Canadian junior hockey phenom Gavin McKenna to announce NCAA destination

By Canadian Press on July 8, 2025.

Junior hockey phenom Gavin McKenna will announce his anticipated move to the NCAA on Tuesday.

McKenna will make the announcement on ESPN’s SportsCenter at 6 p.m. ET. NHL.com reported Penn State and Michigan State are both in the running to land the 17-year-old forward.

It will be a game-changing decision for junior hockey as the presumptive No. 1 overall pick in next year’s NHL draft leaves the Western Hockey League’s Medicine Hat Tigers to join the United States college ranks.

McKenna had 41 goals and 88 assists in 56 regular-season games last season and helped Medicine Hat win its first WHL title since 2007 and reach the Memorial Cup final.

In June, the six-foot winger from Whitehorse became the third-youngest Canadian Hockey League player of the year, only Sidney Crosby and John Tavares were younger.

The NCAA lifted a long-standing ban in November, allowing CHL players to compete at U.S. colleges starting next season.

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

The Canadian Press