PHOTO COURTESY HOCKEY INDIGENOUS
Medicine Hat Tigers forward Gavin McKenna won gold twice this summer with Team Canada, taking first place at the U18's and Hlinka Gretzky tournament.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
Gavin McKenna was able to get into a winning mindset ahead of the Medicine Hat Tigers season.
The 16-year-old forward picked up two gold medals, winning the U18 Worlds and the Hlinka Gretzky Cup with Canada this summer, breaking the scoring record at the first tournament with 10 goals and 20 points in seven games in Finland. He scored three goals with six points in five games at the Hlinka tournament in Edmonton.
The Whitehorse product is proud of both medals and he enjoyed winning the second one in front of family and friends, as well as being on Canadian soil.
“To have my family in the building in Edmonton when we won that, they don’t get to watch me much, so when they do get to come watch it’s pretty exciting,” McKenna said.
“At the Hlinka, it was with a different group of guys, shorter tournaments than Worlds. Being in Canada, it was pretty special to see all the people coming out to support in the middle of summer.”
McKenna has already been tied to Canada’s World Juniors roster this fall, with the 2025 tournament to be held in Ottawa in December. The Athletic has projected him on the roster and TSN’s director of scouting Craig Button expects he’ll be on the team for the Holiday Season tournament.
McKenna says it would be a dream come true and he looks to do what he can to make it happen.
“That’s been a dream of mine since I was a little kid, you watch it every single Christmas, it’s one of the best tournaments in the world,” McKenna said. “Hopefully having the opportunity to play in there, it’s a big motivator for me going into Christmas and I know that I have to have a good first half of the year if I want to have a chance at making that, so it’s a motivator.
“To see we have some other guys hoping to play there as well, I think we’re going to push each other a lot.”
Between representing Canada and skates with his agency, McKenna says he was only home for a month total. He enjoyed the regroup and seeing those friends and family ahead of what he hopes is a long season in Medicine Hat.
McKenna enters his second season in the WHL with big shoes to fill from his first campaign, putting up 34 goals and 97 points in 61 games to earn the WHL and CHL rookie of the year honours. He added two goals and six points in the Tigers’ first-round elimination by the Red Deer Rebels. He says the excitement level in the room is at a high with the group and their projection for the season ahead.
“The boys are excited and they’re itching to get going here,” McKenna said. “It’s exciting knowing that and just to be back with these guys and see how much they’ve improved over the summer.”
He was excited to see the moves the Tigers made during the offseason, with the acquisition of 20-year-old forward Mat Ward from the Swift Current Broncos and 18-year-old defencemen Jonas Woo (Wenatchee Wild) and Bryce Pickford (Seattle Thunderbirds).
After Medicine Hat traded for forward Ryder Ritchie from the Prince Albert Raiders on Monday, McKenna tipped his cap to general manger Willie Desjardins’ moves and what they do for the team this season and beyond.
“We’re making moves and making a push for it, not just for one year, but two years, so it’s going to be exciting.”
McKenna entered last season with the individual goal of winning the rookie of the year award in addition to the Tigers’ continuing goal of a sixth franchise title and a berth in the Memorial Cup.
Coming into the 2024-25 season, McKenna has his eye on one goal, get the Tigers to that tournament in Rimouski, Que.
“The main goal in everyone’s head is win a championship here and go to Quebec at the end of the year, and we have really good shot at it,” McKenna said. “As for myself, I don’t really have any goals set, I’m just trying to take it game by game, honestly, day by day.
“If you look at the bigger picture, it’s could be stressful at times. So if you just take it slowly and set little goals, then I think all that stuff will come, and by the end of the year, you’ll reach those goals.”
