unknown whether head coach Guy Gadowsky will call him up from the QMJHL. Penn State's group of centers currently includes junior Reese Laubach, sophomore standout Charlie Cerrato, freshman Misa, and sophomore Nic Chin-DeGraves.
It's unsure whether Laubach opts to take his fourth season with the Nittany Lions, as three-year plans are common in the NCAA. The alternate captain could return for the 2026-27 season, though, especially since captain Dane Dowiak announced his plans on returning after recovering from his season-ending injury. With Dowiak and Laubach back, Gadowsky might not need to fill in the roster. Misa and Cerrato are also excellent centers. Those four plus Chin DeGraves might be more than enough, especially given collegiate level experience at the faceoff dot.