Projected 2026 No. 1 pick Gavin McKenna leaves CHL, commits to NCAA’s Penn State

Medicine Hat Tigers' Gavin McKenna (72) warms up before a Memorial Cup hockey game in Rimouski, Que., on Friday, May 23, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

Gavin McKenna’s long-rumoured move to the NCAA is official.

In a game-changing decision for junior hockey, the presumptive No. 1 overall pick in next year’s NHL entry draft announced on ESPN’s SportsCenter on Tuesday that he’s leaving the Western Hockey League and committing to Penn State University.

“It was a super-tough decision,” McKenna said. “Obviously there are a lot of great options out there. But me, my family and everyone who’s part of my circle decided that the best spot for me next year would be Penn State University.”

McKenna said having the chance to go against “older, heavier, stronger guys” in college will help prepare him for the NHL.

McKenna had 41 goals and 88 assists in 56 regular-season games for the Medicine Hat Tigers last season. He joins the Nittany Lions after helping Medicine Hat win its first WHL title since 2007 and reach the Memorial Cup final.

“Obviously, the (WHL) was a great spot, and I’m very grateful for what it did for me and my family,” he said. “I think both options are great, but I just think that going to college and being in such a great conference, it’ll really challenge me and prepare me.”

The 17-year-old from Whitehorse, who also played for Canada at the world junior hockey championship, has an exceptional blend of deceptive playmaking, elite stickhandling and shifty skating.

In June, the six-foot winger became the third-youngest Canadian Hockey League player of the year behind Sidney Crosby and John Tavares.

McKenna is the latest — and biggest — talent exiting the Canadian ranks for the NCAA in a changing junior hockey landscape. The NCAA lifted a long-standing ban in November, allowing CHL players to compete at U.S. colleges starting next season.

A wave of CHL players nearing the end of their time in junior committed to American schools in the following months.

McKenna, meanwhile, joins a growing number of WHL, OHL and QMJHL prospects committing to the NCAA with their junior careers in full swing.

Keaton Verhoeff, another top 2026 draft prospect, is departing the WHL’s Victoria Royals to join the University of North Dakota. Cayden Lindstrom, McKenna’s Medicine Hat teammate and last year’s fourth overall pick, is heading to Michigan State.

Calgary Flames prospect Luke Misa, of the OHL’s Brampton Steelheads, and defenceman Jackson Smith, this year’s 14th overall pick who spent the past three seasons with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans, have also committed to Penn State.

The Big Ten school posted a 22-14-4 record last season and lost to Boston University in the Frozen Four semifinal.

The NCAA approved new rules in June that allow colleges to directly pay their athletes, a practice previously forbidden for decades. College athletes can also profit off their name, image and likeness since June 2021.

The CHL, meanwhile, operates under an amateur student-athletes model and can only provide players a modest monthly stipend. Players are, however, allowed to pursue sponsorship deals.

McKenna’s season ended with a 4-1 loss to the London Knights in the Memorial Cup final, capping a stellar campaign that included a whopping 54-game point streak.

Rumours surrounding his departure picked up steam in the weeks that followed, with the phenom reportedly visiting several U.S. schools this summer.

Medicine Hat was one of five WHL franchises to bid for the 2026 Memorial Cup, but the CHL chose Kelowna, B.C., as host.

The Tigers and Kelowna Rockets are scheduled to play two WHL pre-season games in Whitehorse on Sept. 12 and 13.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 8, 2025