Gavin McKenna
2026 NHL Draft Eligible
Position: LW, Shoots: L
H/W: 6-foot-0, 170 Pounds
Date of Birth: 2007-12-20
Stats to Date: 6-18–24 in 20 NCAA GP
Gavin McKenna has been a hot commodity for quite some time now. He was able to play in the WHL in a limited span for his 15-year-old season, getting into 16 games. There, he scored four goals and 14 assists, recording over a point-per-game at an incredibly young age. He followed that up in his first full WHL season with 97 points in 61 games, including 34 goals. He won rookie of the year honors in the WHL and across the entire CHL for his performance that season. He also dominated the U18 World Championship, winning Gold after scoring 20 points in just seven games. Last year saw him elevate his game further, capturing the CHL's player of the year award and a WHL championship. He would end his WHL career after last season, totalling 244 points in 133 games across three seasons.
This season, McKenna would make the jump to the NCAA, after new rules were put into place. These rules between the CHL and NCAA allowed players to still be eligible to play NCAA games regardless of whether or not they played in the CHL. At least, so long as they hadn’t signed a pro contract (for now). With his production in the WHL already remarkable, it was clear he had very little left to prove. The NCAA, which is a tighter checking league with older players littered across the league compared to the WHL, was a step up in competition that McKenna felt was necessary for his development.
McKenna is an elite level playmaker and processor, who reads the ice exceptionally well and makes teams pay with even the slightest of openings. His skill on the puck is remarkable, and easily places close to, or directly at, the top of this class. But it’s his play off the puck and his work ethic in those moments that has caught attention. Additionally, his play at even-strength in the NCAA thus far with Penn State has left plenty to be desired. With his name in the spotlight for so long, and the tougher NCAA competition giving him some trouble early this season, scouts have quickly soured on him. He’s losing traction as the potential number one selection because of it.
Yet, he is still an over point-per-game player despite the struggles. Not only that, but getting the chance to feel out the NCAA and see where he is struggling is a key part of his development. It’s unlikely these issues would have been discovered had he remained - and likely dominated - in the WHL. McKenna projection as a truly game-breaking, franchise cornerstone has become less certain due to his slow first half. But he still projects as a key piece of a team's top line in the future, similar to guys like Nikita Kucherov and Mitch Marner in the offensive zone. It’s important to note, this is a comparison of their offensive styles, not an overall comparison, as Kucherov processes the game slightly better and has better off-puck tendencies, while Marner has a bigger impact in the defensive end. But McKenna’s playmaking can have a similar impact on the game as those two in the right environment. That’s how talented McKenna is.
Skating
McKenna is a solid skater, who relies more on escapability than speed. He works meticulously, controlling the pace of play and looking to dissect the opposition. He doesn’t look to just blow past opponents and scream down the ice. That’s not McKenna’s game. Instead, he wins as a skater by using strong edges to change direction, and marrying that ability with excellent stickhandling skill. That allows him to get past defenders with relative ease, as opposed to skating circles around them.
That’s not to say he’s a bad skater by any means. He has quickness to him, with a good first step and acceleration to move up the ice. In fact, his quick first step is also instrumental in his slipperiness as a skater, allowing him to avoid stick checks and defensive pressure. This edge work and slipperiness is what allows McKenna’s game to click. Plus, McKenna does have speed… when he decides to use that part of his game. But he just does not move at 100% effort, which limits how much his skating can truly impact the game.
If there is a frustrating aspect to this style of skating, it’s that McKenna plays soft along the boards. His smaller frame does not help, of course, as he can be a bit easy to knock off pucks at times. When pressure closes in on him, he can be quick to bail out of plays as well, not looking to engage in a battle. He does not have the raw speed and explosiveness to break away from those areas either, which can put him in those tight spots more often. That contact balance, lack of a willingness to battle along the boards for possession, and lacking of that extra gear in his skating have taken center stage in the NCAA, hurting his game in the eyes of scouts.
McKenna (#9 in red) shows his acceleration and straight-line speed. He does not gain any ground on the retrieving defender, and is quick to bail out of a sprint down the ice. But his first few steps don’t show a ton of explosion, nor does his initial straight-line speed impress. He then shows his edges and ability to track the play with his feet, ultimately forcing a mistake and gaining possession of the puck.
McKenna (#9 in red) shows far more effort and willingness to turn on the jets here. He gets up to top speed rapidly, then shows strong edge work and balance to change directions on the toe drag to get inside positioning on the defender for a better shooting angle. This shows how much better of a skater McKenna can be if he were to push himself harder on a more consistent basis.
GRADE: 55
Shot
McKenna has a great shot that features an excellent release and a lot of power behind it. He exudes a ton of confidence, which allows him to command pucks constantly and the play always finds its way onto his stick. He leads all Penn State players in time with possession of the puck per game, and it resulted in a team-leading 4.1 shots on goal per game. However, he has only converted all those shots into six total goals. Why?
McKenna is a playmaker at heart, and his shooting reflects that at times. He does not always look to shoot to score, often looking to put pucks into spots for tips or rebounds. Another reason for the overall lack of goals is the fact that he doesn’t always drive into those high-danger areas for those excellent looks. In fact, just ~16% of his shots come from the inner-slot area, or the home-plate area of the offensive zone.
Ultimately, McKenna has a very good shot that can beat top goaltenders consistently. But he needs to utilize it more, not from a quantity standpoint, but from a quality standpoint. His playmaking is incredible, but if he can find ways to threaten as a shooter, it makes his game that much more dynamic and difficult to defend against.
In this clip, McKenna (#9 in red) enters the offensive zone as the second man in, after his teammates forechecking forced a turnover. His teammate then set up McKenna with a pass to the slot, where in one motion, he catches the pass, adjusts his feet and gets off a quick and heavy shot. While he did not score, this showcases his release and the power behind his shots.
Here is an example of McKenna (#72 in white) not shooting to score. He enters into the zone as the trailer and gets the pass at the top of the left circle. Instead of firing one, he decides to send a shot low and on net, with a teammate flying down towards the net. It doesn’t take the bounce needed to threaten, but these are the plays littered in McKenna’s film. He doesn’t always go for the heavy shot, instead electing for a change up that could result in a chance for a teammate.
GRADE: 55
Skills
McKenna is certainly one of the single most skilled players in the 2026 draft. When it comes to raw talent and ability with the puck on his stick, there are very few who are in the same category as him. His ability to escape tight pressure by combining his edges, smarts and stickhandling is ahead of just about every single player in the class. He knows what to do in tight spots and when to time his stickhandling. He can create a lot of plays because of it.
His passing is also a thing of beauty, as he can thread the needle at times to find teammates in high-danger spots. His vision and play-reading ability helps in this area as well, but his ability to actually hit on those passes is what makes him a special playmaker. It’s also the little passes he does that can generate excellent opportunities. He can read the play very well, and has the touch to make very quick, simple passes to spark a rush opportunity. It’s subtle, but so important for the play to unfold.
McKenna (#9 in white) made a pass that won’t ever make the highlight reels in this clip. However, without this pass from McKenna, this goal does not happen. The puck gets held in temporarily by Czechia at the start of the clip, and McKenna had to turn back to pick up the loose puck. He’s pressured from both sides, and he flicks a very smart area pass to a teammate between both defenders. That springs a Canada break out, leading almost immediately into a goal scored. A savvy play from McKenna that pretty directly led to a goal, though not many would point to that pass and give him his due credit.
In this clip, McKenna (#9 in red) displays immense skill, vision, and smarts here. On the powerplay, in an elimination game, he makes two very skilled plays one after the other. Initially, he skates towards the slot, drawing in defenders. Once those defenders are drawn, he makes a cross-ice pass into space to Michael Hage. He then sets his feet, drifts back to the dot and into a passing lane, where Hage zips the return feed as he draws attention. McKenna, understanding that all the Slovak defenders turned to face him when he got the puck, and did not have their sticks in place to protect a one-touch pass back against the grain. So, he does exactly that, threading the needle to the back door for one of the easiest goals Brady Martin will ever score.
GRADE: 67.5
Smarts
McKenna is an incredibly smart player, no doubt. As mentioned several times before, his ability to read the play is second-to-none in this class. From a micro-standpoint, he has the ability to make subtle plays to set up scoring opportunities for himself or teammates. From a macro-standpoint, he has the ability to consistently set up goals with his stickhandling and passing abilities, all because of how quickly he can process plays. He picks his spots very well, and it’s led to him producing at an incredible rate in the WHL at a very young age, and at a point-per-game pace in the NCAA already.
If there’s anything to really nit-pick about his smarts, it’s his off-puck play. That’s a common theme in most evaluations of McKenna. He processes the game so incredibly well, but he doesn’t attack the dangerous areas when he’s away from the puck often enough. He also doesn’t use his smarts well enough to force opponents into mistakes. He doesn’t even have to be aggressive or physical when defending, but using his brain to take strong angles and force mistakes should be possible. But again, that’s nitpicking, because McKenna is an incredibly smart hockey player.
McKenna (#72 in white) shows off his smarts in this clip in a big way. A breakout pass comes up to him, he immediately one-touches it to a teammate with speed. He then skates up the boards, gets the return pass, and then once again sends a one-touch pass across the ice to a teammate streaking in. The pass did not get through cleanly, but it made its way to the intended target, and led to a scoring chance.
McKenna (#72 in white) again gets a breakout pass at the start of the clip. As he enters the zone, he slows down and pulls up at the blue line. He draws in two defenders before sending a cross-ice pass to a streaking forward. Again, it did not get through cleanly, but his vision and his ability to think the game and know where to go with the puck is outstanding.
In this clip, McKenna (#9 in red) gets the puck in his spot on the perimeter on the man-advantage. As he gets the puck, he displays tons of poise, waiting for a play to develop around him. As Martin drifts towards the back door, McKenna ripped a pass right at him. The vision and patience he displayed on this play allowed him to nearly set up another fantastic goal, but the pass was a touch too hard in that situation.
GRADE: 67.5
Physicality/Compete
When it comes to playing physically, McKenna just does not have that element in his game. In fact, McKenna plays quite soft along the boards, and it’s part of the reason for his struggles at even-strength at the NCAA level. It will also likely cause him to have growing pains in the NHL when he makes the jump, similar to that of Jack Hughes. The tight checking exhibited in the NCAA versus the WHL is evident, and it’s why McKenna’s draft stock is losing traction as the potential number one pick in the 2026 draft.
To his credit, he showed some more physicality in the World Juniors at times, willing to forecheck and get involved in battles a bit more often. But unless that carries over into his play at the NCAA level and becomes a more consistent aspect of his game, his physical ability is going to be well-below-average. He doesn’t have to be anywhere close to a wrecking ball, but pushing himself a bit more along the boards and being a more willing battler in general would go a long way into winning over scouts down the stretch.
In this clip, McKenna (#72 in white) has a puck pop out into space in front of him. Yes, he was tripped up a bit, but when he regained his footing, he tried to make a quick move and jump to the side of the pursuing player. Instead, the slight bump from a player now without a stick, forces a very easy turnover and clearance.
In this clip, however, McKenna (#72 in white) puts on display what he showed a bit of in the World Juniors. His team turns the puck over in the neutral zone, and he gets back quickly to help defend. He then reads the play, times up his pinch well, and denies a zone entry attempt by Minnesota with an excellent stick. It’s a small play, but it’s one that many want to see more of from McKenna.
GRADE: 45
OFP: 58.5
A note on the 20-80 scale used above. We look at five attributes (skating, shooting, puck skills, hockey IQ and physicality) for skaters and six for goalies (athleticism/quickness, compete/temperament, vision/play reading, technique/style, rebound control and puck handling). Each individual attribute is graded along the 20-80 scales, which includes half-grades. The idea is that a projection of 50 in a given attribute meant that our observer believed that the player could get to roughly NHL average at that attribute at maturity.