Gavin McKenna continues to impress the hockey world, and Friday night may have been his best showing yet.

McKenna’s Penn State hosted Ohio State on Friday and showed no mercy in an 11-4 win, with the 2026 draft prospect driving that offence with eight points on the night.

McKenna began the night chipping in on both goals Penn State scored in the first period, assisting on the opening goal before scoring what would be his only goal of the game 10:19 into the frame. Penn State really exploded in the second period by scoring six goals, and McKenna got four assists out of those to bring his night up to six points. He then capped off the performance with two more assists in the third period among Penn State’s three goals in the final frame to give him one goal and eight points on the night.

McKenna’s performance was a record-setting one for Penn State, as he obliterated the school’s record for points in a single game by a player, which was previously five.

After a slow start to his collegiate season (or at least by his standards), McKenna has seen his game take a bigger step, as he now has 12 goals and 29 assists for 41 points in just 27 games. His eight-point night skyrocketed him from 11th in the NCAA in points per game to 2nd at 1.51, behind only Calgary Flames 2o25 fifth round pick Ethan Wyttenbach.

The recent step up in McKenna’s game in the NCAA will certainly help his draft stock, as earlier in the season, there were some questions about whether or not he would go first overall in the 2026 NHL Draft like many anticipated he would. Also in the conversation were Keaton Verhoeff and Ivar Stenberg, with the latter particularly seeing his stock grow after Sweden won gold at the 2026 World Juniors. McKenna’s recent production could certainly help him pull away from the competition as the 2026 NHL Draft approaches. Of course, that’s of interest to Vancouver Canucks fans, as the Canucks currently hold the best odds at landing the first overall pick in the draft.

McKenna made the move to the NCAA last summer, taking advantage of the new rule which allowed CHL players to play in the NCAA. Prior to the move, he spent two seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers.