Penn State adds top prospect

Penn State men’s hockey added left wing Jaxon Cover on April 10, giving its next roster a National Hockey League draft prospect after the season ended in Albany. (onwardstate.com) Cover announced his commitment on Instagram Friday, and Elite Prospects lists the move as a confirmed transaction from the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League to Penn State. He is 18, shoots left, and is listed at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds. (onwardstate.com) (eliteprospects.com) With London in 2025-26, Cover played 67 regular-season games and posted 20 goals and 32 assists for 52 points, then added 3 points in 5 playoff games. London drafted him in the fourth round, 64th overall, in the 2024 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection. (onwardstate.com) (eliteprospects.com) Draft status is a big part of the story. Elite Prospects’ consolidated 2026 National Hockey League draft board lists Cover at No. 38, and National Hockey League Central Scouting’s midterm list had him No. 45 among North American skaters. (eliteprospects.com) (onwardstate.com) Penn State is adding him after another tournament run ended March 28 with a 3-1 loss to Minnesota-Duluth in the Albany Regional semifinal. The program had reached the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament field on March 22 as a No. 3 seed, its fifth tournament berth. (gopsusports.com 1) (gopsusports.com 2) The roster churn after that loss was immediate. Penn State’s official news archive shows goaltender Kevin Reidler and forward Matt DiMarsico signed National Hockey League entry-level contracts on March 30, and outside reports also tied forward Aiden Fink and forward Charlie Cerrato to departures after the season. (gopsusports.com) (victorybellrings.com) Penn State’s 2025-26 roster page already reflects those exits: Reidler and DiMarsico are still listed on the season roster, but Cover does not yet appear there. That gap is common in April, when commitments and pro signings often move faster than official roster updates. (gopsusports.com) (eliteprospects.com) The addition also fits Penn State’s recent recruiting pattern under Guy Gadowsky, which has leaned heavily on major junior and junior-league players. The current roster includes players from the Ontario Hockey League, Western Hockey League, Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, United States Hockey League, and British Columbia Hockey League. (gopsusports.com) That pipeline helped Penn State reach the first Frozen Four in program history in 2025, then return to the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament in 2026. Cover now arrives with the kind of profile Penn State has chased: immediate junior production and a live draft résumé. (gopsusports.com 1) (gopsusports.com 2)