Penn State men’s hockey defenseman Cade Christenson has entered the transfer portal, per the USCHO’s portal tracker. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

The sophomore defenseman from Edmonton was an integral part of Penn State’s blue line over the past two seasons. As a freshman during the team’s historic Frozen Four run, Christenson had two goals and seven assists, but made his name by being one of the Big Ten’s best defensive defensemen, leading the conference in blocked shots while being a unanimous selection on the All-Big Ten Freshman team.

In the offseason, Christenson sustained a long-term injury that held him out of the first half of the 2025-26 season, only making his season debut when the Nittany Lions traveled to Rochester to meet RIT in early January. Despite being limited to 21 games, Christenson scored five goals and blocked 19 shots while posting a plus-minus of plus-10. On a team with considerably more offense-focused talent, his physicality was crucial in the second half.

Christenson is the third Nittany Lion to enter the transfer portal, joining forwards JJ Wiebusch and Nic Chin-DeGraves. As of Monday morning, 12 of the 26 players on the 2025-26 roster will depart the program, whether through graduation, the transfer portal, or signing a professional contract.