Gavin McKenna, Top 2026 NHL Draft Prospect, Reportedly Set To Leave WHL For Penn State
As NCAA Div. I hockey teams prepare to include players with Canadian Hockey League experience on their rosters for the first time this fall, top undrafted prospect Gavin McKenna looks set to join the exodus.
Per multiple reports, McKenna will announce his commitment to Penn State University as early as Tuesday. Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects was first with the news.
The 17-year-old left wing, who is widely believed to be the front-runner to be selected first overall in the 2026 NHL Draft, is coming off a 129-point regular season with the WHL's Medicine Hat Tigers. He followed up with a playoff run that saw him collect 38 points in 16 games as the Tigers captured the WHL championship, then reach the final of the CHL's Memorial Cup before falling to the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. His haul of individual awards included the WHL and CHL player of the year honors, as well as a spot on the Memorial Cup all-star team
Those are all heady achievements for a draft-minus-one prospect skating in a league with players who are up to 21 years old. Along the way, McKenna also amassed a 54-game point streak that carried over from the regular season into the playoffs — a CHL record for the 21st century.
A native of Whitehorse in Canada's Yukon Territory, McKenna is a small-town kid who left home at 13 to play in the Rink Hockey Academy program in Kelowna, B.C. His talent was no longer a secret by the time he was selected first overall by the Tigers in the 2022 WHL draft at age 14, and his stock has only risen from there.
When McKenna chose the CHL route barely three years ago, he and his family would have assumed that he'd closed the door on playing NCAA hockey. In recent years, some top Canadian talents like Macklin Celebrini (No. 1 in 2024) and Adam Fantilli (No. 3 in 2023) had elected to go the college route, but that required careful planning through their development stages and forgoing the CHL entirely due to the NCAA's eligibility requirements at the time.
By the spring of 2024, there was talk that the landscape might be changing. And last November, the Div. I Council approved the changes that would allow CHL players to suit up for NCAA clubs starting in 2025-26.
At first, representatives from the CHL's three leagues — the Western Hockey League, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League — said they welcomed the change and the opportunity for their graduating players to continue their journeys in the NCAA after completing their WHL commitments. But backroom chatter suggested that some of the leagues' top stars could make the jump before completing their CHL eligibility, and that has proven to be the case.
Players who have already signed their NHL entry-level contracts after being drafted still lose their NCAA eligibility, which is the case for most of the top prospects from 2024. But McKenna's Medicine Hat teammate Cayden Lindstrom, who was selected fourth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets a year ago, is not signed and will also make the jump to college hockey next season, at Michigan State.
According to Robinson, Michigan State was the other school in the running for McKenna's services. Three-time national champions, the Spartans are a more established hockey program than Penn State, which earned its Div. I status in 2012. The Nittany Lions have made four NCAA Tournament appearances to date, and reached the Frozen Four for the first time in 2025.
The team's recruiting class for next season also includes defenseman Jackson Smith, who was selected 14th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets at last month's 2025 NHL Draft. The Calgary native spent last season with the WHL's Tri-City Americans.
Another WHL first-round pick, center Cole Reschny, was selected 18th overall by the Calgary Flames after a breakout season with the Victoria Royals. Both Reschny and his Victoria teammate, hulking defenseman Keaton Verhoeff, have comitted to the University of North Dakota.
Listed at 6-foot-4 and 212 pounds and a coveted right shot who turned 17 on June 19, prospect experts are suggesting that Verhoeff's impressive development could see him challenge McKenna for top spot in the draft next spring. If there's a head-to-head matchup between the two along the way, it will be now be at the 2026 NCAA Tournament rather than in WHL play.
The NCAA route offers top talents the opportunity to experience campus life before starting their pro careers, and to earn significant cash through NIL programs. According to Robinson, Penn State delivers on both counts, and the proof is in the pudding with the recruits they've attracted to date.
'Penn's operation is one of the best in college hockey,' Robinson quoted one NCAA source. 'They've built an environment that's very competitive financially, but also a highly attractive experience for the student-athlete.'
Gavin McKenna's decision reportedly came after recent campus visits to both Michigan State and Penn State.
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Going to be seeing a lot of this from Gavin McKenna and the Penn State Nittany Lions this season — Drop the Mitts Hockey (@dropmittshockey) July 7, 2025 Boasting exceptional skating ability, silky-soft hands, and an ultra competitive motor, McKenna also became the third youngest player to be named CHL Player of the Year after earning the award following last season's heroics, behind only Sidney Crosby (2004) and John Tavares (2007). He'll be the player to watch for Canada at next year's World Junior tournament and undoubtedly the top pick in the 2026 NHL draft. As McKenna becomes the first high-profile, yet-to-be-drafted player to take advantage of the new NCAA rules, many are wondering why a sure-fire No. 1 overall pick would leave the CHL to play a year of college hockey south of the border. There are several attracting factors to players like McKenna, and the big one that can't be overlooked is the almighty dollar. 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