Yukoner Gavin McKenna, who plays for the Medicine Hat Tigers in the Western Hockey League, has made a significant stride in his career by being named player of the year for the 2024-25 season. He is eligible for the 2026 NHL draft.
During the 2023-24 season, McKenna won the Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy for being the most proficient player in his first year of competition. On May 7, the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) announced McKenna as the recipient of the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy, awarded to the player of the year.
McKenna is the fourth Tigers player to be named the WHL's player of the year since Kris Russell was given the award in 2007, according to the CHL.
McKenna, 17, scored 41 goals and provided 88 assists, achieving a +60 rating over 56 regular-season games during the 2024-25 season. According to the CHL, he set a modern record for points racked up in consecutive games by accumulating 32 goals and 68 assists over 40 consecutive matches, extending this streak to 53 games overall and missing the score sheet just three times throughout the season.
McKenna was selected by the Tigers as the first pick in the 2022 WHL prospects draft, according to the CHL. Since joining the Tigers, McKenna has made a significant impact in the league, accumulating a total of 79 goals and 165 assists in 133 WHL regular-season matches up to 2025.
According to the CHL, McKenna became the third-fastest player in the WHL's modern history to reach 200 points, achieving this milestone in his 118th game during the 2024-25 season.
McKenna made an appearance on Canada's national team earlier this year to compete in the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, managing to net one goal in five games as the Canadian team's youngest player. The CHL reported that McKenna has been consistently been making appearances on the international stage having previously won gold at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup hosted in Alberta.
The CHL also reported that McKenna had set a record on the international stage for a Canadian player accumulating 20 points at the IIHF U18 World Championship in 2024.
Among his many accolades, McKenna was named the WHL's Player of the Month twice, between September to October and in January. Additionally, he secured three Tempo WHL Player of the Week wins and was named to the 2024-25 WHL Eastern Conference First All-Star Team.
McKenna and the Tigers are gearing up for the WHL Championship series in which they will take on the Spokane Chiefs starting on May 9. Both teams blanked the competition four games to zero in their respective conference championship playoff series. The Tigers have been dominant in this season's playoffs only logging one loss, in a first-round game against the Swift Current Broncos.
Contact Jake Howarth at jake.howarth@yukon-news.com
