• Hockey
  • Penn State’s Gavin McKenna Selected No. 1 Overall By Toronto In The 2026 NHL Draft

Penn State’s Gavin McKenna Selected No. 1 Overall By Toronto In The 2026 NHL Draft

Details
Hockey

(BCSNN) -- Penn State forward Gavin McKenna (Whitehorse, Yukon) made program history Friday night, becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft when the Toronto Maple Leafs selected him inside Buffalo’s KeyBank Center.

McKenna becomes just the fifth NCAA men’s hockey player ever to be drafted first overall — and the second in the past three seasons, following Boston University’s Macklin Celebrini, who went No. 1 to San Jose in 2024.

The left‑handed forward spent the season ranked No. 1 on NHL Central Scouting’s final list of North American skaters and delivered one of the most decorated freshman campaigns in Big Ten history. He was named a Second‑Team All‑American, a Hobey Baker Top‑10 Finalist, a Big Ten All‑Freshman Team and All‑Big Ten Second Team selection, while becoming the first Nittany Lion ever to win the Big Ten scoring title and earn Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors.

McKenna earned HCA National Rookie of the Month twice (October, February) and collected four Big Ten weekly awards, including two First Star selections.

In February, McKenna authored one of the most dominant single‑game performances in modern college hockey, setting program records with eight points and seven assists in an 11–4 win over Ohio State. Five of those assists were primary. The eight‑point outing was the most in an NCAA Division I game in 39 years, while the seven assists were the most in a game since 1983 and the most ever by a Big Ten player.

Both totals also set Big Ten single‑game records in the conference’s 13‑year history.

McKenna finished the season with 51 points, becoming just the third Nittany Lion to reach the 50‑point mark. His 51 points — a Penn State freshman record — came on 15 goals and a single‑season program‑record 36 assists. He ranked third in the Big Ten and tied for fifth nationally in scoring, while his 36 assists were second in the country behind Michigan’s Michael Hage.

He also set the Penn State record with 1.46 points per game, the top mark in the Big Ten and second nationally.

McKenna now joins a Maple Leafs franchise seeking elite young talent — and becomes the highest‑drafted player in Penn State hockey history.