UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- Christian Sarlo is finally at Penn State and extremely eager to show everyone what he's got.
The Lynnbrook, New York, native is coming off two productive seasons in the USHL. Sarlo spent last season with the Lincoln Stars and 2018-19 as a member of the Chicago Steel. He tallied 44 points last season, which was second on his team. That included 21 goals and 23 assists. Sarlo will look to carry that offensive production over to Penn State.
For Sarlo, the biggest transition now will be adjusting to the higher level of play in the Big Ten. It's hard to tell the difference between the two leagues in just practice, but he knows once the games start, that will change.
The focus right now for Sarlo is trying to get himself adjusted and working towards getting on the level of his older teammates.
"You get to see how we play and compare yourself to them," Sarlo said. You see where they're at and where you're at."
Another adjustment for Sarlo, like most of his teammates, is going to be playing live hockey games for the first time in close to seven or eight months when the season rolls around. The pandemic was tough for him and hearing the news his team in Lincoln wouldn't be able to finish its season was heartbreaking.
Sarlo and his team had just returned to Lincoln from Green Bay when the news broke. They were all feeling good after a come-from-behind win, but those feelings quickly evaporated and turned into angst about the unknown future.
"I was hanging out with my roommates and saw the NBA shut down," Sarlo said. "We said if they're shutting down, it doesn't look good for us. The next day at practice, they told us we're going home for two weeks."
Obviously, it was a lot longer than two weeks. Sarlo returned home to New York and it would be another month-and-a-half until he could return to a gym. Fortunately, a friend of his had a home gym, so he was able to take advantage of that.
It wasn't easy living in New York, where the pandemic hit the hardest early on. Sarlo tried to do everything he could to stay safe.
"It was pretty scary," Sarlo said. "We tried to be as smart as we could. It was me, my brother and my parents staying home and not taking any risks."
Now at Penn State, Sarlo is adjusting to college life and to playing hockey at a higher level. All of the things that drew him to Penn State have remained true. He knew how good of a school it was and had already formed relationships with some of the players.
"When I visited it was the first or second week of classes," Sarlo said. "It was a beautiful campus that was buzzing with people who all seemed to be in a great mood. I could see why they call it Happy Valley."
Many factors led Sarlo to choose to play for the Nittany Lions. One of the big ones was head coach Guy Gadowsky. One of the things Sarlo values most is being able to form a strong relationship with his head coach. That is something he feels will be easy with Gadowsky.
"I can tell he really cares about his players and makes connections with them," Sarlo said.
As time continues on, and Penn State inches closer to the season, Sarlo will continue to find ways to make an impact. He knows that this freshmen class has big shoes to fill, after last year's team lost double-digit players, and arguably the best senior class in Nittany Lion history.
But that is something that doesn't intimidate Sarlo. Ultimately, he is going to try and be the best player he can be and not focus on filling anyone else's shoes. When it comes to his role, Sarlo doesn't want to assume anything and will continue to work hard for everything.
"I don't want to predict my role," Sarlo said. "I want to do whatever coach wants me to do to help the guys around me."
Relying on previous leadership experience, Sarlo will look to use that in whatever way he can. He wants to be a good communicator on the ice and continue to gain his teammates' trust. Sarlo has a lot of attributes he'll use to achieve that goal.
"I'm a hard-working, 200-foot player," Sarlo said. "I think my best asset is my hockey IQ. I like to analyze what's going on out there and make the right play. Then, I like setting up my teammates."
It remains to be seen what Sarlo's output on the ice will be this upcoming season. But, one thing that is known for sure is he has what it takes to make a strong impact for the Nittany Lions in his time here.
