Soakin’ in the Tubb: McKenna leaves legacy despite early exit

By JAMES TUBB on July 12, 2025.

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jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb

Gavin McKenna entered the Western Hockey League like a lion.

A four-point debut, going toe-to-toe with the then top NHL prospect Connor Bedard, besting the Chicago Blackhawks star while wearing a cage, still just happy to be in the league.

He tore up his rookie season, taking over as a main producer at the age of 15/16, helping lead the Tigers to the playoffs before being named the WHL and CHL rookie of the year. A season that continued with record-breaking efforts at the U18s, where he captured one of his two golds with Canada that summer.

This last year was another level, with a modern CHL-breaking point streak, highlight-reel plays making their way onto TSN, not to mention the WHL and CHL player of the years and propelling the Tigers to a championship.

He leaves the Tigers 29th all-time in points and 19th in assists. The number 72, previously unregarded, now defines a three-year span of success, a rise from the bottom of the CHL to the near top of the mountain. It was going to be capped off in June 2026, potentially with another championship ring or two, if luck prevailed.

If felt like a guarantee, that the final note on McKenna’s time in Medicine Hat was to come as one lucky NHL GM made history, selecting a Medicine Hat Tiger first overall in the NHL Draft for the first time in the WHL franchises’s history.

Tuesday’s announcement of McKenna committing to Penn State University and making the move to the NCAA changed the path of that story and the overall hockey landscape. While it answered a question that has lingered around the best junior hockey player in the world for half a year, it opened the door to several more.

Would a guaranteed spot in the 2026 Memorial Cup as hosts have made a difference in the decision? Was Medicine Hat and the WHL actually in the mix as NCAA pitches came together and NIL cheques grew large? What did being a Tiger mean to him?

Questions that will unfortunately go unanswered.

McKenna, via his adviser Bryon Ritchie, declined a News request for a final interview on his time in Medicine Hat and being a Tiger.

Instead, McKenna’s final words to Tigers fans came via Instagram, where he thanked coaches, trainers, his billets and teammates for their support. He shared his thoughts on the Tigers faithful and their support through his three years, and more so during the championship run this spring.

An era in Medicine Hat that started out ferocious like a lion, ends sheepishly, with McKenna leaving the orange and black to join the Nittany Lions.

With the first overall pick in the 2022 Western Hockey League Draft, the Medicine Hat Tigers selected forward Gavin McKenna, the first page of what was a new chapter in Tigers history.

Three years later, with new banners to be raised at Co-op Place and new expectations set forward for the next era of Tigers hockey, there is a feeling that something is missing.

The book on the Gavin McKenna era in Medicine Hat has closed, but left behind is a story, one that feels a chapter short.

James Tubb is sports reporter with the Medicine Hat News. He can be reached at jtubb@medicinehatnews.com