Gavin McKenna stretches in front of the South Alberta Hockey Academy bench ahead of the second period of SAHA's 6-0 Circle K Classic finals win over the Calgary Buffaloes on Sunday.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Western Hockey League fans took notice of Gavin McKenna when the Medicine Hat Tigers drafted him first overall in 2022. Even more were intrigued when the then 14-year-old had a four-assist WHL debut.
After the showcase he put on with the South Alberta Hockey Academy at the Circle K Classic last week, the Whitehorse product has quickly turned on a spotlight that is only going to get bigger.
McKenna was the talk of the tournament during SAHA’s route to back-to-back championships at the 32-team invitational, earning tournament MVP honours with his six goals and eight assists for 14 points in six games.
Peter Loubardias, who is the Fan960 Calgary Flames radio colour analyst, called some games at the Classic including SAHA’s 6-0 finals win over the Calgary Buffaloes. He’s also seen McKenna play with the Tigers a couple of times this season and every time has come away with amazement at what he can do at a young age.
“He wants the puck and he commands the puck and he makes people around him better,” Loubardias said. “Outside of getting bigger and stronger and like most young players, there’s still work to be done as time goes on the right side of the puck but I tell a lot of people this: it’s been a while since I’ve seen someone at that young of age, with that type of hockey awareness, IQ and playmaking ability.”
McKenna, who turned 15 on Dec. 20, is the youngest player to be named MVP in 44 years of the Circle K Classic and one of three 15-year-olds (Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 2008, Eric Chouinard 1995).
SAHA head coach Brayden Desjardins describes McKenna as a big-game player and was not surprised at how he dictated play in the tournament.
“I’d look whenever he got on the ice, we’d get on the edge of our seats and took away momentum from teams, it’s unbelievable,” Desjardins said. “For him to perform on a stage like this, it’s so hard for a kid like that and he did everything he could to help us win, so I couldn’t be more happy for him.”
McKenna was humble after SAHA’s win and credited his linemates with all of his success on the ice and winning the MVP award. He tabbed his teammates for being a family and pushing each other toward the win.
There was a buzz throughout the Mac Bell Centre ahead of the final on Sunday, with fans asking about No. 9 on SAHA, and ‘that McKenna kid.’ While he was only focused on doing all he could for SAHA, McKenna couldn’t help but smile and embrace being the talk of the tournament.
“It’s pretty cool, having your name be said around you, it’s not every day you get to have that,” McKenna said. “Obviously when you’re playing you do your best to block it out but afterwards it feels pretty good to be honest.”
Tigers head coach Willie Desjardins was in attendance Sunday and also wasn’t surprised at how well McKenna played, but says it was good to see how he handled the adversity of the tournament.
“The hardest thing for him was being able to play that many games in such a short term, he put a lot of effort into every game and that’s really hard mentally to do that,” Desjardins said. “He battled through and he found a way.”
The 2022 Classic wasn’t McKenna’s first experience at the six-day tournament, he played with RINK Kelowna in the 2022 reboot tournament, losing in the B-final to EDGE. Desjardins says he handled it then at 14, he built off it at 15 and showed he can continue to be a top guy.
“Looking at Connor Bedard right now at the World Juniors, your big guys have to be able to be big in big situations and that’s a step for him,” Desjardins said. “That’s why they’re so important, your top guys are so important to you.
“He’s got lots to do, he’s got a long ways to go yet but every time he’s had a challenge, he’s found a way to overcome it – and that’s what you want to see in a young player.”
