Generational hockey talent Gavin McKenna officially announced his commitment to Penn State on ESPN.
He gave another variation of the announcement on Instagram.
In a 43-second video, McKenna— thought by many to be the best NHL prospect since Connor McDavid a decade ago— mixed his highlights with highlights of Penn State hockey.
Hockey fans never got to see Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid or Wayne Gretzky play at the college level. Time will tell if McKenna’s career comes anywhere close to any of those four, who are some of the best to ever play. But it’s fair to say that McKenna playing in the NCAA is the closest thing people will have to watching one of those guys compete at that level.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.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.
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 Lemieux, Crosby and McDavid.
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 Gavin McKenna and Jackson Smith, a defenseman who went No. 14 overall to the Blue Jackets in last month’s Draft, 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.
