What Penn State is really buying with Gavin McKenna

Let's talk about one of the biggest stories in hockey.

Gavin McKenna, the presumptive No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, will play his draft eligible season at Penn State.

It’s pretty notable, and the biggest exclamation point yet on the changing state of junior hockey after the NCAA ruling back in November that made CHL players now eligible.

According to multiple reports, including my pal over at Elite Prospects, Cam Robinson, it came down to Penn State or Michigan State, and in the end an NIL package believed to be worth around $700,000 for the season was too much to pass up for McKenna.

It’s a tough break for the Medicine Hat Tigers and the WHL, losing a player that dominated the league as a 16 and 17-year-old, won a WHL title, and would have been a favorite to reach the Memorial Cup, again.

Now when McKenna is drafted first overall next June, instead of his official introduction being “from Medicine Hat….” it’ll be read as “from Penn State.”

Maybe it’s the author and writer in me, maybe I’m out to lunch on this, but I’ve spent a lot of time this past week thinking about the power of that statement, and how that’s really what Penn State is buying with $700,000 of NIL money.

Think about past No. 1 picks and the flashbacks to their draft year, think about how you probably think about Rimouski Océanic more than you ever thought you would because you know Sidney Crosby played and was drafted from there.

Sure, Penn State wants to win a national championship and they are a much better team now after landing McKenna, but national championships aren’t necessarily what drive recruiting and reputation or a program.

If that were the case, Michigan would be struggling to land top recruits after last winning one in 1998.

Western Michigan and Minnesota State can win national championships, but only college hockey’s true power brokers can house (and afford) a No. 1 pick, like Michigan or Boston University have in recent years.

That’s what Penn State is shelling out for McKenna, the perception and imagery that gets you to the front of the sports consciousness. Buying McKenna’s services is buying a spot in hockey history, “from Penn State…” in the draft introduction, the highlights in Penn State’s jersey, it’s an ad buy that in the end will be worth way more than $700,000.

And it pays off in various ways. It sends a message to other recruits, bypassing the typical time required to prove your school is a “path to the pros,” and it also redefines fandom with McKenna as a connector.

Penn State has one of the nation’s largest alumni bases, I’ve been told that by any Penn State alumnus who is happy to brag about their school, and now that base will care about hockey — having a No. 1 pick a “generational player” will do that.

For the hockey program, which only exists because rich alumni have bolstered it to this stage, there’s not at least an inkling of other investment opportunities coming in, a seed has been planted on how Penn State can replace the rest of the Big 10 as the hockey powerhouse.

That’s what Penn State is buying, that’s the upfront investment, and honestly with the right roll of the dice they might be getting it at a discount.