Océanic Star Import Rookie Maxmilian Mares Announces NCAA Commitment To Penn State

The NCAA futures train never seems to come to a stop, and another star commitment came out of the QMJHL on Monday.

That would be Maxmilian Mares, the Rimouski Océanic star rookie import, announcing his commitment via Instagram to join Penn State University following his junior career. The exact year he'll make the jump down south is not immediately clear.

Mares, 17, is off to a fantastic start to his debut season in North America, quickly becoming a key part to a remade Rimouski squad. In 15 games as a rookie, the big man has six goals and 10 assists for 16 points.

The Ostrava, Czechia, native grew up in the HC Viktovice program in his homeland, before making the move to play for Bílí Tygři Liberec last season. He also has plenty of experience with the Czech youth national team programs, and will hope to be a feature on this year's World Juniors team for his nation.

The Océanic drafted Mares fifth overall in this year's import draft, and quickly signed the 6-foot-6 forward as a key addition ahead of the 2026-27 season.

Alongside other big additions such as Caiden Pellegrino, AJ Schaaf and Phin Howard, as well as breakout stars in Mathys Dube and Zack Arsenault, the team has gone from missing the playoff last year to challenging atop the Eastern conference this season.

For Mares, he now has a key piece of his hockey future locked up as he continues his big draft-year campaign, hoping to continue impressing scouts and hoping to be a first-round pick come next June.

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