It didn’t take long for former Penn State star Gavin McKenna to find the back of the net at the NHL level.
McKenna scored the first goal of his NHL career Tuesday night for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Nashville Predators at Scotiabank Arena.
With Toronto trailing 4-2, McKenna took a feed from Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews and fired it past Nashville goaltender Juuse Saros with 5:29 remaining in the second period, pulling Toronto within one.
Toronto selected McKenna with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft following a record-setting freshman season at Penn State.
McKenna spent just one season in Hockey Valley, but it was one of the most decorated individual campaigns in program history.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.The Whitehorse, Yukon, native finished with 51 points on 15 goals and 36 assists, becoming just the third Nittany Lion to reach 50 points in a season. His 36 assists established a Penn State single-season record, while his 51 points set the program’s freshman scoring record.
McKenna became Penn State’s first Big Ten scoring champion after recording 38 points in 24 conference games and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. He also earned Second-Team All-American honors, was a unanimous selection to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and finished as a Top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.
Now, McKenna has another first to add to the list: NHL goal scorer.
