Gavin McKenna, Top 2026 NHL Draft Prospect, Reportedly Set To Leave WHL For Penn State
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The exodus of CHL talent to the NCAA has reached a fever pitch this week, with news that 2026 top draft prospect Gavin McKenna is reportedly committing to Penn State.
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July 7, 2025
09:05 PM
Forbes
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SportsMoneyGavin McKenna, Top 2026 NHL Draft spect, Reportedly Set To Leave WHL For Penn StateByCarol Schram, Senior Contributor
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights
Carol Schram is a Vancouver-based reporter who covers hockey
AuthorJul 07, 2025, 09:05pm EDTPer reports, Gavin McKenna of the WHL's Medicine Hat Tigers will be playing NCAA Hockey for Penn
More State during his 2025-26 draft year. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/Getty Images)Getty Images 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 spect 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 spects 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 ed 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 spect 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 at 13 to play in the Rink Hockey Academy gram in Kelowna, B
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
MORE FOR YOU 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 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 apved the changes that would allow CHL players to suit up for NCAA s 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 ven 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 spects 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 gram than Penn State, which earned its Div
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, spect 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 careers, and to earn significant cash through NIL grams
According to Robinson, Penn State ders on both counts, and the of 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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