PHOTO COURTESY OF CSSHL
Medicine Hat Tigers top prospect Gavin McKenna dons the Rink Kelowna Hockey Academy colours in a game against the South Alberta Hockey Academy in the 2021-22 season.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Gavin McKenna wants to be an impact player for the Medicine Hat Tigers.
The first overall pick in the 2022 WHL draft is looking to become one of the main guys in the Tigers lineup and said he is excited to play with the other prospects.
“There’s going to be guys who will play like me, with lots of speed and young talent, so it’s gonna be awesome,” McKenna said.
The 14-year-old immediately became the Tigers top prospect when they drafted and signed him minutes later at May 19’s prospects draft. He said he’s excited to be a Tiger to help their rebuild.
“It’s awesome having lots of young talent coming into the team and obviously they’ve got great coaching, great programs,” McKenna said. “They’ve won championships before and they’ve had lots of NHL stars.”
McKenna was at the arena surrounded by his teammates from the RINK Kelowna Hockey Academy when his named was called by Tigers head coach Willie Desjardins.
“When I got drafted, all the boys were there and all excited for me,” McKenna said. “Then when I got drafted, my phone was just blowing up and I had lots of interviews and text messages. It was awesome.”
He said it’s been a busy few weeks of answering text messages and setting up interviews and that he got to witness the draft day experience only months earlier when his older teammates were selected in the WHL’s December 2021 draft.
McKenna was the consensus No. 1 pick for the 2022 draft, putting up 23 goals and 65 points in 35 games playing against older players at the U18 level. With a late birthday in December, the Whitehorse product spent the first three months of the year as a 13-year-old playing against 16, 17-year-olds. McKenna said his goal this season was to set himself ahead of other players and be the No. 1 pick.
He said the experience of playing against older players has helped get him ready for the WHL.
“Guys were pushing me in practice and in games, obviously a lot bigger than me,” McKenna said. “It showed me I need to get bigger and stronger. They got me ready for the WHL playing against bigger and stronger boys.”
McKenna said he noticed the larger amount of scouts in the stands closer to the CSSHL playoffs. He said he tried not to think about them but said they were noticeable.
Desjardins spoke with CBC last week and described McKenna as a special player that will likely start the 2022-23 season with the Tigers.
McKenna said he met with his future coach for dinner while he was playing at a tournament in Nashville. He said they talked about what the organization is all about over his medium-well-done steak.
“(We) talked about what Medicine Hat is all about and what he’s like as a coach, how he’s coached in the past and what he’s coached in the past,” McKenna said. “He’s obviously a great coach, so it’s awesome.”
When McKenna joins the Tigers he will have some familiarity with a few teammates. In the CSSHL playoffs, McKenna scored a shootout goal against the South Alberta Hockey Academy and waved goodbye to the bench that contained Tiger Shane Smith and prospect Cole Unger.
RINK Kelowna won the game 6-5 in the shootout on his goal.
McKenna laughed when asked about the goal and said it was funny seeing that goal on his draft highlights. He hasn’t talked about it with his future teammates yet but said it will likely come up.
After his allowed five games with the Tigers, McKenna said the plans for next season aren’t confirmed yet but said he’s likely going to play for SAHA.
He is in Kelowna another week before he’ll return to Whitehorse for a summer of working out, playing basketball or golf and riding his dirt bike.
McKenna is the first Whitehorse-born player to be drafted first overall into the WHL. Famed Lethbridge Hurricane Dylan Cozens is from Whitehorse and McKenna said seeing Cozens rise to the NHL shows what can be accomplished in a small city.
“It just shows that coming from a small town, it doesn’t matter where you’re from, you can accomplish whatever,” McKenna said.
He has a simple message for Tigers fans ahead of his debut this season.
“I’m just really excited and can’t wait to get started.”
