Gavin McKenna #9 at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
Multiple NHL sources have confirmed to RG that the chatter of the projected top pick overall at the 2026 NHL Draft, Gavin McKenna, making the jump to NCAA Hockey next season is for real.
“The buzz is loud, and it’s real,” an NHL executive replied to RG when asked about the growing speculation on what the Medicine Hat Tigers superstar will do after his team’s season concludes—at the latest, on June 1 in the Memorial Cup Final in Rimouski, Quebec.
The 6-foot, 165-pound, 17-year-old wunderkind finished his 2024–25 WHL season with 129 points (41g, 88a) in 56 regular-season games with the Medicine Hat Tigers. McKenna has since scored five goals to go with two helpers in the WHL playoffs to help the Tigers beat the Swift Current Broncos in five games and advance to the second round to play the Prince Albert Raiders, with Game 1 set for Saturday.
Could McKenna follow the reported plans of 2024 NHL Draft fourth overall pick and Tigers teammate Cayden Lindstrom, who is expected to play for Michigan State University next season?
“I don’t know for a fact what [McKenna] is going to do for sure, but I’m hearing more and more that there are some pretty big college teams getting ready to give him an offer he can’t refuse,” the longtime NHL executive said with seeming certainty.
College Heavyweights in Hot Pursuit
This source would not reveal who those schools are, but another NHL source told RG that as of this weekend, all signs pointed to NCAA Hockey blueblood programs—the University of Michigan and the University of North Dakota—as the potential frontrunners for the 17-year-old McKenna.
“Those will be the two schools that step up, especially after what just happened this past season,” the second source told RG.
What just happened was that, for the first time since 2019 (the tournament was canceled due to COVID in 2020), both NCAA hockey powerhouses missed the 16-team NCAA Division I Hockey Tournament.
“Are you kidding me?” the source asked rhetorically when asked if the failures of this past season were playing a major role in the pursuit of McKenna by Michigan and North Dakota.
“They’re salivating over this, trust me. What better way than to bounce back from what just happened with both programs?”
As a result of North Dakota not making the dance, longtime head coach and 2016 national champion Brad Berry was fired after ten seasons and replaced by Dane Jackson. The Fighting Hawks also made Waterloo Black Hawks general manager Bryn Chyzyk the program’s assistant coach/general manager. Chyzyk became the first general manager in NCAA hockey to have coaching/recruiting capabilities.
“They made that last move to dominate the portal and attack the new world with the CHL,” the source went on. “They’re not messing around, and they want to be at the front of the line if and when McKenna says he’s open for business to the NCAA.”
“With Michigan too, they’ve got plenty coming and already have guys coming back, and could all of a sudden become a favorite to win it all if they added a stud like McKenna.”
While Canadian and all Division I athletes can only profit from NIL money made outside of the United States, McKenna’s family advisor/agent, Byron Ritchie, recently indicated to the Vancouver Province that won’t be what keeps McKenna away from NCAA Hockey. The potential of being better prepared for the daily rigors of the NHL by jumping over to NCAA Hockey is what’s most appealing for his highly touted client.
“(The NCAA opportunity) is obviously there. It’s a viable option for him. We haven’t exposed him to any schools yet, just because we’re trying to limit distractions and keep his feet where they are and focus on this season,” Ritchie said in the interview with Steve Ewen of The Province.
“There’s a lot of eyes on what he’s going to do next year, for sure. At the end of the day, it has to be his decision. Whatever decision he makes, we are going to support him. He has to be wholeheartedly behind whatever his decision is and not have any doubts or fears and not look back at all.”
The 2025 NCAA Frozen Four is underway in St. Louis; could we see Gavin McKenna playing under the bright lights of Las Vegas in the 2026 Frozen Four?
James Murphy
