MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Freshman forward Gavin McKenna (Whitehorse, Yukon) helped lead Team Canada to a Bronze Medal at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship following a, 6-3, victory over Finland on Monday evening.
McKenna becomes the third Nittany Lion to earn a medal at World Juniors joining Aarne Talvitie who captained Finland to the gold medal in 2019 and Evan Barratt who was on the losing side of that 2019 Gold Medal Game earning silver with Team USA.
McKenna shined in the tournament being named Player of the Game on a pair of occasions following a hat-trick against Denmark in the preliminary round and once again in the Bronze Medal Game after a four-point (1G, 3A) outing.
McKenna had at least one point in all seven games finishing second in tournament scoring with 14 points (4G, 10A), just one point shy of linemate Michael Hage’s 15.
His 14 points are tied for the seventh-most all-time by a draft-eligible player in World Junior Championship history and are the fourth-most among draft eligible Canadians all-time at World Juniors.
McKenna will rejoin his Nittany Lion teammates later this week ahead of their Big Ten series against Minnesota at Pegula Ice Arena on Friday and Saturday.
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