While the bricks and beams make up the foundation for the Pegula Ice Arena, the Penn State men’s hockey team added five new players Wednesday, to continue building the foundation of the team on the ice.
The group that includes three forwards, a defenseman and a goaltender signed their national letters of intent during the November early-signing period.
The recruiting class welcomed forwards David Goodwin (St Louis, Mo.), Zach Saar (Plainwell, Mich.) and Eric Scheid (Blaine, Minn.).
The group of newcomers also includes two Pennsylvania natives — defenseman David Thompson (Glen Mills) and goalie Eamon McAdam (Peraskie).
Four players come from the United States Hockey League and one from the British Columbia Hockey League. Some of them have also played with current Nittany Lions. Goodwin played with freshman goalie Matt Skoff on the Sioux City Musketeers (USHL) while Saar played with freshman defenseman Connor Varley on the Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL).
Each of the three forwards currently play in the USHL and bring a unique set of qualities to the team, head coach Guy Gadowsky said.
Goodwin has an excellent hockey IQ, Gadowsky said. He is currently the captain of the Sioux City Musketeers (USHL) and has scored five goals and eight assists in 18 games this season.
The Lions also got a top-notch goaltender with McAdam. Gadowsky said he has the potential to be one of the top goaltenders in college hockey.
"Eamon is an excellent athlete who has proven himself on both the international and junior levels,” Gadowsky said.
He is the highest-rated USHL goaltender in the NHL Central Scouting North American preliminary rankings. McAdam also participated in the 2012 USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game.
Thompson, the lone recruit from the BCHL, is in a unique situation as the captain of the Chilliwack Chiefs.
“I have a ton of respect for David as an American captain of a Canadian junior team,” Gadowsky said. “I love his character and his attention to detail and positioning. David will be a great leader and will prove to be very difficult to play against.”
Penn State will also add another power forward to get in front of the net, Gadowksy said. The 6-foot-4 Saar participated in the 2012 USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. Saar also has Penn State football in his pedigree. His father, Brad was part of the 1982 national championship team.
The Lions will add another player with previous NCAA experience. Scheid previously played for the University of Alaska-Anchorage during the 2011-12 season. Scheid currently leads the Lincoln Stars (USHL) in goals with eight goals. He is also tied for the team lead in points with 17.
“[Scheid] is an excellent two-way player with a ton of speed,” Gadowsky said. “He has great offensive ability and takes care of all zones on the ice. He's a tremendous addition to the program.”
Gadowsky also praised his staff’s recruiting efforts that spans across North America.
“Assistant coaches Keith Fisher and Matt Lindsay tirelessly worked to ensure a great class for 2013,” Gadowsky said. “We addressed certain areas of need, from size to hockey IQ to bringing in another top-notch goaltender, and they accomplished all three of those goals.”
