FULL BIG TEN RELEASE
ROSEMONT, Ill. – Junior classmates Denis Smirnov (Moscow, Russia) and Nate Sucese (Fairport, N.Y.) have each been named to the 2018-19 Big Ten Preseason Watch List as announced by the conference office Monday morning.
The list is an elite group of 15 players from all seven Big Ten hockey schools. Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State each have three honorees while Minnesota joined Penn State with two and Notre Dame and Wisconsin each have one player recognized.
Since arriving on campus prior to the 2016-17 season both Smirnov and Sucese have been key pieces to Penn State's offense, which has ranked in the top five in almost every offensive category over the past two seasons.
Each player has finished in the top-5 for team scoring over the last two years with Smirnov collecting 74 points in 69 games on 34 goals and 40 assists while Sucese isn't far off the Russian's pace registering 65 points in 74 games on 31 goals and 34 assists.
Smirnov's 19 goals as a freshman ranked second on the team while his 15 last season paced the squad. Sucese has been right behind him ranking third as a freshman with 17 and second last year with 14.
The Nittany Lions were also picked fifth in the Big Ten Preseason Poll marking the first time in program history Penn State has been selected to finish lower than fourth in the conference standings.
Penn State captured the 2017 Big Ten Championship and has advanced to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments with a combined 43-27-7 record over the past two seasons.
2018-19 BIG TEN PRESEASON POLL
- Ohio State
- Michigan
- Notre Dame
- Minnesota
- Penn State
- Wisconsin
- Michigan State
2018-19 BIG TEN PRESEASON WATCH LIST#
QUINN HUGHES, MICH
Josh Norris, MICH
Jake Slaker, MICH
TARO HIROSE, MSU
Patrick Khodorenko, MSU
Mitch Lewandowski, MSU
Rem Pitlick, MINN
Tyler Sheehy, MINN
CALE MORRIS, ND
MASON JOBST, OSU
Dakota Joshua, OSU
TANNER LACZYNSKI, OSU
Denis Smirnov, PSU
Nate Sucese, PSU
WYATT KALYNUK, WIS
Unanimous selections in ALL CAPS
Penn State opens the 2018-19 season with its annual International Game against Brock on Saturday, October 6 before hosting Clarkson to open the regular season on Thursday, October 11 and Friday, October 12.