A Defensive Addition for the Nittany Lions
Penn State hockey has secured a commitment from 20‑year‑old center Kaden Pitre, a player who brings a blend of OHL experience and NHL draft pedigree to the program.
Pitre spent three seasons with the Flint Firebirds, where he recorded 101 points in 167 games, and later added 37 points in 37 appearances for the North Bay Battalion after a mid‑season trade in November 2025.
The centre was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the sixth round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, and his signing rights are set to expire before he re‑enters the 2026 draft.
He will join the Nittany Lions for the 2026‑27 campaign, where coach Guy Gadowsky plans to deploy him in a bottom‑six, defensive role while emphasizing the development of his offensive game within a high‑pressure system.
Gadowsky, who has guided the program to several playoff appearances, believes Pitre’s defensive reliability will allow the team to experiment with more aggressive forechecking schemes.
The move also revives a pipeline of Ontario Hockey League alumni at Penn State, though recent arrivals such as Shea Van Olm and Luke Misa have struggled to translate their junior offensive output to the college game.