Penguins Keeping Eyes on Gavin McKenna

The Pittsburgh Penguins have the benefit of proximity when Gavin McKenna hits the ice with Penn State.

Kyle Dubas / Nick Horwat

The Pittsburgh Penguins are expected to be one of the few teams at the bottom of the league for the 2025-26 season, putting them square in the running for the top pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. The top prospect at the 2026 Draft has long been Gavin McKenna, who recently committed to a team not far from the Penguins’ home base.

McKenna announced that he would spend the 2025-26 season with the Penn State Nittany Lions of the NCAA, and Penguins’ president and general manager Kyle Dubas might be paying a few visits to Happy Valley. According to Josh Yohe of the Athletic, Dubas and fellow members of the Penguins’ front office will use the proximity to their advantage.

“The organization is delighted that he’ll play at Penn State next season,” Yohe writes. “Expect Penguins boss Kyle Dubas and many other team officials to spend plenty of time in Happy Valley this season … just in case.”

The Penguins are not tanking for better odds at the first overall pick in 2026, but Dubas isn’t doing much to make the team better.

Three key stars have been on the trade block all offseason and moves for Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust and Erik Karlsson seem likely. The current state of the roster is a far cry from what it looked like the last time they made the playoffs in 2022.

The Penguins’ playoff drought is expected to continue into Evgeni Malkin’s final season, but there might be a big reward at the end of the tunnel in Pittsburgh.

McKenna has high expectations both at the NCAA and NHL level. His presence makes Penn State a National Championship contender and a number of NHL teams will keep a close eye on their season. Dubas has the luxury of convenience.

In 59 games during the 2024-25 season with the Medicine Hat Tigers, McKenna scored 41 goals and 88 assists for 129 points.

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