Cerrato signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes in May 2026. His deal carries an average annual value (AAV) of $915K and runs through the 2028-29 season.

Cerrato has had a quietly impressive sophomore season at Penn State, posting seven goals and 27 points in 22 games – a meaningful step forward for a twice-undrafted 20-year-old overager who has taken longer than most to find his footing. The hot start he enjoyed early in the year has leveled off as expected, but the underlying production remains solid. A smart two-way center who projects as a bottom-six NHL piece, he is the kind of late-blooming player that Carolina’s development program tends to identify and nurture well. The path is long and the odds remain against him, but he is giving the organization legitimate reasons to maintain interest. A deep dynasty watchlist name rather than a priority add.

Cerrato has started off his sophomore NCAA season as a man possessed. He has scored four times and added 11 assists in just 6 games. He is by no means going to continue this pace for the entire season- which would see him score 24 goals and 66 assists for 90 points in 36 games- but this early tear has boosted his stock value considerably. If Cerrato is on the wire in your league, snap him up immediately, and watch to see how he goes.

Cerrato heard his name called by the Carolina Hurricanes with their 49th selection. Cerrato was a two-time draft reentry, so certainly being chosen comes with some relief for the young man. He has developed some offense that wasn’t as apparent in his previous drafts. Despite seeing a 12 goal, 38 assists and 71 penalty minute season in the USHL in his first reentry year, he followed it up in 2024-2025 with a 15 goal, 27 assist and 58 penalty minute campaign as an NCAA rookie.

As a 20 year old, two times undrafted NCAA overager, one would expect him to be able to outperform younger and less experienced peers, but Cerrato could be showing us he could be an exception who took longer to blossom than usual. He’s still a long shot, but he’s giving fantasy managers reason to take notice.

He might be a nice piece of trade bait in a league where you are leveraging your farm for rental pieces on your pro roster. If you’re in that mode, sell before the cooldown comes.

He is a little older than most players would be at this stage of their draft and development arc, so managers will need to see if these increases are coming too late, but he makes for a good story, and is well worth watching as he continues his collegiate career.