Penn State hockey’s Finnish connection was strengthened even further on Sunday afternoon as forward Aarne Talvitie verbally committed to play for the Nittany Lions.
Talvitie is the eighth member of Penn State’s 2018-19 recruiting haul and hails from the same town as current Nittany Lion defenseman Erik Autio. Sunday’s news comes on the heels of Autio’s brother verbally committing on April 25. All told Penn State is quickly becoming a second home for Espoo, Finland hockey prospects.
While playing for the under-20, Espoo Blues, Taivitie managed 37 totals points from a 13 goal, 24 assist output. According to the NHL Central Scouting database he is the 58th best European prospect.
College hockey’s recruiting landscape generally doesn’t lend itself well to overall rankings as clear-cut as that of basketball or football, that being said, Penn State continues to land solid commitments in classes for the next several recruiting cycles.
