15-year-old hockey phenom Gavin McKenna dazzling at Circle K Classic – Calgary | 24CA News
See hockey’s stars of tomorrow, as we speak.
The tantalizing thought is without doubt one of the main attracts of the newly-rebranded Circle Ok Classic in Calgary.
And that’s precisely what followers are getting in 15-year-old Gavin McKenna.
Yep. 15.
He is probably not sufficiently old to get his driver’s licence, however the South Alberta Hockey Academy (SAHA) winger is driving by defences throughout Western Canada.
McKenna has tallied one aim and 4 assists by his first two video games on the event, together with a three-assist efficiency in opposition to the Calgary Northstars on Wednesday.
“I think I’m doing pretty well. Obviously there’s a little bit of a target behind my back,” McKenna laughed. “But that’s when I’ve just got to use my linemates and try to make space for them.”
His head coach, Brayden Desjardins, is a bit more forthcoming with the compliments.
“Some of the plays he makes, you’ve got to remind yourself he’s probably the youngest kid in the tournament,” Desjardins mentioned. “He plays with a lot of pace.
“You see when he gets the puck everyone’s kind of on the edge of their seats. He doesn’t play slow, he doesn’t give guys time to react to him.
“He’s a pretty special guy. You see his skill, but I don’t think a whole lot of people know the kind of person he is. He’s an unbelievable person. You’d never know he was a first-overall pick if you talk to him.”
The winger from Whitehorse, Yukon has dazzled in any respect ranges of the sport, together with his household and group coming collectively to help him as he travelled south to pursue his hockey goals.
Earlier this yr, McKenna was granted distinctive standing and snapped up by the Medicine Hat Tigers with the primary general choose within the 2022 WHL Draft.
He’s solely had a cup of espresso within the “Dub” to date however shortly made his presence identified, placing up 4 assists in his Tigers debut.
The dominance continued when he returned to the Canadian Sport School Hockey League, the place he’s at the moment ranked second in his sophomore season with 20 targets and 21 assists in 16 video games (seven fewer matches than present scoring chief Terik Parascak).
McKenna mentioned he’s drawing on that have as he chases the Circle Ok Classic championship — and loftier targets down the street.
“The WHL is a bit faster, but it’s not by much,” McKenna mentioned. “You have to play the exact same way you would play in the WHL. There’s a bunch of talent here, and yeah, just try to take as much as I can from the Dub and bring it down here.
“There’s a big goal of getting drafted to the NHL… It’s just step-by-step. You’ve just got to take it day by day and work hard every day off and on the ice.”
High-level scouts advised Global News McKenna is already being eyed as a future prime choose on the NHL Entry Draft though he received’t be eligible till 2026.
Should he make the leap to the massive present, McKenna would turn out to be the fourth Whitehorse hockey participant to swimsuit up within the NHL, behind Buffalo Sabres 2019 first-round choose Dylan Cozens, and Peter Sturgeon and Bryon Baltimore, who suited up for a handful of video games within the Fifties.
In the meantime, McKenna is targeted on SAHA’s title defence.
SAHA faces off in opposition to the St. Louis Blues in its remaining round-robin match Thursday at 4 p.m. at Max Bell 2.
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
