Gavin McKenna, Porter Martone, & Tij Iginla Recognized by EA SPORTS for Their Performance at the U18 World Championship

Three new Next Gen cards in NHL 24 HUT for the recent Gold Medal winners from Team Canada

Canada is golden once again at the IIHF U18 Men's World Championship. Canada defeated USA 6-4 in the Gold Medal Game after rallying back from a 3-1 deficit. Their tournament's dominance was led by three players, all of whom are eligible for separate NHL drafts. 

If you haven't heard there is a new Canadian hockey player phenom. His name is Gavin McKenna. He was the first overall pick in the 2022 WHL Bantam Draft by the Medicine Hat Tigers. McKenna put up 18 points in 16 games as a 15-year-old last season in his first bit of action in the Dub.

This season, as now a 16-year-old, he torched the WHL for 63 assists and 97 points in 61 games. He won the WHL's Rookie of the Year and then took his talents overseas to Finland to represent Canada at the IIHF U18 Men's World Championship. 

As an underager at this event, McKenna finished with the most goals (10) and second in points (20) and set a record for most points by a Canadian in a single U18 tournament. It's actually ridiculous how good this kid is already. 

If it wasn't for McKenna, there would be more talk surrounding the potential top-10 2025 NHL Draft prospect, Porter Martone. 

Martone also surpassed the previous record for most points by a Canadian at the U18 Men's World Championship held by Tyson Jost and soon to be first overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, Macklin Celebrini. 

He did break a record that his linemate McKenna didn't, however. Martone passed Connor Bedard for most all-time points by a Canadian at the U18 Worlds with 23 points. Bedard's old record was 21 points in 11 games.

Martone shined at last year's U18 with six points in seven games as an underager. This year, as captain of Team Canada, he recorded five goals, 12 assists, and 17 points in seven tournament games. 

Tij Iginla finished third behind McKenna and Martone in scoring for Team Canada with six goals and 12 points. Iginla is regarded by many scouting outlets as a first-round pick for the upcoming 2024 NHL Draft. 

Tij scored the game-winner in the Gold Medal Game against Team USA and had three points that helped spark the comeback for the red and white. 

McKenna, Martone, and Iginla received upgrades in NHL 24 Hockey Ultimate Team for their performance at the U18 Worlds.

Here are their new Next Gen HUT cards:

[gallery ids="3697,3698,3699"]

For more NHL 24 HUT content bookmark The Hockey News Gaming Site.