F Gavin McKenna - Medicine Hat Tigers, WHL (2026 Draft)

[wetcoast]

Saskatoon Blades 2013?

Sure.

 

[Hazy Little Thing]

Not every NCAA program is run and gun junior style and won’t have guys ahead of him for minutes, situations, lines, internal pecking order. If that’s what he wants, he’ll have to choose carefully. NCAA is different from junior hockey.

Right, exactly, he’ll get his choice of choosing the perfect situation for himself.

 

[Hazy Little Thing]

Apparently the NCAA programs are working on getting it fixed for next season, so they can.

What’s stopping a collective from working with a Canadian company to set up an endorsement with a player to compensate them? Film commercials when home on Canadian soil.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

What’s stopping a collective from working with a Canadian company

Reality

 

[Hazy Little Thing]

I would like to know what constitutes an exceptional ability. Also, reading more into that that visa is intended for already-established people, not student visas.

Speaking of overblown, NIL money to hockey athletes is another overblown thing here. It is an extremely minor benefit to any hockey player. NIL money is mostly to the football and basketball players in the NCAA.

Of course it’s mostly to football and basketball, is anyone saying differently or are you just tilting at windmills? The fact is that NIL is relatively new, and is growing, and growing fast. Big fish are starting to get targeted by fishermen with more money in their pockets than ever.

 

[goavsblue8]

There's no NIL for foreigners, and the idea that will be loosened up instead of being eliminated completely, is a level of political naivete that is surprising.

It's more likely that there won't be any foreign athletes in the NCAA at all in the near future, than that they will be allowed to benefit from their NIL.

If you think that's a wild opinion you may not have been paying attention to anything outside your bubble recently.

There 100% is nil for foreign players now, they’ve figured ways around the restrictions. Some ncaa basketball programs have literally used nil payment to buyout some of the top European basketball prospects out of deals with their clubs.

 

[Hazy Little Thing]

There 100% is nil for foreign players now, they’ve figured ways around the restrictions. Some ncaa basketball programs have literally used nil payment to buyout some of the top European basketball prospects out of deals with their clubs.

It’s funny that some people think that big boy universities (and their NIL collectives) that have been paying kids under the table for decades, haven’t figured out workarounds for silly stuff like student visas. Living in fantasyland.

 

[SI90]

This kid is just unreal.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

It’s funny that some people think that big boy universities (and their NIL collectives) that have been paying kids under the table for decades, haven’t figured out workarounds for silly stuff like student visas. Living in fantasyland.

They're still paying kids under the table most likely. If Ryan Whitney wants Gavin McKenna at Boston University badly enough, he'll find a way to make it happen with a workaround or simple bags of money

 

[Corso]

It’s funny that some people think that big boy universities (and their NIL collectives) that have been paying kids under the table for decades, haven’t figured out workarounds for silly stuff like student visas. Living in fantasyland.

Most NIL deals for foreign players are passive and it's a bit harder to generate income from such sources but if you are an exceptional basketball player with name recognition, you certainly can make a tidy sum.

You are correct in that schools have been cheating for decades, so yes there very well may be a large envelop stuffed with bills waiting for McKenna.

Personally, I think that if McKenna does take the NCAA route, money will not be the primary factor.

 

[Hazy Little Thing]

Most NIL deals for foreign players are passive and it's a bit harder to generate income from such sources but if you are an exceptional basketball player with name recognition, you certainly can make a tidy sum.

You are correct in that schools have been cheating for decades, so yes there very well may be a large envelop stuffed with bills waiting for McKenna.

Personally, I think that if McKenna does take the NCAA route, money will not be the primary factor.

I don’t think it’ll be the primary factor either

 

[covfefe]

There's no way Hat is trading him. They'll be losing a few important players who are aging out, but all that means is they'll be making moves to add some talent around him. They'll be a contender next year as well as this year.

I didn't say anything about Medicine Hat trading him, this would more so be Kelowna buying him.

Not assigning odds, but there is a conversation around this. I'm just the messenger.

 

[Hazy Little Thing]

I didn't say anything about Medicine Hat trading him, this would more so be Kelowna buying him.

Not assigning odds, but there is a conversation around this. I'm just the messenger.

For Kelowna to “buy” him, Medicine Hat would have to trade him.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

I think he will look great in orange and black

 

[steviey]

Mike McMahon in his newsletter he released tonight brought up Mckenna potentially going to the NCAA, he said "there continues to be a lot of noise around the rinks regarding Gavin McKenna potentially playing college hockey next season". He goes on to mention Michigan specifically to keep an eye on, and the fact that McKenna is represented by CAA, which is the same agency that represents Larkin, Beniers, Power, Johnson, Jack and Quinn Hughes, Cam York, and Adam Fantilli. Not to mention Pat Brisson is CAA's hockey division head and his son played hockey at Michigan.

He also mentions the O-1 visa as a workaround for NIL.

 

[Mathieukferland]

With Lindstrom leaving, I would increase the odds of him ending up in the states next year

 

[WarriorofTime]

He would be the big domino as far as normalizing it for CHL guys (late birthday in particular) to go to the ncaa for their draft year.

 

[OSA]

If this is a big deal for the CHL (which I think it is), I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if there are competing bags of cash, probably of much larger size, waiting for Gavin should he remain in the WHL next year. Likely waiting for him in Kelowna after he gets traded in the off-season to the Memorial Cup host and co-participant in the WHL pre-season tournament in his Yukon hometown next September.

 

[Corso]

If this is a big deal for the CHL (which I think it is), I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if there are competing bags of cash, probably of much larger size, waiting for Gavin should he remain in the WHL next year. Likely waiting for him in Kelowna after he gets traded in the off-season to the Memorial Cup host and co-participant in the WHL pre-season tournament in his Yukon hometown next September.

Yes, there is that angle as well (there may be some who are unaware that there are ownership groups within the CHL that have very deep pockets).

In the end, he will listen to what his agent has to say (about the merits of competing offers) and make the best decision for himself.

 

[OSA]

Yes, there is that angle as well (there may be some who are unaware that there are ownership groups within the CHL that have very deep pockets).

In the end, he will listen to what his agent has to say (about the merits of competing offers) and make the best decision for himself.

Yes, exactly this.

As you’ve alluded to in the past, the CHL -> AHL option will likely be modified in the near future, negating a vulnerability the CHL currently has vis a vis the NCAA.

It is the late birth year players, particularly higher end talents like Gavin McKenna, where I see the CHL may have a longer term vulnerability. I’m sure CHL team owners and the leagues themselves are well aware of this factor.

While most individual CHL teams would have great difficulty competing directly with big NCAA schools in terms of player retention, the CHL collectively has a great deal of wealth and I think most owners and will feel very passionately about ensuring these late birth year players remain in and are drafted out of the CHL….starting with Gavin McKenna.

But we shall see

 

[Mathieukferland]

Craig Button (he of draft list thread infamy) brings out the G word to describe McKenna. I disagree but will be interesting to see how the situation evolves over the next 2-3 years

 

[Fyodorov]

Craig Button (he of draft list thread infamy) brings out the G word to describe McKenna. I disagree but will be interesting to see how the situation evolves over the next 2-3 years

another one

What are we at now, 4 generational Canadian players since 2020? Then also 2 more coming with Dupont and Schultz? What a time for Canada!