St. Louis University High School junior Christian Berger has committed to play his collegiate hockey at Penn State University.

Berger, 17, began his journey towards Penn St. in the St. Louis Rockets program. In 4th grade he made the jump to AAA and joined the St. Louis Amateur Blues, a move Berger says contributed to his growth as a player. He said, “I played for the Rockets growing up and I loved it! I switched to AAA as soon as I could and I feel like playing against the best players in the country for so many years helped me develop.”

Ultimately, Berger was drafted by the Green Bay Gamblers in the United States Hockey League (Tier I Juniors) but had his rights traded to the Madison Capitols, also of the USHL. In the last two seasons, he has had the opportunity to test himself in the USHL during weekend call-ups. Christian plans to play in the USHL full-time next year.

Berger was being recruited by several NCAA DI teams, including some Penn State rivals, but none compared to what he saw in College Station.  He said, “They had been watching me for a couple years because of my brother Chase, who has been fortunate to find success in their program. I always thought it would be cool to play there. Even though they were the first school to show interest, they were one of the last schools to become very serious. It was the last school I visited but the most attractive to me.”

He continued, “I was blown away by their unbelievable facilities. What really attracted me was the culture. I was extremely impressed by [Head Coach] Guy Gadowski, the coaching staff, and the players. The comradery and chemistry shared by the players and the entire staff was unbelievable. Combined with unbelievable student support and pride in the program, I knew I wanted to be a part of it.”

Ideally Berger will join the team during the 2019-2020 season, however that is a decision that will be made as the Nittany Lions watch his development over this season and next. He said, “They want me to make an impact when I come and I trust they know when that will be.”

Berger comes from a hockey playing family and Christian is following in the footsteps of two of his older brothers. Jack, played for Des Moines (USHL) for a season before moving on the play NCAA DI hockey at Princeton and Chase played parts of 4 seasons with Tri-City (USHL) before playing the last three seasons at Penn State. Unfortunately for Christian, Chase will graduate from Penn State before he gets the chance to play with him in college.

As for St. Louis University High School hockey, Christian is the 5th Berger to wear the Jr. Billikens jersey.  Christian said, “I could not have more pride in the SLUH hockey program. I followed it growing up because of my brothers and they weren’t always one of the top teams. It is a huge honor to wear the jersey and I am very thankful to everyone who wore it before me because they are the ones that made SLUH hockey into what it is today.”

Jr. Billiken’s Head Coach Jack Behan knows Berger well, despite being in his first season at the helm. Berger’s older brother Jack played for Behan for a season when he was coaching the St. Louis Jr. Blues of the old CSHL (currently of the NA3HL) and has known the Berger family and boys for years. He said, “I've coached dozens of players Christians age who have moved on to play Division I hockey.  Christian certainly has the skill set and athleticism to do well at DI. What I have noticed that separates him from the norm is his love of the game. Every time he steps on the ice he has a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. The young man's passion for the game just oozes out of his pores.”

Parents Dan and Cindy are proud of all their boys and are very appreciative of the great game of hockey. Mr. Berger said, "The commitment required to play hockey in high school (club and high school) while prioritizing academics builds great character not only in these formative years but certainly throughout their lifetime. Christian has worked hard to get to this point and is fully aware that he has much more work ahead of him!"