After weeks of speculation, Penn State hockey is expected to land projected 2026 No. 1 overall draft pick Gavin McKenna.
Per a report by Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects, sources have indicated to him that McKenna is expected to officially announced his commitment later this week.
Yeah, this is a big deal.
Coach Guy Gadowsky and company already have the best recruiting class in program history coming in, led by defenseman Jackson Smith, who just went No. 14 overall to the Blue Jackets in the draft. Now, it’s all but official that the program will land the biggest recruit in its history.
McKenna, a native of Whitehorse, Yukon in Canada, scored 129 points for the Western Hockey League’s Medicine Hat Tigers, and won’t turn 18 until close to the end of the year.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.His performance earned him the David Branch Player of the Year, presented annually to Canada’s top amateur player. Previous winners of that award include Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid.
It’s unfair to predict at this stage that McKenna’s career will be close to as successful as any of those three, who are among the best to ever play.
But McKenna will be expected to dominate the Big Ten, and it would be huge for Penn State if he meets that expectation. The program is coming off its best season ever, ending with its first trip to the Frozen Four. Now, Penn State will be expected to be right in the mix to win the whole thing.
Along with McKenna and Smith, Penn State has commitments from Pierce Mbuyi and Luke Misa and got a transfer from Mac Gadowsky, Guy’s son, who was a Hobey Baker Award finalist at Army last season.
