Penn State Men’s Hockey: New AD Patrick Kraft Excited to Help Hockey Programs Take Next Step

New Penn State Athletic Director Patrick Kraft didn’t shy away from his excitement about having Penn State men’s hockey under his watch on Friday during his introductory press conference.

“College hockey is an amazing sport,” Kraft said. “I love it. I love it. I told Guy [Gadowsky] we’re going to get to the Frozen Four. This is an area for hockey. And what I’ve gotta do is help Guy get there. I gotta help and understand [needs]. I think hockey, it’s awesome. And it has a great following very, very loyal. It’s like wrestling very loyal fan base.”

“When you’re doing really well, that stuff really helps the department and helps a culture. It helps certainly when you start to win and it helps development. That’s broad-based programming. You’re winning top to bottom. I’m excited to get in there; Guy was fantastic.”

Kraft comes to Penn State after a brief stint at Boston College, where he was in the process of overseeing the replacement of longtime head coach Jerry York, who had guided the Eagles since 1994 and is the winningest coach in NCAA men’s hockey history.

As for Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky, he served on Penn State’s advisory committee for the hiring of Kraft, working alongside new Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi. Gadowsky has been the head coach of the Nittany Lions for the past decade, encompassing the totality of the program’s existence.

Penn State has made the NCAA Tournament on two occasions going 1-2 in the postseason with one Big Ten regular season championship and one Big Ten Tournament title.

As for the women’s program, the Nittany Lions haven’t had quite as much success but continue to grow under coach Jeff Kampersal.