Top 2026 NHL Draft prospect Gavin McKenna commits to NCAA’s Penn State
One of the biggest names in junior hockey is heading to the States to hit the books.
On Tuesday, it was officially announced that forward Gavin McKenna has committed to play for Penn State University, starting with the 2025-26 NCAA season.
There was a lot of speculation about where McKenna, a player many believe to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, would go. It was known that the Medicine Hat Tigers star would play collegiately in the United States prior to entering next year’s draft. The only question was where he would end up. According to multiple reports, it was down to Penn State and Michigan State, rivals in the Big Ten Conference.
McKenna’s name, image, and likeness rights are expected to be around $700,000, sources tell Daily Faceoff.
There are many aspects to McKenna’s game that make him a can’t-miss prospect. A player with great vision and awareness, he lit up the Western Hockey League last season. He broke the CHL record for longest point streak, scoring 40 goals and 173 points across 54 games, becoming just the second player in league history to post points in at least 50 consecutive games. The 17-year-old finished second in league scoring, scoring 41 goals and 88 assists for 129 points in just 56 games.
The Whitehorse, Yukon native added another 38 points in the playoffs, helping the Tigers win the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL Champions, punching the team’s ticket to the Memorial Cup. With six points in Rimouski, McKenna led Medicine Hat to the championship game, ultimately losing to the London Knights.
McKenna’s list of accomplishments in his young career is extensive. This season, he was named the CHL and WHL Player of the Year, being named to the Memorial Cup All-Star Team. Last fall, he helped Canada win the gold medal at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. This came after his record-breaking performance at the 2024 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship, helping Team Canada take home the gold.
McKenna is another big name that the Nittany Lions have landed this offseason. Just a few months removed from the team advancing to the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four for the first time in program history, Guy Gadwosky and his staff have gone out and recruited a number of notable players, especially from the Canadian Hockey League ranks. The Nittany Lions are also adding Kale Dach (Calgary, WHL), Nathan Free (Portland, WHL) and Connor Bewick (Ottawa, OHL), among others.
Since the NCAA Division I Council announced the rule change to allow former major junior players the opportunity to play college hockey in the U.S., many teams have taken a swing at getting players from the WHL, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League.