NEWS PHOTO JAMES TUBB
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Gavin McKenna leads the line to the bench after scoring a first period goal in a Game 2 3-1 win March 30 at Co-op Place over the Red Deer Rebels.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
On a Medicine Hat Tigers team stocked with rookies, it’s the youngest forward who has been tabbed as one of the best in the league.
Gavin McKenna is one of four WHL rookies nominated for rookie of the year, being named the Central division’s nominee after putting up 34 goals and 97 points in 61 games. He finished the season second in rookie scoring and 12th overall, playing half the year still at 15 years old.
McKenna was honoured by the division nomination and credited his teammates for his success.
“I’ve had lots of help this year, from coaching to teammates, to billet support, my family, they’ve all done so much for me to help me this year,” McKenna said. “I couldn’t have done it without them.”
McKenna is one of four rookies nominated, with each division submitting a nominee. He joins Saskatoon Blades goaltender Evan Gardner, Everett Silvertips forward Julius Miettinen and Prince George Cougars forward Terik Parascak.
McKenna is the only true rookie of the four, Gardner and Miettinen have turned 18 years old, while Parascak, who led rookie scoring with 43 goals and 105 points in 68 games, turns 18 on May 28.
McKenna’s 18th birthday won’t come until 2025, three months into his NHL draft year.
Looking back on his own rookie season, the Whitehorse product says he didn’t like his first half of the season. After taking charge in the second half, McKenna says he learned just how much the extra mile can lead to a stronger run.
“Going into the second half over Christmas break, I wanted to take charge of my own season and kind of started to work a bit harder,” McKenna said. “It sort of paid off a bit, and I thought I had a better second half of the year.
“It just shows if you put in the time, it’ll pay off, that’s it. It was a good thing for me to learn in my rookie year. Going forward, I think that’ll help me a lot moving forward in my career.”
McKenna’s rookie of the year nomination marks the second straight campaign the Tigers have had a first-year player labelled as one of the best in the league. Projected first-round pick in this year’s NHL Draft Cayden Lindstrom was named the Central division’s top rookie of the year, with Ryder Ritchie of the Prince Albert Raiders winning the WHL award.
McKenna was one of six rookie skaters in the Tigers’ lineup this season, as the team ushered in the next wave of players. He thinks highly of how Medicine Hat’s youngest players performed in their first seasons and McKenna is excited for them to find a next step in seasons to come.
“We’re a team where (rookies) got to play quite a bit so it’s good moving forward,” McKenna said. “As a young team, they’re getting experienced and it’ll be good moving forward. We’ve got a really young core, so it’ll be lots of fun to play with them the next few years.”
It’s been a long time since a Tigers player has won the WHL’s rookie of the year, with the last being Neil Brady in the 1985-86 season. That year the league handed out an East and West rookie of the year award, with Brady winning the East and Ron Shudra of the Kamloops Blazers and Dave Waldie of the Portland Winterhawks taking home joint honours.
Three Tigers have won the WHL’s rookie of the year award, Brady, Don Murdoch in the 1974-75 season and Stan Weir in 1970-71.
McKenna’s nomination is the Tigers’ third award nomination, joining head coach Willie Desjardins who is up for coach of the year and forward Shane Smith who was named for the WHL’s humanitarian of the year award.
The winners of the WHL awards will be announced from April 30 through May 9.
