The Carolina Hurricanes drafted Charlie Cerrato with the 49th overall pick in the second round of the 2025 NHL Draft in June. The Fallston native hopes to join a brief list of NHL players in the future.
Just four Maryland natives have played in the NHL. Only one — Jeff Brubaker in the ’80s — has amassed double-digit points in their career. The 20-year-old center out of Penn State is also the founding member of another list: draftees who got their start at Ice World, an indoor ice skating and hockey facility in Abingdon.
“Ice World was the foundation of me as a hockey player,” he said. “That’s where I learned to skate. You know, my skating coach taught me everything — the fundamentals and little things that you need to do to be a good skater.”
That coach is Ice World hockey director Ed Slusher. Cerrato began working with Slusher when he was 6 or 7 years old, and Slusher still works with him today.
Hockey is a lifelong passion for Cerrato, who got into the game with help from his father Vinnie and developed a particular affinity for Ice World. He recently held a camp at the facility and hopes he can continue fostering a love for hockey among kids, especially given the lack of representation from Maryland in the sport.
“That rink means the world to me. It’s where I’m from, and I can’t wait to keep giving back over the next 10, 20 years. As many [years as] I can do it,” Cerrato said.
“Maryland’s not a huge hockey market and I think … me being drafted is going to open a ton of doors for that rink,” he added. “I think it’s growing the popularity of the game in an area that may not be hockey-focused. So I hope to see a ton more kids get drafted out of Ice World, and I hope to see a ton more kids go on [to] play high-level minor hockey, juniors, college and go on to the pros. So I think it’s just the beginning, honestly.”
After his time developing at Ice World and his freshman year at Fallston High School, Cerrato played for the United States National U17 and U18 teams as part of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program.
Cerrato played 88 games across two years with the teams, a rigorous schedule that forced him to take online classes for his final three years of high school. The shift was convenient but left him wishing he were able to have a normal high school experience.
Cerrato then joined the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League for the 2023-24 season, during which he recorded 50 points (12 goals, 38 assists) in 45 games.
Cerrato committed to Penn State and excelled as a freshman. The 2024-25 season marked the program’s most successful campaign since it moved to Division I in 2012. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound center tallied 15 goals and 27 assists, tops among Big Ten freshmen in each category and second for all first-year skaters nationally.
“I had a great year in Youngstown, and I had a fantastic staff, fantastic coach there, and I loved it. But I feel like everything kind of clicked for me at Penn State,” Cerrato said. “I saw … a ton of things that improved, but I think just my confidence to finish and make plays definitely was the best it’s been this year.”
Cerrato attended Carolina’s development camp in Raleigh earlier this summer. Hurricanes assistant general manager Darren Yorke is looking forward to seeing Cerrato develop his game further in State College, noting his competitive nature and versatility on the ice.
“You have a player that is able to be complete in terms of being able to drive off and being able to play sound defensively, being able to win faceoffs, being able to get in on the forecheck. That’s exactly how we play,” Yorke said. “We’re looking for Charlie to … graduate with the exact same game and get to the NHL.”
Cerrato’s 42 points in 2024-25 ranked second on a Nittany Lions team that made its first Frozen Four in program history. Penn State fell to Boston University in the national semifinals but reloaded in the offseason.
Incoming freshman defenseman Jackson Smith was drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets 14th overall, making him the highest-drafted Penn State player in history. Cerrato, who is returning for his sophomore season next year, is the second-highest.
Penn State also landed Gavin McKenna, a 17-year-old wunderkind who has dominated Canadian junior hockey and projects to be the first overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. McKenna is one of the highest-profile recruits to ever commit to an American college and could help push the Nittany Lions over the top.
That’s Cerrato’s biggest priority.
“If I do my job on the ice, if we do our job as a team on and off the ice, I think we’re going to have a fantastic year, and winning the national championship is our biggest goal,” Cerrato said.
Like he hopes to do for hockey in Maryland, Cerrato is helping usher in a new era for Penn State.
“It’s just incredible to be a part of the flip that this program had, and the flip that this program needed,” Cerrato said. “And I think we’re all really excited to be a part of it.”
Photo Credit: Josh Lavallee/Carolina Hurricanes