UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The season is just around the corner for Penn State men's hockey, and head coach Guy Gadowsky and players met with the media on Tuesday to discuss the upcoming season's opportunities.
Gadowsky and his group discussed several topics, including building off of a high level of play from the end of last season, senior captain Paul DeNaples's return as captain for a second season, veteran transfers, and a revamped defense.
Building Off High Level of Play
While last season ended during the B1G semifinals in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Nittany Lions got into a groove that took much of the season to build, and they look to bring that energy and culture into this season.
Gadowsky believes improving on the ice starts in the locker room and during practice when finding that rhythm.
"How we're going to continue to improve on our win total is to follow the path that we started last year," Gadowsky said. "It started with making culture our number one priority and drastically improving that, and I think we've come a long way."
For the new faces on the roster, getting them engrained in the culture is a key, but for the returners, it is a key to keep the culture moving in the right direction.
The preparation headed into the first series against Canisius is a style that Gadowsky is confident in to see improvements everywhere.
"I do like to think that we're doing a little more hockey-specific preparation than last year," Gadowsky said. "It feels good, and it's right, and we're looking forward to that [opening] series to see how we stack up because of the work we did last year on our culture."
DeNaples Returns as Captain
DeNaples will once again sport the 'C' on his sweater this season for Penn State serving as a leader on and off the ice.
Prior to last season, DeNaples served as an alternate captain in 2020-21.
This is only the second time in program history that a player has served as captain in consecutive seasons, after Tommy Olczyk.
"I am glad everyone respects me and believes in me," DeNaples said. "It's not just me, it's every senior on this team [helping] the leadership."
Veteran Transfers Come to Hockey Valley
Senior forward Ture Linden and graduate student forward Ashton Calder made their way to Penn State this season, and will provide added veteran leadership in their first year with the program.
Linden comes from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., while Calder's last stop was the University of North Dakota.
Calder says coming from Grand Forks, N.D., there is a lot to look forward to in front of a home crowd at Pegula Ice Arena.
"I'm excited about the Roar Zone, the support Penn State hockey has through that athletic sphere, you know, in football it's pretty big and all those sports, but it's pretty cool," Calder said. "There's such a big draw towards hockey, and they were the number one student section in the country, so we're excited for that especially."
Both forwards are in unique spots as they come to Hockey Valley with tons of experience under their belts but are still new faces in the locker room.
Both served as leaders at their last schools, and they don't plan on changing that as Nittany Lions.
"One thing that was important for me was having a strong leadership group," Linden said. "I think we have a lot of leaders on this team. It makes it really easy to kind of transition and hopefully I can voice my opinion when I see fit and kind of lead by example, based on my experiences in college hockey."
Revamped Defense
Freshmen Carter Schade, Dylan Gratton, and Jarod Crespo are three names to look out for this season on the Penn State defense.
The team is thrilled with the work ethic and time the trio has contributed ahead of the season.
Junior defenseman Jimmy Dowd is thrilled to have these fresh faces on the back end with him.
"The three freshmen have shown what they can do so far," Dowd said. "I'm excited to see how they progress throughout the year. And then guys like myself, Paul, Simon Mack, Christian Berger, Kenny Johnson. I think when we can take our play to the next level, it's going to help us."
Gratton is no stranger because his brother, senior forward Tyler Gratton, has gotten the freshmen comfortable with the upperclassmen in the Penn State locker room.
Gadowsky is happy with the dynamic and culture they have devoted to the team.
"They fit right in with this team culture in this team program right now," Gadowsky said. "On the ice, they came in much better than I thought they would, which is good."
Penn State will drop the puck in its season opener Friday, October 7, at Pegula Ice Arena against the Canisius Golden Griffins.
