For the second time this week, Penn State made some draft history. Within days of having its first NBA first-round draft pick, the Nittany Lions now have the first NHL draft first-round pick in draft history. The hockey program’s latest bit of history was achieved Friday when the Columbus Blue Jackets selected Penn State’s Jackson Smith with the 14th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
There is a slight caveat to this piece of history, of course. Smith. a defenseman, is an incoming freshman for the Penn State program and has yet to lace up his skates in a Penn State hockey uniform. Smith committed to the Penn State program in June and will join the program this fall. He will join Penn State program, coming off its first trip to the NCAA Frozen Four and will continue to raise expectations for the program moving forward.
Smith played the last two seasons in the Western Hockey League and recorded 54 points in 68 games. He has recently played on Team Canada at the IIHF U18 World Championships and the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
Smith is the 17th player from Penn State to be selected in the NHL draft as the program continues to rise in national prominence in a relatively short period of time. Penn State’s season ended with a 3-1 loss to NCAA hockey blueblood Boston University in the semifinal round of the Frozen Four. Penn State upset No. 3 overall seed Maine in the first round of the tournament by a score of 5-1 and advanced to the Frozen Four with a 3-2 victory over UConn in the Allentown regional.