Senior center Chase Berger, fourth-year defenseman Kevin Kerr, and junior wing Brandon Biro are Penn State men’s hockey’s newest trio of captains during the 2018-19 season.

They’ll all wear letters on their jerseys, but the three players are very different in terms of playing styles.

Berger is the total 200-foot player. He combines great offensive touch (89 points in 115 NCAA games) with physicality, a tireless work ethic, and solid defensive-zone coverage.

According to head coach Guy Gadowsky, Berger was unanimously selected as captain by his teammates, a move that the coaching staff fully supports. He’s the second St. Louis native in the past three years to be named captain, joining David Goodwin fromPenn State’s 2016-17 Big Ten championship team.

Berger himself said that he spoke to several former captains about what the role entails, including Goodwin, David Glen, and his older brother Jack, who wore the “C” for Princeton from 2012 to 2014.

Kerr has seen Berger’s leadership skills first-hand throughout the past four years as one of his roommates and as junior hockey teammates. The smooth-skating defenseman said he plans to model his leadership style after what Gadowsky and past captains have taught him over the years.

“[Berger]’s an incredible leader,” Kerr said. “I talked to him a lot, picked some things up in terms of what to do and what not to do [as a captain]. I’ve learned from guys like Chase and coach [Gadowsky] and past leaders to try and implement that into what I do this year.”

Kerr will serve as an alternate captain after being sidelined for 18 of the Nittany Lions’ 38 games last season due to different injuries. When in the lineup, however, Kerr is one of the team’s best all-around defensemen with strong skating and puck-moving skills.

The Bensalem, PA, native had trouble putting into words what being given an alternate captain’s responsibility means to him. Nonetheless, he’s still excited to take on the role this season.

“It’s definitely a special honor,” he said. “I think it says a lot about how special of a group of guys we have here. It’s hard to put into words, but it means a lot because [my teammates] think I have the capability to lead them along with Chase [Berger] and Brandon Biro.”

In addition to Kerr, Biro will serve as the team’s other alternate captain. He is the only non-senior who will wear a letter this season. At 20 years old, he’ll do so while being younger than some of the team’s underclassmen.

The Canadian lefty might not be the most vocal leader on the team, but he leads by example with a tireless work ethic on and off the ice. Biro will serve as freshman forward Aarne Talvitie’s mentor throughout the 2018-19 season, helping the Finn learn everything he needs to know about Hockey Valley.

“[Biro’s] helped a lot with everything, telling me where to be [on campus] and stuff like that,” Talvitie said. “On the ice, he gives me a lot of information about everything, and [all three captains] have really helped me a lot.”