The 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship marks the 50th anniversary of the annual 10-nation tournament featuring many of the best under-20 players in the world. It will be held at Grand Casino Arena, home to the Minnesota Wild in Saint Paul, and 3M Arena at Mariucci on the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis, from Dec. 26-Jan. 5. Follow NHL.com for all the sights and stories.
Gavin McKenna has unfinished business at the World Junior Championship in more ways than one.
The Penn State freshman forward, who turns 18 on Dec. 20, always is evaluating and critiquing his game, and right now he's not satisfied. But the projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft is determined to get it right.
"I think if anyone's watching the game, I think they're seeing I'm getting chances and I'm creating, and I think at the end of the day they're going to start going in," McKenna told NHL.com. "I got to start bearing down. Obviously the goalies are pretty good in college, so it's just making sure I'm putting in those extra reps, getting my shots dialed in, off the ice and on the ice.
"Once I get that down, I think, hopefully, I'll get those bounces and start putting up more numbers."
The fourth-youngest player in college hockey may not be scoring goals with great regularity, but he is tied for fourth among NCAA freshmen with 18 points (four goals, 14 assists) and tied for fifth with 59 shots on goal in 16 games, despite Penn State not playing since Nov. 22.
McKenna is the second youngest of 27 players that will take part in Canada's World Junior selection camp in Niagara Falls, Ontario, from Dec. 12-22. It will help determine the 24-man roster that will play for Canada at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, set to take place in St. Paul and Minneapolis from Dec. 26-Jan 5, 2026.
He understands that Canada has lost in the quarterfinals in back-to-back years for the first time, and it doesn't sit well with him.
Canada opens the tournament against Czechia in a preliminary-round game at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis on Dec. 26. Czechia defeated Canada in the quarterfinals at the 2024 and 2025 WJC.
"Last year was not the result we wanted, or the year before," he said. "We've got some returners coming back, and speaking on behalf of them, we're all fired up. We play Czechia on Boxing Day, the team that knocked us out in back-to-back years, so we'll be ready."
Just three months into his college career, some have questioned McKenna's effort, his play away from the puck and lack of goal production. But he's learning how much of a step up NCAA hockey is after three seasons with Medicine Hat in the Western Hockey League.
"The things you're looking for that Gavin McKenna has always demonstrated, his creativity, puck play, being dangerous ... I don't see any evidence that's not still there in a big way," said Craig Button, TSN director of scouting and a former NHL general manager. "You can look at the stat sheet and say, 'Oh boy, he's only got so many goals or points,' but these are growing steps for Gavin McKenna. Not only is he playing against older competition and harder competition with respect to the physical part of it, but also the training part.
"Gavin McKenna has never trained between games during the week like he's training now at Penn State. No Canadian Hockey League player has the opportunity to train like that, so this is brand new to Gavin in terms of training."
After dominating junior hockey last season, the expectations were high for McKenna from the outset. Perhaps too high.
He finished second in the WHL with 129 points (41 goals, 88 assists) in 56 games, won the Four Broncos Trophy as WHL Player of the Year and became the third-youngest winner of the CHL David Branch Player of the Year Award behind John Tavares (2006-07) and Sidney Crosby (2003-04).
"I mean, he had a couple rough weeks, but when you play only two times a week it's kind of hard to get up and running, and he's a special player," said Prince George defenseman Carson Carels, (2026 NHL Draft eligible), the youngest player in Canada's selection camp who played against McKenna last season in the WHL. "He obviously proved in the WHL how special he is, so I think he's going to clean it up. Obviously those people can say all they want, but he's got it for sure."
McKenna has shown a bit more physicality of late, particularly in two games against the University of Michigan on Nov. 14-15.
"I'm not known as a super physical guy, but I think if I can get the boys fired up by throwing the body around a bit, I will," he said.
Medicine Hat coach Willie Desjardins has been watching McKenna from afar.
"I'd say you got to be careful how early you judge anything," he said. "I think that in the end, he's going to come out and be a very special player regardless of what happens this year. He just sees the ice too well, has incredible vision."
McKenna was the youngest player on Canada's roster at the 2025 WJC when he scored one goal, had 20 shots on goal, and averaged 15:23 of ice time in five games.
"I've watched Gavin since he was 14 years old, so I think the cautionary tale here is you're going to take a large sample of a player that's been simply brilliant to a player now that's going through some growing pains in terms of everything he's going through," Button said. "I see no red flags with Gavin McKenna, and I think you have to distinguish between growing pains and red flags."
While there are several other quality skaters projected at the top of the 2026 Draft, Button doesn't see one challenging McKenna at No. 1 at this point.
"I'll be very clear, I still don't see a player that's better than Gavin McKenna," he said. "If you look at it, forward Ivar Stenberg (Frolunda, Sweden) is a really good player. Defensemen Keaton Verhoeff (North Dakota), Carels, Chase Reid (Sault Ste Marie, Ontario Hockey League) and Juho Piiparinen (Tappara, Finland) are all good and different. I'm not so sure who the best defenseman of those guys might be at this point.
"I think Gavin has special qualities, and I haven't seen any evidence that those are evaporating or diminishing."
