Top 2026 NHL draft prospect Gavin McKenna enjoying a 45-game point streak with WHL Medicine Hat

Audio By Carbonatix

Medicine Hat Tigers forward Gavin McKenna continued validating his projection as the 2026 NHL draft’s top prospect by extending his point streak to 45 games, matching the Canadian Hockey League’s second-longest run since 2000.

The 17-year-old McKenna had two assists in Game 5 of the Tigers' Western Hockey League first-round playoff series-clinching 3-2 win over the Swift Current Broncos on Friday night. The Eastern Conference's top-seeded Tigers' second-round playoff opponent has not yet been determined.

McKenna's 45-game run, including playoffs, matches former NHLer Brad Richards’ streak with Rimouski in 1999-2000, which also included playoffs. And he’s five short of former NHL player Alexander Radulov’s 50-game run with Quebec in 2005-06.

McKenna is from Whitehorse, Yukon, and was already labeled a generational talent when Medicine Hat selected him first overall in the 2022 bantam draft.

He was the CHL’s rookie of the year last season, and finished second in the WHL with 129 points (41 goals, 88 assists) in 56 games this year. McKenna failed to produce a point in just three games this season, the last time on Nov. 6.

He currently leads the WHL playoff points race with 16 (two goals, 14 assists).

Overall, McKenna has 79 goals and 165 assists for 244 points in 133 regular-season career WHL games.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl