Penn State men’s hockey recruit Ryan Kirwan was selected in the first round of the USHL draft on Monday night by the Madison Capitols.

Kirwan will join the top junior hockey league in the United States, playing for the same team that rising sophomore defenseman Cole Hults played for prior to his arrival in Happy Valley.

18 players on last year’s roster played junior hockey in the USHL, including starting goaltender Peyton Jones, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Trevor Hamilton, and star forward Denis Smirnov.

The left-handed forward committed to Penn State in August 2017 as part of the team’s recruiting class of 2020. He’ll join the Nittany Lions after two seasons of USHL hockey in 2020-21. Standing at 6’1″, Kirwan has plenty of size for a 16-year old and can play either center or left wing.