McKenna, projected No. 1 pick in 2026, announces he will play at Penn State

Happy Valley just got even happier.

Gavin McKenna, considered a generational talent and the favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, will play at Penn State University this season.

The 17-year-old forward announced his decision Tuesday on ESPN’s “SportsCenter."

"It was a super tough decision," McKenna said. "Obviously there's a lot of great options out there, but I think me, my family and everyone that was kind of part of my circle, we all decided the best spot for me next year will be Penn State University. Penn State is a great spot for me. I got to kind of get a taste of what it's like there and got to bring along my dad, and we both thought it was a great spot for me."

This will be the first season Canadian Hockey League players are eligible to play NCAA hockey after a rule change last year. Previously they had been considered professionals because some CHL players had signed NHL entry-level contracts.

Though others previously have announced their intent to play NCAA hockey, McKenna is the most high-profile player to do so.

"Gavin is a special player and a terrific young man," Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky said. "Our staff could not have been more impressed with how he presented himself on his visit. His arrival to Hockey Valley is extremely significant not only to our hockey program, but to Penn State athletics and to college hockey as a whole. We are absolutely thrilled and excited to witness his contributions on the ice, to our locker room, and to the Penn State community."

One of the reasons McKenna cited was the chance to play against older, more physically developed competition.

"I think [college] honestly just makes the jump [to the NHL] easier," he said. "Going against older, heavier, stronger guys, I think it really prepares you. I think even in the locker room, hanging around older guys and being around more mature guys, I think that will help me a lot in my first season. Obviously, the [WHL] was a great spot, and I'm very grateful for what it did for me and my family. 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."

McKenna was second in the Western Hockey League last season with 129 points (41 goals, 88 assists) in 56 games with Medicine Hat, and was third in the WHL playoffs with 38 points (nine goals, 29 assists) in 16 games to help the Tigers reach the Memorial Cup, the four-team CHL championship tournament.

He was third in scoring at the Memorial Cup with six points (three goals, three assists) in four games as Medicine Hat lost 4-1 to London in the championship game. McKenna scored Medicine Hat's goal.

"McKenna (5-foot-11, 162 pounds) is in a special category that you only come across every few years," NHL Central Scouting director Dan Marr said. "His offensive instincts and playmaking game are truly exceptional and it's his composure, compete and maturity that really sell you on his talent. His game resembles the likes of Patrick Kane and Doug Gilmour, who both had slight builds and were able to utilize their talents to produce and use those same smarts and wits to protect themselves from hockey's physical elements."

McKenna finished the regular season with points in 40 straight games (100 points; 32 goals, 68 assists), and then had a point in his first 14 playoff games (37 points; eight goals, 29 assists). The combined 54-game streak (137 points; 40 goals, 97 assists) set a modern CHL record (since 2000).

He won the Four Broncos Trophy as WHL Player of the Year and the CHL David Branch Player of the Year Award.

McKenna is the third-youngest player to win the CHL player of the year award, after John Tavares (2006-07) and Sidney Crosby (2003-04), each of whom was 16 at the time.

He also scored one goal in five games for Canada as its youngest player at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship.

"His trajectory is generational because when you compare where he is at the same age to some of these other players to get to the NHL as 18-year-olds and have an impact, he's on that same path," Central Scouting associate director David Gregory said. "When you think of the key skills you have to have in the NHL ... you have to be smart, you have to be able to skate and you have to be able to compete. Those three important skills are maybe his three best skills, so we're not even talking about how great his hands are.

"We don't use the term 'five-tool player' in hockey as much as you hear it used in other sports, but McKenna's one of those guys. He's got it."

Penn State (22-14-4) reached the Frozen Four for the first time last season after defeating Connecticut 3-2 in overtime to win its regional final. It lost 3-1 to Boston University in the national semifinals.

The program moved to the NCAA Division I level for the 2012-13 season and has made a rapid ascent.

"I think it's just a lot of work from a lot of people in the hockey program and the athletic department and the community, the alumni," Gadowsky said. "So many people that have been doing a lot of work for the program since its inception. I guess it's just the law of the farm that you keep doing the job, and eventually you get rewarded for it."

McKenna said another of the aspects that swayed him was the facilities for the players, which are housed at Pegula Ice Arena. The building is named for Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula.

"It's all hockey all the time," Gadowsky said. "This building is for them. ... I've never seen a better hockey weight room, and it's literally, it's 10 feet across the hall from our locker room. They thought of making sure that we have great nutrition right in the locker room area, everything from the underwater treadmill and athletic training facilities right in the locker room. Everything is extremely convenient for the hockey players and that's something that was important to Mr. Pegula.

"The atmosphere right from Day 1 was incredible, and as we've improved, they've improved. This is the most fun place to watch a hockey game, that's for sure."

McKenna will have help this season. Defenseman Jackson Smith, selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets with the No. 14 pick of the 2025 NHL Draft, will join McKenna as a freshman. The 18-year-old was 10th among WHL defensemen last season with 54 points (11 goals, 43 assists) in 68 games with Tri-City.

Among the returning players from last season will be the team's top two scorers, forwards Aiden Fink and Charlie Cerrato.

Fink, a Nashville Predators prospect, was fourth among NCAA players with 53 points (23 goals, 30 assists) in 40 games. Cerrato, who had 42 points (15 goals, 27 assists) in 38 games, was chosen by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round (No. 49) of the 2025 NHL Draft. He's the second-ever Penn State player to be chosen in the NHL draft, and first since Denis Smirnov by the Colorado Avalanche in the sixth round (No. 156) of the 2017 NHL Draft.

In addition, Gadowsky was a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award as NCAA Division I coach of the year.

"The main goal is obviously to win a championship," McKenna said. "I think you kind of saw what Penn State did this year, making it to the Frozen Four. They've come a long ways, and I think next year when I go there, obviously that's the goal, to win a championship with them."

Other players selected in the 2025 draft committed to play NCAA hockey this season include forward Cole Reschny (No. 18, Calgary Flames), who is leaving Victoria of the WHL for the University of North Dakota; and forward Malcolm Spence (No. 43, New York Rangers), who is going to the University of Michigan from Erie of the Ontario Hockey League.

Defenseman Keaton Verhoeff, another top prospect for the 2026 draft, will attend North Dakota after playing the past two seasons with Victoria.

NHL.com senior draft writer Mike G. Morreale contributed to this report