Top NHL Draft Prospect Gavin McKenna Suspended After Major Slashing Incident
Gavin McKenna has long been seen as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, but now the young star has been suspended after slashing an opponent.
While the 2025 NHL Draft may not have a standout star at the top, the next years draft certainly does, as Medicine Hat Tigers star Gavin McKenna has been tearing up the WHL since his arrival.
This season, the 17-year old has tallied a ridiculous 32 goals and 106 points in just 51 games played, and if you thought the hype for Connor Bedard was a lot, than his cousin his about to get even more ahead of the 2026 draft.
Unfortunately for McKenna however, he's now been suspended by the WHL after a brutal slash on an opposing player in which he actually broke his stick on his opponent, which landed him a well-deserved three-game suspension.
This certainly isn't a good look for the rising star, with frustrations clearly boiling over despite his team being up 5-3 at that point in the game, but this is the first type of incident like this we've seen from him thus far in his WHL career with Medicine Hat.
Unless it continues, we are likely to see him go No. 1 on draft night to follow up the fantastic string of No. 1 overall picks in recent years that has included Bedard and Macklin Celebrini, and if he can adapt his game at the next level, he's expected to be a star from the jump.
Standing at 6-foot-0 already, McKenna has every single tool in his bag needed to be a star, so if he can get this type of incident under control and continue to build and develop his all around game, there's no reason why he can't be a major star at the NHL level someday.
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