In last summer’s 2023 NHL Entry Draft a WHL-trained prospect, former Regina Pats captain Connor Bedard, went first overall for the first time since the Edmonton Oilers selected former Red Deer Rebels center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with the top pick in 2011. Although it’s still far too early to say for sure, we may not have to wait nearly that long to see another WHLer go first overall in an NHL draft. Gavin McKenna, a native of Whitehorse, Yukon (the same northern city that boasts 2019 seventh overall pick Dylan Cozens) and the number one selection of the Medicine Hat Tigers in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft, has shown plenty of indications that he is a truly special hockey talent and a legitimate frontrunner for the top spot in the eventual 2026 edition. The 6’0”, 165-lb. left winger has a history of putting on dominant individual performances against high-level competition stretching back years, and the crazy part is that he’s still only 15 years old and has plenty of time to conjure up even more before he reaches the actual age of NHL draft eligibility.
Growing up in the remote Yukon province didn’t provide much in the way of elite minor hockey competition for McKenna, so in 2021-22 he moved to British Columbia and joined the Canadian Sports School Hockey League (CSSHL)’s RINK Hockey Academy U18 prep team in Kelowna as a 13-year old. Despite being much younger than most of the league’s players he topped the CSSHL in both assists (42) and points (65) after just 35 games, leading to his first overall selection by the Medicine Hat Tigers in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft. It didn’t take him long to prove he was deserving of top dog status either, starting with a spectacular showing for the ages while serving as captain of Team Yukon during the 2022-23 Canada Winter Games. On a roster that featured very little scoring help around him, McKenna racked up a staggering, all-time tournament record 31 points (16g15a) in only 7 games played to handily claim the event’s Most Valuable Player honours. He then led the CSSHL in scoring for a second consecutive season, this time notching 75 points (37g38a) in 26 total contests for the South Alberta Hockey Academy (SAHA) prep team and earning the league’s MVP award in the process. Perhaps most impressively, however, was his brief run as a WHL call-up that same year. Not only did he put up 4 assists in a 9-2 victory over the rival Lethbridge Hurricanes in his major junior debut (at the tender age of 14, I might add), but the 18 points (4g14a) he produced in his 16 games led the entire Tigers roster during that stretch.
Now, in 2023-24, Gavin McKenna has begun his official WHL rookie campaign as a 15-year old who doesn’t turn 16 until December. Through his first 14 games he has recorded 20 points (7g13a), the second-most on his team, giving him a current 1.43 points-per-game average that puts him on pace for 97 points over a full 68-game regular season. If he is able to break the 100-point barrier as an underaged rookie that would place him in uncharted territory for any twenty-first century WHLer, including the aforementioned Connor Bedard (who apparently is his distant cousin, strangely enough). So what is it that makes McKenna such a special offensive force and a potential future NHL superstar? That is what I aim to discover with this article.
ATTRIBUTES/STRENGTHS/PLAYING STYLE
Listed at 6’0” and 165 lbs. while still about a month away from turning 16 years old, McKenna could conceivably add another inch or two in height before his eventual draft year of 2025-26. As long as he continues to fill out his lanky frame and adds necessary muscle mass there should be no issues at the NHL level when it comes to his size. He is an effortlessly smooth skater with an elegant, mechanically efficient stride and excellent top speed, but his edgework does require some fine-tuning before he reaches the pro level. Dynamism on your edges is an absolute must-have in order to elude defenders in the modern day NHL, and he will need to further develop that aspect of his skating in the near future. He thinks the game and reads plays at an exceptionally high rate, which often gives him an advantage over opposing defenders in the attacking zone, and he seems able to consistently plan his next moves a step or two ahead of everyone else on the ice. When he uses those smarts in conjunction with his soft set of hands and elite playmaking vision he can be a dominant force and extremely difficult to defend against.
Offensively, it would be fair to say that McKenna leans more towards being a playmaker than a pure goal scorer. Over the last few WHL games prior to leaving the club to chase gold with Canada Red at the U17 Challenge he has really started to utilize his fantastic shot, but early on this season (and during his call-up last year) he almost always looked to make the pass before he ever thought about shooting the puck. In many ways, though, it makes a lot of sense: a 14/15-year old kid still getting a feel for the speed and size of major junior who tends to defer to his teammates and employs an unselfish game rather than fully utilizing his individual scoring skillset to its maximum potential. As he gains experience internationally and in the WHL and his confidence naturally grows along with it, his increased comfortability with the pace of major junior hockey will surely boost his play driving abilities to newfound heights. He packs a lightning-quick release on a lethally accurate snapshot that he can already beat goaltenders with cleanly from mid-range, and it will gradually become an even bigger weapon in his arsenal as he gains strength and continues to improve his technique. It is his vision on the ice that stands out immediately when watching him, however, as he can spot passing lanes that most others don’t know are there and has the skilled hands to consistently execute high difficulty passes through traffic on either the forehand or backhand. Much of Medicine Hat’s powerplay runs through McKenna because of the way he sees the ice and can manipulate the opposing defense with fakes, back door plays or the way he perfectly times his attacks (whether by slowing things down or speeding them up just enough to create new lanes), and that’s extremely rare for a player his age on a deep, well-coached CHL team.
Defensively, he is very much a work-in-progress, but as a winger (and a 15-year old rookie) it isn’t a glaring flaw or weakness that detracts from his value whatsoever at this stage of his development. He has the anticipation and quick hands to steal pucks, cause the opposition to commit turnovers or to block passing/shooting lanes, but he is still often unsure of his positioning and role inside his own zone. He’ll likely never be a penalty killer or deployed as a shutdown presence in the NHL, though, which is fine because scoring goals and creating offensive opportunities is what his future organization will be looking for from him anyways. There may be some who believe his value is lessened because he’s a natural winger and not a centerman, but in recent history we have seen wingers like Ilya Kovalchuk, Alex Ovechkin, Patrick Kane, Nikita Kucherov, Kirill Kaprizov and Jason Robertson achieve great success driving the attack for their NHL team’s top line and Gavin McKenna should fit right into that esteemed group eventually.
PROJECTION/POTENTIAL NHL UPSIDE
I’ve never been fond of making comparisons to current or past NHL stars when describing prospects, but in McKenna’s case I can actually think of one that fits nicely: Nikita Kucherov. Both players rely heavily on their intelligence, creativity and uncanny sense of timing to produce offense rather than spectacular solo dashes or highlight-reel moves (though both are certainly capable). Both are tremendously gifted and efficient playmakers who typically prefer to set-up their teammates with slick passes yet can also unleash deadly accurate laser-beam shots into the top corner of the net when they want to. I believe Gavin McKenna could have a relatively similar ceiling to that of Kucherov, but to project a 15-year old as a future NHL scoring champion, MVP, annual 100-point scorer and two-time Stanley Cup champion (like Kucherov) would be extremely foolish. My point is that McKenna could potentially become a very Kucherov-like player one day as a winger: face of his franchise, primary offensive play driver, leading scorer/top powerplay forward, etc. He seems to have that kind of extraordinary NHL upside, provided he is able to maximize his development over the next few years of course.
As a late-2007 birthday he will not be draft eligible until 2026, whereas most of the 2007-borns will be available in 2025, so McKenna still has two full seasons of junior hockey after this year to grow his all-around game and polish his already high-end skillset before an NHL organization comes calling. He has the Under-17 World Hockey Challenge to complete before he returns to the Tigers, and barring a strong playoff run from Medicine Hat he could potentially suit up for Canada at the U18 World Championships next spring too. International events like these, along with continued progression as a major junior star, will give us a much better glance and who (or what) he could become one day soon.
The Draft Report 