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Gavin McKenna, the projected Number 1 overall pick in 2026 NHL Draft, may be headed to surprising NCAA team
Photo credit: CHL
There is no shortage of hype surrounding Gavin McKenna, the 17 year-old talented and consensus number 1 NHL Draft selection in 2026, a certainty that most in the know will not dispute. What is not certain, however, is where the future star will play out his draft year.
McKenna is being compared to some of the NHL's best players, and his numbers prove it. He recorded 129 points (41g, 88a) in only 56 games last season with the Medicine Hat Tigers, where he has spent the last three seasons.
Though Gavin does have the option to play a 4th and final year with Medicine Hat, he could opt to play in the NCAA, with the Penn State Nittany Lions being a big possibility.
"I was asking a few people around hockey what they thought (about where McKenna will play)," insider Elliotte Friedman said on the 32 Thoughts Podcast. "I would say Penn State. That's who the favorite is."
The Nittany Lions made their first-ever appearance in the Frozen Four this past April, losing to the BU Terriers 3-1 in the semi-finals.
Gavin McKenna is now eligible to play with a college team, after the NCAA voted last November to allow Canadian junior players eligibility for Division 1 teams beginning next season. Before that, NCAA had considered OHL, WHL and QMJHL players ineligible due to the presence of some whom had already signed professional contracts with NHL teams.
What might prompt McKenna to stay with the WHL, however, is a desire to redeem the Medicine Hat Tigers' loss to the OHL's London Knights in the Memorial Cup championship game, where Gavin recorded 38 points (9g, 29a) in 16 playoff games.
Three NHL players have come out of Penn State, Brett Murray, Brandon Biro, and Casey Baily, including a number of AHL standouts that developed with the Lions, that are too many to list here.
Though where Gavin McKenna will play out his final junior season is uncertain, what is clear is that Gavin will be a stand-out in the NHL and that the team that drafts him will have a generational player around whom they can build.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 9 | 29 ANSWERS Gavin McKenna, the projected Number 1 overall pick in 2026 NHL Draft, may be headed to surprising NCAA team Do you agree that Gavin McKenna is the consensus number 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft? | ||
| Yes | 18 | 62.1 % |
| No | 11 | 37.9 % |
| List of polls | ||