McKenna excited for Tigers’ playoff push after early exit from World Juniors

By JAMES TUBB on January 8, 2025.

jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb

Gavin McKenna’s first World Junior experience was far shorter than expected or desired.

The Medicine Hat Tigers forward returned from Ottawa on Sunday, returning after Canada’s quarter-finals exit at the U20 tournament, a second year in a row the red and white have bowed out of the tournament ahead of the medal round, falling to Czechia 4-3 on Jan. 2.

“It was good, a lot of fun, but not the way I wanted it to go,” McKenna said. “I learned a lot, so it was good to meet some buddies and it’s good to be back.”

McKenna finished his tournament with a goal in five games, scoring Canada’s first goal of the tournament in a 4-0 win over Finland on Dec. 26. Canada led the tournament in penalty minutes (113), with an average of 22:36 penalty minutes a game. The lack of discipline showcased left an impression on the Whitehorse, Yuk. product.

“We lost because of penalties,” McKenna said. “If I can implement that with the boys, not taking penalties, Moose Jaw won the league last year as the least penalized team in the league. So if we can be that, we have a really good shot at winning, because we’re one of the best teams at five on five.”

McKenna was the eighth youngest player ever to suit up for Canada at the tournament and he enjoyed playing against the world’s best. He was cheering on teammate Veeti Väisänen and Finland in the finals, who ultimately fell 4-3 to the U.S. in overtime.

Väisänen’s flight was delayed to Medicine Hat and he was not available to speak Tuesday. He is expected to be in the lineup tonight when the Tigers host the Prince Albert Raiders.

McKenna was one of the players tasked with answering for Canada’s lost to Czechia. He spoke about how disappointed he was in the loss for the group of players who can’t return to next year’s tournament, a sentiment he expressed again Tuesday.

“It was such a tight group, we bonded really early on, there were no cliques or anything, everyone did everything together,” McKenna said. “It was pretty upsetting to kind of lose that game for that group. I’d love to be back with that group and have one more shot at it, but sadly, that’s not the case. We bonded really early on, and I’ll talk to lots of those guys for the rest of my life.”

The World Juniors was the fourth time McKenna has represented Canada on the international stage. He played for Canada Red at the U17’s in 2023 before winning a pair of gold medals at the U18s and Hlinka Gretzky Cup in the summer of 2024.

Before every game, McKenna donned a hide vest crafted by his grandma in honour of his Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin First Nation heritage and he plans to wear it again next year, if he’s on Canada’s World Junior roster.

“I take a lot of pride in being Indigenous, so for my grandma to make that for me and to wear it for her, it was pretty special,” McKenna said.

Representing Canada at the World Juniors also gave McKenna the opportunity to play alongside new teammate Tanner Molendyk, the Saskatoon Blades defenceman acquired alongside forward Misha Volotovskii by the Tigers on Monday.

“He’s one of the best skaters in the league, he can change the game and he can play 30 minutes a night if he has to,” McKenna said. “He controls the game. He’s so smart with the puck, he’s a great power-play defenceman who can shut down the top line.”

McKenna says he’ll miss playing alongside and seeing Hayden Harsanyi and Jack Kachkowski every day, two players he grew up playing alongside who were sent to Saskatoon in the trade.

He’s looking forward to picking up where he left off, sitting tied for second in WHL scoring with 60 points, with a Tigers’ team that signalled they’re all in.

“The boys, they played unbelievable while I was gone,” McKenna said. “So to build off that and keep it rolling into playoffs, we’ve got the group to do it. Our only goal is to win.”

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