BUFFALO – Gavin McKenna surged down the stretch in the second half of the season with Penn State. The 18-year-old winger carried that momentum into the NHL scouting combine this week.
“As soon as my season was done I didn’t really take a break,” McKenna said after completing fitness testing on Saturday at LECOM Harborcenter. “I wanted to prepare for the combine.”
McKenna opted to focus on the final big event in his draft season rather than pursue an opportunity with Team Canada at the senior men’s World Championship.
The hard work paid off as the Whitehorse native ranked in the top-eight in four fitness tests.
“Obviously you want to do your best at everything so I wanted to prepare hard for this,” he said. “My frame’s not the biggest [5-foot-11.25, 170 pounds] so I just wanted to show that I could compete out there and I could work hard off the ice. I think that’s a big key to carry through to the next level. I think when you can take care of your body and are physical, and your body’s strong, I think that’s key to a long career.”
McKenna excelled in the gruelling bike events, including finishing first in the VO2 max aerobic test.
“That’s one that guys are always dreading to do,” McKenna said proudly.
Then he cracked a smile.
“I think those long shifts have helped me through my career.”
McKenna finished fourth in the isokinetic squat category, tied for sixth in pull-ups and came in eighth in the force plate no arm jump.
McKenna entered the season as the favourite to go first overall but started slow, relative to expectations, in his first season in the NCAA. The move from the Western Hockey League, where he piled up 129 points in 56 games with the Medicine Hat Tigers in the 2024-25 season, led to some growing pains.
McKenna stayed off Instagram all season, but still couldn’t help but hear the critics.
“When you see yourself at the top since a young age and then you start to see the things in the media, you know, I’ve fallen down, having a bad start to the year, you get pretty fired up from it,” he said. “When I started seeing those things, I kind of got sick and tired of seeing it and just kind of used it as fuel. Started working harder off the ice, on the ice, and when I started doing that I just became more confident. When you’re putting in the time and effort, you start to feel good about yourself and I think that’s kind of what helped me.”
The World Juniors marked a turning point. McKenna finished second in tournament scoring with 14 points in seven games, but received mixed reviews as Canada settled for a bronze medal.
“My confidence came back,” McKenna said of the event in Minnesota. “In the media it still wasn’t a great tournament so that fired me up even more. World Juniors is kind of where my season flipped around. I just felt it in my game. I was a lot more confident and not gripping my stick as tight and it led to a better second half.”
McKenna’s chief rival to go first overall, Swedish winger Ivar Stenberg, left the World Juniors with a gold medal and rave reviews. At that moment, the race to be the top pick felt closer than ever. But now it feels like McKenna has re-established himself atop the class of 2026.
The Maple Leafs own the first-overall pick and general manager John Chayka recently visited with McKenna and his family in Whitehorse. Chayka praised McKenna’s character in a media session on Friday.
McKenna, who admired Patrick Kane while growing up, is due to visit Toronto next week.
“I’m excited,” he said. “I’ve been to the city quite a bit, but to finally get to meet some more people and just have conversations and just try to sell yourself in a humble way, I’m looking forward to it. Any time you get to talk to a team like that and they invite you to their city it’s a pretty big honour so I’m looking forward to it.”
The adversity McKenna faced this season made him stronger and provided a roadmap to navigate out of future challenges wherever he plays next.
“It’s something I’ll carry with me forever,” he said. “I learnt that hard work is the key to confidence and when you start working hard things start to pay off.”
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Due to an illness, Stenberg was unable to take part in the fitness testing at the combine.
“If I would be feeling good, not too sick, I would do it,” he said. “Not happy about it, but it is what it is.”
Stenberg, who compares his game style to that of countryman Lucas Raymond, is looking forward to getting home for a bit before returning to Buffalo for the draft.
“Get to rest up a little bit,” he said. “It’s been a long season.”
Stenberg didn’t get a chance to make a closing statement with the fitness tests like McKenna did, but the Frolunda forward is feeling good following an impressive point-per-game performance at the men’s World Championship.
Stenberg believes he proved he can make the jump straight into the NHL next season.
“I was around NHL guys at Worlds and I really think I can do it, yeah,” he said. “You get more confidence every day you’re around them, and feel you can compete against them and play with them. Yeah, you got confidence.”
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Chayka believes there are five or six players in the top tier of the draft and defenceman Chase Reid, who had a stand-out season with the Soo Greyhounds, is believed to be among that group. The 18-year-old from Michigan met with the Leafs during the combine.
“Definitely a lot of guys in there,” he said with a smile. “It was a little nerve-wracking sitting down in front of 10 of them but, yeah, it was definitely good.”
The fact Reid, who models his game off Zach Werenski, is even in this spot is remarkable.
“It’s definitely cool and truly an honour especially where I came from and being able to build myself up from nothing to something,” he said. “It’s definitely a huge accomplishment.”
Reid began the 2024-25 season with the Bismarck Bobcats in the NAHL, a second-tier junior league. Did he think it was possible to get to this point where he’s in the conversation to be picked first overall?
“If I’m being honest, no,” he admitted. “I definitely knew I could do it, but I didn’t know if people would notice or be on my side. You hear all these big names like McKenna, Stenberg, like, it was definitely a huge accomplishment of mine to be able to build myself from the bottom.”
Now he’s here. Faith played a big role.
“I think building my relationship with God really helped me overcome my adversity, especially being in the North American league,” said Reid, who is heading to Michigan State this fall. “Probably the best thing that ever happened to me to teach me resilience and how to work harder. But definitely leaning into my faith in God [was key] and the second I did that it’s only been up in hockey and life since then.”
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Caleb Malhotra also met with the Leafs, but is considered a longshot to go first overall.
“It was a very basic meeting,” the Brantford Bulldogs centre, who is off to Boston University this fall, said. “Like John Chayka’s talked about, they have a long list of guys that could go first. Guys like McKenna and Stenberg are at the top of that list and excited to see what happens on draft day.”
It feels like Malhotra is more likely to go to the Vancouver Canucks, who are selecting third overall. His father, Manny, was recently hired as the new head coach in Vancouver.
“I don’t think our dynamic has changed at all,” he said. “I’ve always been just the proud son [with] having him be a professional coach and now a head coach in the National League that’s kind of the pinnacle of coaching. I’m just so proud of him as a son and what he’s accomplished. I’ve seen how hard he’s worked and every step of the way he’s put everything in. I’m just so proud of him.”
The Canucks asked the teenager what it would be like if father and son needed to work together in an NHL dressing room.
“If I got drafted by Vancouver, that would be an unbelievable privilege,” the Toronto native said. “We’re both very detail oriented and very professional about everything we do, especially inside of hockey. So, he’d just be coach at the rink. It’s kind of simple as that. I’d be his player and he’d be my coach so it’d just be regular interactions and I’d just be following orders like any other player so it wouldn’t be very difficult.”
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Top 10 finishers in the NHL scouting combine fitness tests:
Horizontal jump (inches):
1. Niklas Aaram-Olsen: 118
2. Wesley Royston: 116.8
3. Timofei Runtso: 116
4. Xavier Villeneuve: 115
T5. Maddox Dagenais, Layne Gallacher: 114.8
T7. Beckham Edwards, Charlie Morrison: 114
9. Jakub Vanecek: 113.3
10. Cole Zurawski: 112.5
VO2max (ml/kg/min):
1. Gavin McKenna: 65
2. Xavier Villeneuve: 64.4
3. Malte Gustafsson: 61
T4. Jan Larys, Juho Piiparainen: 60
6. Oliver Suvanto: 59
7. Wyatt Cullen: 58.7
8. Matias Vanhanen: 58
9. Keaton Verhoeff: 57.8
10. Cole Zurawski: 57.3
Pull-ups:
1. Adam Novotny: 18
2. Ilia Morozov: 17
T3. Viggo Bjorck, Jakub Vanecek: 16
5. Jonas Lagerberg Hoen: 15
T6. Pierce Mbuyi, Gavin McKenna, Mathis Preston, Wesley Royston, Ethan MacKenzie: 14
Pro Agility (left time in seconds):
T1. Beckham Edwards, Cole Zurawski, Niklas Aaram Olsen: 4.2
T4. Ethan MacKenzie, Layne Gallacher, Simon Katolicky, Timofei Runtso: 4.3
16 players tied at 4.4
Pro Agility (right time in seconds):
T1. Niklas Aaram-Olsen, Beckham Edwards: 4.2
T3. Ethan MacKenzie, Keaton Verhoeff, Layne Gallacher, Jayden Kurtz, Mathis Preston, Cole Zurawski, Timofei Runtso: 4.3
4 players tied at 4.4
Isokinetic squat (Ib/Ib BW):
1. Pierce Mbuyi: 3.62
2. Mathis Preston: 3.57
3. Adam Novotny: 3.43
4. Gavin McKenna: 3.4
5. Layne Gallacher: 3.33
6. Ilia Morozov: 3.32
7. Adam Valentini: 3.3
8. Jack Hextall: 3.27
9. Victor Plante: 3.22
10. Wyatt Cullen: 3.08
10m sprint (seconds):
1. Cole Zurawski: 1.97
2. Thomas Vandenberg: 2.02
T3. Layne Gallacher, Niklas Aaram-Olsen, Mathis Preston, Juho Piiparainen: 2.04
T7. Jayden Kurtz, Tyus Sparks: 2.05
T10. Ryan Lin, Landon Nycz: 2.06
Anaerobic fitness (peak power in watts/kg):
1. Layne Gallacher: 17.3
T2: Niklas Aaram-Olsen, Ethan MacKenzie, Mathis Preston: 17.2
5. Zach Olsen: 16.8
T6. Malte Gustafsson, Landon Nyzc, Maksim Sokolovskii: 16.7
T9. Alessandro Di Iorio, Charlie Morrison: 16.6
Anaerobic fitness fatigue index (% drop from peak):
1. Victor Plante: 39.1
2. Thomas Vandenberg: 39.4
3. Casey Mutryn: 41.1
4. Jack Hextall: 41.25. Jaxon Cover 41.5
T6. Jonah Sivertson, Cooper Williams: 42.3
8. Viggo Bjorck: 42.6
9. Tommy Bleyl: 42.9
10. Blake Zielinski: 44.1
No arm jump (inches):
1. Beckham Edwards: 20.9
2. Landon Nycz: 20.6
T3. Lincoln Kuehne, Juho Piiparinen: 20.3
5. Charlie Morrison: 20.1
6. Ryan Lin: 20
7. Ilia Morozov: 19.9
8. Gavin McKenna: 19.5
9. Matias Vanhanen: 19.4
10. Niklas Aaram-Olsen: 19.3
Vertical jump (inches):
1. Charlie Morrison: 25.4
2. Wesley Royston: 24.8
3. Matias Vanhanen: 24.24. Lincoln Kuehne: 23.3
T5. Ryan Lin, Caleb Malhotra: 22.8
7. Landon Nycz: 22.6
8. Ethan MacKenzie: 22.4
9. Ilia Morozov: 22.1
T10. Xavier Villeneuve, Cole Zurawski: 21.9
Bench press power (watts/KG):
1. Landon Nycz: 7.5
2. Pierce Mbuyi: 7.1
3. Ethan MacKenzie: 6.9
4. Mathis Preston: 6.8
T5. Simon Katolicky, Wesley Royston: 6.7
T7. Niklas Aaram-Olsen, Ryan Lin, Juho Piiparinen: 6.6
T10. Liam Ruck, Beckham Edwards: 6.4
Right grip (lb):
T1. Ryder Cali, Lincoln Kuehne: 182
T3. Ilia Morozov, Charlie Morrison: 181
5. Oscar Hemming: 176
T6. Ethan MacKenzie, Jakub Vanecek: 175
T8. Giorgos Pantelas, Maksim Sokolovskii: 173
T10. Malte Gustafsson, Oliver Suvanto: 170
Left grip (lb):
1. Ilia Morozov: 184
2. Giorgos Pantelas: 183
3. Oliver Suvanto: 181
4. Maksim Sokolovskii: 180
5. Cole Zurawski: 178
6. Charlie Morrison: 174
7. Lincoln Kuehne: 171
8. Casey Mutryn: 170
T9. Alessandro Di Iorio, Oscar Hemming, Keaton Verhoeff: 168
