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    Gavin McKenna, the NHL's Next, Next One, Is On a Mission

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    Gavin McKenna, the NHL's Next, Next One, Is On a Mission

    Gavin McKenna

    Photo by Randy Feere

    Gavin McKenna’s first full year of major junior netted him CHL rookie of the year honors and a gold medal with Canada at the world under-18s. So what does the top 2026 draft prospect do for an encore? 

    For starters, he landed a groundbreaking endorsement deal with CWENCH, a new high-performance sports drink company whose products were formulated by famed trainer Andy O’Brien.

    “It was a cool opportunity,” McKenna said. “In hockey, health is such a big thing and I thought CWENCH was a healthy brand that could help me. And it tastes super-good, so it was really appealing to me.”

    The brand has also signed up the likes of Nathan MacKinnon, NBA power forward Andrew Wiggins and Olympic soccer winger Adriana Leon. Being on the same “team” as MacKinnon is a thrill for McKenna, who also knows CWENCH’s other new ambassador, women’s hockey phenom Chloe Primerano.

    “I’ve skated with her a few times and watched her play quite a bit,” McKenna said. “She’s an unreal player – she has such a bright future, and it’s exciting to see what she does. The sky’s the limit.”

    McKenna has spent most of his summer in Kelowna, B.C., training for the upcoming WHL season. He’s been living with Minnesota Wild draft pick Ryder Ritchie and the Ritchie family (dad Byron played more than 300 games in the NHL) while also skating with the likes of Washington Capitals prospect Andrew Cristall and Columbus Blue Jackets forwards Cole Sillinger and Kent Johnson. He’ll head off to camp for Canada’s under-18 Hlinka-Gretzky tournament soon, and the last time he repped the maple leaf, the Canadians struck gold.

    McKenna put up a beguiling 20 points in seven games at the World Men’s Under-18s, and Canada upset the favored Team USA in the final with a dramatic come-from-behind victory. The youngest player on the team, McKenna had a hat trick to propel the offense.

    “The one big takeaway from that tournament was how tight of a team we were and that we bonded really quickly,” he said. “In a short tournament like that, it’s really key to have chemistry with your linemates and teammates and to be comfortable with your coaches and trainers. That’s one of the big reasons we won – we were doing it for each other and wanted to do it for the guy next to us because we had such tight friendships.”

    Another high for McKenna came when he won the APTN Bryan Trottier MVP Award, which goes to the Indigenous player who combines on-ice excellence and off-ice contributions to the community. McKenna is a proud member of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation and hails from Whitehorse, Yukon. He’s the first junior player ever to earn the accolade.

    “I’m really proud of where I came from so to have that in my back pocket is pretty cool,” he said. “I hope it influences lots of young Indigenous people to keep pushing forward: No matter who you are and where you come from, anything’s possible as long as you put your mind to it. It’s something my family and I are super-proud of.”

    McKenna stays connected to his culture by fishing, hunting and trapping when he’s back home, while spending as much time with family and friends as he can. It’s good that he can find time now, because he will certainly get even busier as his career continues its astonishing ascent: He rang up 97 points as a rookie with Medicine Hat and the Tigers are a team to fear for 2024-25.

    On top of McKenna, Medicine Hat also returns Cayden Lindstrom (fourth overall to Columbus in 2024), Andrew Basha (41st overall to Calgary) and Tomas Mrsic (113th overall to St. Louis). This summer, the Tigers took two more 2024 draft picks in the import draft with Finnish defensemen Niilopekka Muhonen (47th overall to Dallas) and Veeti Vaisanen (96th overall to Utah). Needless to say, internal expectations are high.

    “Our expectation going into the year is to win it all,” McKenna said. “We have all the guys, so if we can come together as a team and work as hard as we can every single day, there’s nothing that can stop us.”

    Related: Winners and Losers from the 2024 NHL Draft

    Related: 2024 NHL Draft: Best Value Pick for Every Round



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