NHL prospect F Gavin McKenna’s decision to attend Penn State is viewed as “groundbreaking” because “players of McKenna’s ilk generally haven’t chosen to be NCAA hockey players before,” according to Billy Heyen of SPORTING NEWS. McKenna, who is hailed as the “greatest prospect of his generation” and is “currently the heavy favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft,” spent the last three years with the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers. He “could have lots of different reasons for choosing to go to college, including the potential benefits of NIL for earning income before even reaching the NHL ranks” (SPORTING NEWS, 7/7).
WELCOME TO HAPPY VALLEY: ELITEPROSPECTS.com’s Cam Robinson wrote McKenna’s arrival is a “pivotal moment not only for the Nittany Lions but for NCAA hockey as a whole” as he is “the most high-profile recruit in college hockey history.” For Penn State, a program that has “grown steadily” since its Division I inception in 2012, this commitment “instantly vaults them into national championship contention.” Robinson: “Armed with one of the country’s most aggressive and well-funded NIL programs, Penn State has increasingly been viewed by top prospects as a viable, and in many cases superior, alternative to the CHL or traditional NCAA powerhouse schools” (ELITEPROSPECTS.com, 7/7).