2026 NHL Draft prospect Gavin McKenna is mirroring Connor Bedard’s numbers at the same age

16-year-old Gavin McKenna has been tearing up the Western Hockey League this season with the Medicine Hat Tigers notching 29 goals and 54 assists for 83 points in just 52 games. Daily Faceoff prospect analyst Steven Ellis joined the show to discuss McKenna’s numbers and how it is mirroring Connor Bedard’s numbers at the same age. With McKenna not being eligible until the 2026 NHL Draft, it makes for a cool storyline considering the success he is already having at such a young age.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Out in the WHL Gavin Mckenna continues to be a huge storyline. His numbers are incredible but just how good is this 16-year-old?

Steven Ellis: Okay so you’re looking at him this year he is on pace for 99 points in 62 games. Connor Bedard at the same age put up 100 points in 62 games, they’re basically neck and neck. I know there’s been some reports about them being cousins but they’re actually just distant relatives through marriage and they only met each other for the first time not to long ago.

Steven Ellis: It feels weird because we just saw what Bedard did in the WHL and we talk about him being a generational player but McKenna right afterward being as good as he is, is very exciting. Medicine Hat has a lot of talent, Cayden Lindstrom will go high in this year’s draft too so McKenna has been able to play with high-quality players and he’s the one generating all these opportunities. He’s got great speed, and we saw at the Under-17 Challenge this year just how dynamic of a player he is playing on the penalty kill and first-line powerplay. There are so many similarities between him and Bedard at the same age and with the offense being there too, it’s very exciting.

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