Penn State hockey star Gavin McKenna focused on winning, college challenges, as first game approaches

The moment Penn State fans have been waiting for is almost here. Top newcomer and projected 2026 No. 1 overall NHL Draft pick Gavin McKenna will make his debut for the Nittany Lions this Friday when they play a pair of contests at Arizona State. The reigning CHL Player of the Year is expected to play just one season of college hockey. This marks the first year that the NCAA is allowing Canadian junior players to move into its ranks. McKenna took advantage of that to continue prepping for the pros, and Penn State did enough to land him over Michigan State and others.

“I think there’s a lot less time and space,” McKenna said on Tuesday at the team’s media day, per NHL.com. “The guys are bigger, faster, older. It’s not too different in terms of skill and stuff. Obviously both leagues are very skilled, and guys can make plays and stuff. But in terms of speed and size, I think that’s the biggest difference.

“I think where I’m going to be challenged is probably just the little amount of games, going from 68 games in a year to 33,” he said. “That’s going to be obviously a challenge. I love the game, and itch to play games. With that, though, the reason I came here is because [of] less games, more time in the gym. I’m not a big guy, so I want to put on weight, and that was part of the reason I came here.”

McKenna tips the scales at 6-foot, 170 pounds. He is not the team’s smallest forward. But, the way he carries 170 pounds and the way junior Aiden Funk does is obviously different.

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“His work ethic is excellent,” Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky said, per NHL.com. “He fits into our locker room extremely well. He’s extremely quick. Extremely fast. He’s also in great shape. Doing the skating drills, he’s right at the front. So he’s not just a cerebral player, he’s got excellent conditioning and excellent speed.

“He does think the game differently. He’s a different animal when it comes to that, not only compared to any other freshman, just compared to anybody. He thinks the game in a very unique, quite amazing way. And you can see that when there’s drills that are game specific, that have a lot of traffic, he just somehow uses time and space in a very unique, just-make-it-so-easy way. So that’s been fun to watch.”

Much is expected of McKenna and Penn State this season. He is already a preseason All-Big Ten pick despite never playing a game in the league. And, the Lions are top five nationally and picked to finish second in the Big Ten. How good will they be? And, will they make it back to, and then beyond, last year’s Frozen Four?

We’ll find out soon enough, starting with McKenna’s debut against the Sun Devils this weekend.

“Seeing what these guys did last year, making it to the Frozen Four, that was a big influence on me,” McKenna said, per The Associated Press. “I wanted to come to a winning team and I thought this was the spot.”