Penn State’s unlikely Frozen Four run ended in a heartbreak at the hands of Boston University.
Despite the agonizing defeat, a new hope became prevalent in State College. Eight skaters made their departures, but not only are the Nittany Lions returning their top four point scorers, the Frozen Four run helped bring in a plethora of new talent to Hockey Valley.
As Penn State enters the 2025-26 season with championship aspirations, here’s how the team should line up.
Projected Lines:
First line: Shea Van Olm – Reese Laubach – Aiden Fink
Reasoning:
Let’s just get the obvious out of the way — Reese Laubach will be centering Aiden Fink. The rising juniors have paired well together throughout the past two seasons and the massive uptick in production from Fink in Year 2 was heavily correlated to how the two play off each other.
Manning the left wing is the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) leading goalscorer Shea Van Olm. Standing 6-foot-1, the lefty forward is a dominant offensive presence that makes a living standing netfront.
Van Olm is a near-perfect replacement for the departure of Danny Dzhaniyev, adding not only elite scoring, but also physicality to a line that struggled with it in last season’s Frozen Four run.
Second line: Matt DiMarsico – Charlie Cerrato – JJ Wiebusch
Reasoning:
Penn State’s second line took the NCAA by storm last year. Despite being deemed as the team’s ‘second line,’ Matt DiMarsico, Charlie Cerrato and JJ Wiebusch were clearly the most productive unit. The trio ranked 2-4 on the club in points and led the team in postseason scoring by a wide margin.
While the production from last season was eye-catching, the line consisted of two freshmen and a sophomore. Another offseason of growth and an extra year to build chemistry could take this unit to new heights, and there is no doubt coach Guy Gadowsky runs it back in 2025.
Third line: Lev Katzin – Luke Misa – Andrew Kuzma
Reasoning:
While the first two lines consist of familiar faces, the third could be quite the opposite. Two newcomers — Lev Katzin and Luke Misa — headline this unit, with Andrew Kuzma rounding it out at the right wing.
Both Katzin and Misa play a rather similar game. Although undersized, standing 5-foot-8 and 5-foot-10 respectively, both forwards are dynamic on offense and create a multitude of high-danger scoring chances. The Eliteprospects 2024 NHL draft guide mentions “speed is the name of Misa’s game” and that he’s “dynamite in transition, impacting the puck on every shift.”
Katzin, while dangerous at even strength, does a ton of his damage on the man-advantage. According to Neutral Zone, an in-depth amatuer scouting resource, Katzin “consistently manipulates defenders with body position and edge work, and finds seams with purpose on the power play.” The 18-year-old has a middle-round draft grade and his speed and playmaking will pair well with Misa, making the unit a handful in transition.
Despite being a true center, slotting into the right wing position should be Kuzma. The rising sophomore underwent heart surgery on Nov. 22, 2024, missing his entire freshman campaign. However, he was seen skating in a red non-contact jersey during practice prior to the Allentown Regionals. The 20-year-old adds some size to this trio and a prominent presence netfront.
Fourth line: Dane Dowiak – Keaton Peters – Ben Schoen
Rounding out the blue and white’s depth chart, Dane Dowiak, Keaton Peters and Ben Schoen could be a gritty fourth line. With a potential debate between who gets the fourth center position — Schoen, Peters, Kuzma or Nicholas DeGraves — Guy Gadowsky should stick Peters in the middle.
Penn State was a dominant faceoff team and Peters was a large part of it, winning 54.9% of his draws. As the season waned and everyone was healthy, Guy Gadowsky went with Dowiak on the left wing and Peters in the middle consistently.
Schoen, despite being a center, is the easy choice to kick out to the right wing due to his natural scoring ability.
Projected Defense Pairings:
First pairing: Jackson Smith – Nolan Collins
Reasoning:
Sunday afternoon, Penn State received a commitment from Jackson Smith, a top-10 projected 2025 NHL entry draft pick. His elite skating and offensive prowess will be hard to handle, so pairing him with a 6-foot-4, stout right-handed defense in Nolan Collins would make this defense pairing quite hard to score on.
Second pairing: Cade Christenson – Jarod Crespo
Reasoning:
With Simon Mack departing for the AHL and Jimmy Dowd Jr. finishing his career with the Nittany Lions, both Cade Christenson and Jarod Crespo are out to find a new partner to man the blue line. Pairing arguably Penn State’s best defensive defenseman in Christenson and a veteran in Crespo is an ideal solution for Guy Gadowsky.
Third pairing: Mac Gadowsky – Casey Aman
Reasoning:
Garnering a commitment from a left-handed defenseman in Smith potentially bumps Mac Gadowsky down to the third defense pairing, as Christenson also shoots with his left hand. Carter Schade, Casey Aman’s 2024-25 defense partner, gets replaced by a top-10 Hobey Baker finalist and one of the best offensive defenseman in the country.
Partnering Mac Gadowsky with Aman will give some defensive stability to this pairing as Gadowsky is neither physical nor dominant on the defensive side of the puck.
Projected Goaltenders:
Starting netminder: Kevin Reidler
Backup netminder: Josh Fleming
Third-string netminder: John Seifarth
Reasoning:
Guy Gadowsky got his guy in Kevin Reidler immediately after former Penn State goaltender Arsenii Sergeev inked a contract with the Calgary Flames. Standing 6-foot-6, the Ottawa Senators draftee will man the pipes for the Nittany Lions in 2025 barring injury.
Josh Fleming and John Seifarth are the obvious backups with Noah Grannan the odd-man out following a tough 2024-25 season.
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Guy Gadowsky continues to build momentum off of his program’s Frozen Four run.
| First Take
