3 Reasons Gavin McKenna Is Already the Guy for 2026

Every draft cycle has that player. The one scouts quietly agree on early, even if they don’t always say it out loud. For the 2026 draft, that player is Gavin McKenna — and it’s starting to feel less like hype and more like inevitability.

He’s sitting at No. 1 among North American skaters on Central Scouting’s midterm list, and while those rankings can move, the reasons McKenna is there are pretty hard to argue with.

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Reason 1. McKenna Drives the Game, Not Just the Highlights

There are plenty of young players who rack up points. Fewer actually control the game when they’re on the ice. McKenna does.

Watch him for a few shifts, and you start noticing how often the puck just seems to follow him. He anticipates plays before they open up, finds soft ice, and makes the kind of reads that don’t show up on a skills video. That’s what scouts mean when they talk about “hockey sense,” and it’s the hardest thing to teach.

At Penn State, as a freshman no less, he’s already dictating pace. He’s not surviving shifts — he’s shaping them. That’s a big reason Central Scouting talks about him being in a category of his own.

Reason 2. The Pressure Has Been There for McKenna, and It Hasn’t Broken Him

McKenna hasn’t had the luxury of sneaking up on anyone. He’s been “the guy” for years now, and the microscope hasn’t exactly been subtle.

At the World Juniors, prospects either sink into the background or announce themselves. McKenna did the opposite. The third-youngest player on the team, he still delivered big minutes and big moments. Twice named Canada’s player of the game. Fourteen points in the tournament. Bronze medal game? One goal, three assists. That’s showing up when everyone’s watching.

What matters more is how he handles it. Teammates talk about his composure. About tuning out noise. About not letting expectations weigh him down. That stuff matters more than people like to admit.

Reason 3. McKenna’s Projection Is About What He Becomes, Not How Fast He Gets There

This is the part that separates true top picks from “top-of-the-class” guys. Scouts aren’t projecting McKenna based on how quickly he’ll jump to the NHL. They’re projecting what he looks like once he’s established there. That’s a different conversation entirely. It’s about ceiling, adaptability, and whether a player’s game will scale when the ice shrinks and the pace jumps.

McKenna’s game already looks built for that jump. He’s quick, competitive, creative, and comfortable playing through traffic. He doesn’t rely on one trick. If a lane disappears, he finds another one. That’s how star players survive at the next level.

Right Now, McKenna Is the Guy Who’ll Be Chosen First

None of this means the 2026 draft is locked in. Things happen. Players emerge. Development isn’t linear. But right now? If you’re asking why Gavin McKenna is likely to be drafted first overall, the answer is simple.

He thinks the game faster than most. He handles pressure better than most. And he looks like a player whose best hockey is still a long way off.

Related: Juraj Slafkovsky Is Proving Why He Was Taken First Overall