UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Earlier this month head coach Guy Gadowsky and the Penn State men's ice hockey team finalized its 2024-25 recruiting class. Comprised of six forwards, three defensemen and a pair of goaltenders the class features nine incoming freshmen, one transfer and a club team acquisition.
Starting in the crease, the Nittany Lions added a pair of net-minders to join rising junior Noah Grannan and replace 2024 graduates Liam Souliere and Doug Dorr Jr.
Goaltenders
Arsenii Sergeev // G // 6-4 // 195 // L // Yaroslavl, Russia // UConn (Hockey East)
The lone transfer of the class, Sergeev descends on Hockey Valley after spending the past two seasons as a UConn Husky playing in 36 total games posting a 19-14-1 record with a 2.65 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage during his time in Storrs. He tallied a career-high 11 wins as a freshman in 2022-23 with a career-low 2.61 GAA and a .912 save percentage. Backed that up with a 2.70 GAA and a career-best .913 save percentage as a sophomore going 8-8-0 in 16 games.
The Yaroslavl, Russia native spent the 2021-22 season with the Tri-City Storm of the USHL posting a 30-6-2 record in 41 regular season games with a 2.08 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage earning him USHL Goaltender of the Year accolades as well as a spot on the USHL First All-Star Team. Sergeev competed for the Shreveport Mudbags of the NAHL during the 2020-21 season appearing in 20 contests posting a 14-4-2 record with a .936 save percentage and a 2.17 goals-against average to help the Mudbags to the 2021 Robertson Cup Championship after spending the 2019-20 campaign bouncing between three teams in three different leagues after coming over to the States.
Sergeev was drafted in the seventh round (205th overall) by the Calgary Flames in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft becoming just the second Nittany Lion net-minder to have been selected by an NHL team (Eamon McAdam – 2013 Islanders – Third Round – 70th overall).
John Seifarth // G // 6-3 // 195 // L // Pittsburgh, Pa. // Penn State Ice Lions (ACHA)
Staying between the pipes, Penn State has once again dipped into the club hockey pool securing John Seifarth from the Penn State Ice Lions of the ACHA to be the team's third goalie. Seifarth marks the fourth different club goaltender that has made the transition to the Division I level joining Matt Erlichman '18, Will Holtforster '21 and Doug Dorr '24. Seifarth made 10 appearances last season posting a 4-6-0 record with a .912 save percentage and a 3.24 goals-against average with one shutout. Seifarth was also part of the 2022-23 ACCHL Championship squad for the Ice Lions.
Forwards
On the offensive side of the puck Penn State introduced an abundance of youth to join a strong cast of returning goal scorers in 2024-25. The Nittany Lions welcome six new forwards who combined for 310 points on 127 goals and 183 assists in 350 games between the USHL, AJHL and BCHL this past season.
Charlie Cerrato // F // 6-0 // 190 // L // Fallston, Md. // Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)
Cerrato is a product of the National Team Development Program (NTDP) competing for the U17 and U18 National Teams as well as in the USHL for the USNTDP during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, playing in 145 total games split between the two programs. During those two seasons he registered 76 points on 24 goals and 52 assists. Cerrato also secured a Bronze Medal at the 2023 World Junior A Challenge with Team USA.
Cerrato played this past season with the USHL's Youngstown Phantoms finishing second on the team with 50 points in 45 games while pacing the Phantoms and ranking 17th in the USHL with 38 assists to go along with 12 goals. Cerrato added one goal and three additional assists in seven playoff games this season.
Braedon Ford // F // 5-10 // 175 // L // Pittsburgh, Pa. // Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL)
Ford spent the past two seasons in the USHL with the Des Moines Buccaneers skating in 100 games registering 30 points on 15 goals and 15 assists including a career-best 22 points on 11 goals and 11 assists in 2023-24. Prior to his time in Iowa, the Pens Elite product, played for the Johnstown Tomahawks of the NAHL during the 2021-22 season registering 29 total points on 15 goals while adding 14 assists in 57 games between the regular season and playoffs.
Ford had a breakout year with Pens Elite in 2020-21 scoring 28 goals while adding 25 assists for 53 points in 44 games to jumpstart his junior hockey career the following year. His 53 points as a 16-year-old was good for second on the team behind current Nittany Lion and rising sophomore Matt DiMarsico who led the program in each offensive category that season with 73 points on 34 goals and 39 assists.
Nicholas DeGraves // F // 6-0 // 185 // R // Edmonton, Alberta // Brooks Bandits (AJHL/BCHL)
DeGraves spent parts of four of the past five seasons with the Brooks Bandits including a year with current Nittany Lion Aiden Fink during the 2021-22 campaign as part of the Bandits 2022 Centennial Cup Championship squad, the first of two-straight National Championships for Brooks. DeGraves returned to Brooks this past season to serve as team captain after spending the 2022-23 campaign split between the USHL's Waterloo Black Hawks and the BCHL's Penticton Vees helping lead the latter to their second-straight Fred Page Cup Championship. DeGraves had 15 points on two goals and 13 assists in 17 playoff games following a 33-point regular-season for the Vees with nine goals and 24 assists in 29 games a season ago.
This year, DeGraves captained the Bandits to an 58-6-1 record to go along with an Alberta Cup Championship as well as a Rocky Mountain Challenge Championship over the last month in his return to Brooks. DeGraves, voted the Team's Best Defensive Forward, finished the season playing in 62 total games including AJHL, BCHL and playoff contests racking up 70 points on 19 goals and 51 assists. In total, DeGraves played 147 career games for the Brooks Bandits amassing 127 points on 36 goals and 91 assists.
Andrew Kuzma // F // 6-0 // 195 // L // Naperville, Ill. // Madison Capitols (USHL)
Kuzma, a first-round pick in the 2021 USHL Futures Draft, spent the past three seasons splitting time between the Des Moines Buccaneers and most recently the Madison Capitols. This past season he finished second on the Capitols and tied for ninth in the USHL with 30 goals while adding 22 assists for 52 points in 62 games, a mark good for third on the team.
He tallied a team-best 13 powerplay goals to tie for fifth in the USHL in 2023-24 and added three points in three playoff games on one goal and two assists. Kuzma scored 17 goals with 20 assists for 37 points for the Capitols in 2022-23 after an early season trade from Des Moines. Kuzma's 48 goals and 92 points in his time in Madison are both franchise records for the 10-year-old Capitols.
Keaton Peters // F // 5-10 // 185 // R // Sussex, Wis. // Lincoln Stars (USHL)
Peters played the past three seasons with the Lincoln Stars of the USHL serving as an alternate captain during the 2023-24 campaign where he led the Stars in points and goals with 44 and 22, respectively. A product of the Milwaukee Jr. Admirals, Peters played in 188 total USHL games between regular-season and playoffs over the last three years and registered 89 points on 43 goals and 46 assists with 78 of those points (39G, 39A) coming in the last two seasons.
JJ Wiebusch // F // 6-1 // 180 // R // Verona, Wis. // Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)
Wiebusch played two seasons in the USHL with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and most recently the Sioux Falls Stampede following a late season trade in 2022-23. Wiebusch paced the Stampede this past season with 63 points and 29 goals while tying for the team lead with 34 assists. His 63 points were tied for 15th in the USHL while his 29 goals were good for 12th. In 118 career USHL games, Wiebusch tallied 34 goals and 54 assists for 88 points.
Prior to his time in the USHL, Wiebusch played primarily for Edgewood High School in Madison, Wisconsin where he tallied 88 points on 39 goals and 49 assists in 23 regular season games as a senior leading the Crusaders to the 2021-22 Badger Conference Championship. He added 13 additional points (5G, 8A) in five playoff games. Wiebusch ranks third all-time in Edgewood Hockey history with 194 points on 85 goals and 109 assists while his 2.73 points per game average is the highest mark in school history.
Defense
Switching over to defense the Nittany Lions add a good mix of size and skill to an already established D corps.
Cade Christenson // D // 6-3 // 190 // L // Edmonton, Alberta // Sherwood Park Crusaders (AJHL/BCHL)
Christenson recently completed his third season with the Sherwood Park Crusaders of the BCHL, formerly a member of the AJHL. This past season, Christenson ranked second on the team and in the Alberta Division with 52 points on 15 goals and 37 assists in 67 games leading to a First All-Star Team selection. In 169 career games for the Crusaders, Christenson tallied 96 points on 27 goals and 69 assists from the blueline. Christenson also competed for Canada West during the 2022-23 World Junior A Challenge.
Nick Fascia // D // 6-2 // 185 // L // Blackwood, N.J. // Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)
After spending the 2022-23 season with the Madison Capitols of the USHL, Fascia competed with the Waterloo Black Hawks this past year registering career-highs across the board with 18 points on four goals and 14 assists in 56 games. Fascia's 18 points were the second most among Black Hawk defensemen while his plus-21 rating was tops among Waterloo blueliners and second on the team. Prior to his time in the USHL, Fascia won the 2021 National Championship with the North Jersey Avalanche U16 squad and was a national runner-up the following year with the Long Island Gulls 16U squad.
Jason Gallucci // D // 5-11 // 180 // L // Robbinsville, N.J. // Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)
Gallucci recently completed his first season in the USHL with the Green Bay Gamblers after spending the 2022-23 season in the BCHL with the Coquitlam Express where he was the team's leading scorer from the blueline with 32 points, fifth-most on the team, on four goals and 28 assists in 52 games. His 28 assists that season were the second most on the squad. For Green Bay in 2023-24, Gallucci skated in 70 total games between the regular season and the playoffs registering 11 points on three goals and eight assists.
Along with Fascia, Gallucci is a product of the North Jersey Avalanche having played three seasons in the organization before spending two seasons with the New Jersey Rockets. With the Rockets' NCDC team during the 2021-22 season, Gallucci once again led the team from the back end with 32 points, fifth-most overall, on eight goals and 24 helpers.
Recruiting classes are subject to change and more student-athletes can be signed throughout the entirety of the 2023-24 signing period, which runs through August 1, 2024.
