Gavin McKenna, who is a 17 year old forward for the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Medicine Hat Tigers and projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, may play a year at the NCAA level with Penn State, according to Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman.
“I was asking a few people around hockey what they thought, and informal straw poll, I would say Penn State,” hockey insider Elliotte Friedman said on the 32 Thoughts Podcast. “That’s who the favorite is. Nothing’s done until it’s done. I was told it would be premature to make any enormous proclamation. But I asked a bunch of people around and said if you had to pick where he’s going to play next year, most of them picked Penn State.”
McKenna had a banner year for the Tigers guiding them to their sixth WHL Championship Series victory in six games over the Spokane Chiefs. McKenna led all playoff scorers with 38 points.
During the 2024-25 regular season, McKenna had 129 points (41 goals; 88 assists) in 56 games finishing second to Spokane forward Andrew Cristall (132 points).
Penn State recently landed the commitment of defenseman Jackson Smith, who is expected to be a first-round selection in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. Smith is the highest-rated commitment in the program’s history.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Penn State’s hockey program, under coach Guy Gadowsky , has been actively recruiting top talent and has been successful in attracting prominent players.
Outside of the attention for McKenna and Smith, has been current Penn State forward Aiden Fink, a Nashville Predators prospect and 2025 Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalist – the award is presented annually to the top player in NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey.
