On Tuesday night, Gavin McKenna officially announced his commitment to Penn State University. After an incredible run in major junior with the Medicine Hat Tigers, McKenna began to receive the “generational” label that stars like Connor Bedard, Connor McDavid, and Sidney Crosby had before him.
Those are lofty expectations, but McKenna has the pedigree to meet them. Whoever wins the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery will earn the right to select McKenna first overall.
McKenna made his announcement official on Tuesday evening with a hit on ESPN. During the interview, he was asked who he modeled his game after. The name he brought up was Chicago Blackhawks legend Patrick Kane.
Kane gets brought up a lot when young players are asked this question. Of course, any skilled player who was a kid/teenager from 2009-2022 wanted to be like Kane.
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Gavin McKenna talks about modelling his game after Patrick Kane.
"Patrick Kane was my guy growing up," McKenna said of Kane on SportsCenter. "Just the way he played always excited me."
When the Blackhawks were in the middle of their run that included 3 Stanley Cups in six years, McKenna was a kid watching and dreaming of becoming that good.
"Growing up, I was a Blackhawks fan," McKenna said. "I always had them on the TV. They were obviously on a dynasty there. He was the guy that was kind of leading the charge."
Conveniently, the Blackhawks are likely going to be one of the teams in the mix for McKenna. They have had a top-three pick in each of the last three drafts, and a fourth wouldn't shock anyone.
One of those top three picks was Connor Bedard, who is a cousin (through marriage) of Gavin McKenna. The ties run deep between McKenna and the Blackhawks. Throughout his season at Penn State, you can bet that Kyle Davidson and his staff will be watching.
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