Meet Penn State Hockey's Star-Studded Recruiting Class

The most intriguing team in men's college hockey is Penn State, which turned a Frozen Four run into an elite recruiting class. The Nittany Lions signed nine players this offseason, includung Gavin McKenna, the consensus No. 1 overall pick of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft cycle.

Penn State's recruiting class also includes the program's first first-round draft pick, seven skaters who combined for 201 goals last season and head coach Guy Gadowsky's son. The class will join a roster that returns 85 percent of its goal-scoring and 75 percent of its total offense, led by Aiden Fink, who paced the Big Ten in points (53) and assists (30) last season.

Here's a look at Penn State hockey's 2025-26 recruiting class, which kicks off the season Oct. 3 at Arizona State.

Gavin McKenna

Penn State made hockey news this summer when McKenna, the 17-year-old Canadian star, announced his commitment to the Nittany Lions. McKenna was named the WHL and CHL Player of the Year last season after leading the Medicine Hat Tigers to the WHL title. McKenna scored 129 points in a season in which he became the third-youngest MVP in league history behind Sidney Crosby and John Tavares.

McKenna finished the regular season with a 40-game points streak and a 54-game streak overall, the longest in the CHL since 2000.

Lev Katzin

The 18-year-old forward helped Team Canada to gold at the U18 World Championships, where he scored four goals and had six assists in seven games. Katzin played the remainder of last season with the Guelph Storm in the UHL, totaling 48 points in 44 games. He was named the team's Rookie of the Year.

Luke Misa

The Calgary Flames selected Misa, a 19-year-old forward, in the fifth round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. Misa arrived at Penn State after playing four seasons in the OHL with the Mississauga/Brampton Steelheads. Misa produced consecutive 80-point seasons, scoring 34 goals last year. He added two goals and 10 assists in six Steelheads playoff games.

Shea Van Olm

The 21-year-old forward is a five-year veteran of the WHL, most recently playing for the Spokane Chiefs. He led the league in scoring (49 goals) and finished ninth with 92 points in 66 regular-season games. Van Olm also has played for the Edmonton Oil Kings and the Kamloops Blazers.

Mac Gadowsky

The 23-year-old Gadowsky will play for his father after spending the past two seasons at Army West Point. Gadowsky was among the NCAA's top defensemen last season, becoming Army's first player to be named a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. Penn State is the only team with two Baker Award finalists in Gadowsky and Fink.

Gadowsky scored 42 points last season, the highest at Army since 2003 and fourth-highest for a defenseman in AHA history. Gadowsky was named the AHA Defenseman of the Year and a first-team All-American.

Jackson Smith

The 18-year-old Smith became the first Nittany Lion to be drafted in the first round, when the Columbus Blue Jackets called his name 14th overall in the 2025 draft. Smith produced a career-high 54 points in 68 games for the WHL's Tri-City Americans last season. He was named the WHL's Rookie of the Year in 2023-24 and its Defenseman of the Year in 2024-25.