McKenna Goes First in 2026 NHL Draft

As expected, left wing Gavin McKenna (Penn State) was the first overall pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs at this year's NHL Draft in Buffalo tonight.

Several other current NCAA players were selected in the first round on Friday night at KeyBank Arena. Keaton Verhoeff (North Dakota), a defenseman, was chosen ninth overall by the San Jose Sharks, while center Tyan Lawrence (Boston University) went 11th to the St. Louis Blues, and left wing Oscar Hemming (Boston College) went 14th to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Buffalo Sabres tabbed center Ilia Morozov (Miami) 20th overall.

As for incoming and future collegiate skaters, the Vancouver Canucks chose center Caleb Malhotra (Boston University) third overall, while defenseman Daxon Rudolph (Denver) was taken one spot later by host Buffalo. Carson Carels (North Dakota), another defenseman, went sixth to the Calgary Flames, while Chase Reid (Michigan State) went seventh to the Seattle Kraken. Left wing Wyatt Cullen (Minnesota) was tabbed 10th by the Nashville Predators, followed by right wing Nikita Klepov (Michigan State) at 15th to the Anaheim Ducks and left wing Ethan Belchetz (Michigan State) at 17th to the Utah Mammoth.

San Jose chose defenseman Ryan Lin (Denver) 21st overall, while right wing Liam Ruck (North Dakota) went to the Pittsburgh Penguins with the very next selection and left wing JP Hurlbert (Michigan) went 23rd to the Detroit Red Wings. The Philadelphia Flyers chose defenseman Maksim Sokolovskii (Maine) 27th overall, with center Jack Hextall (Michigan State) going three selections later to Calgary and defenseman Thomas Bleyl (Michigan State) right after to the Nashville Predators. The final pick of the first round was right wing Jaxon Cover (Penn State), who went 32nd overall to the Ottawa Senators.

The 2026 draft concludes Saturday with Rounds 2-7 (11 a.m. ET, NHL Network). The full list of college-related selections can be found here. 

Top 10 Hobey Baker Award Finalists Named

The top 10 finalists for the 2026 Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the top player in NCAA Division I men's hockey have been announced (listed by last name with class, position, and 2025-26 stats to date): 

Trey Augustine, Jr., G, Michigan State (23-8-1, 2.09 GAA)

James Hagens, So., F, Boston College (23g-22a—45 pts.)

T.J. Hughes, Sr., F, Michigan (19-31—50)

Gavin McKenna, Fr. F, Penn State (15-36—51)

Max Plante, So., F, Minnesota Duluth (23-25—48)

Erik Pohlkamp, Jr., D, Denver (17-20—37)

Hayden Stavroff, So., F, Dartmouth (28-19—47)

Charlie Stramel, Sr., F, Michigan State (19-25—44)

Felix Trudeau, Sr., F, Sacred Heart (25-22—47)

Ethan Wyttenbach, Fr. F, Quinnipiac (24-34—58)

Wyttenbach leads the nation in points, while Stavroff is first in goals scored and McKenna is second in assists. Five of the finalist have already been drafted by National Hockey League teams, while McKenna is expected to go in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft. 

This year's Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced next month during the NCAA Frozen Four in Las Vegas.

U.S., Canada Win in 2026 WJC Openers

Will Zellers (North Dakota) scored two goals and set up another, and Cole Hutson (Boston University) tallied two assists as the host United States defeated Germany, 6-3, tonight in its opener of the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship in St. Paul, Minn. The U.S., which has won the last two WJC gold medals, will next face off tomorrow with Switzerland, which will be playing in its first game of the tournament.

In the nightcap in Minneapolis, Canada outlasted Czechia, 7-5, by scoring four times in the third period. Michael Hage (Michigan) notched a goal and two assists for the Canadians, who also got two assists from Gavin McKenna (Penn State) and an empty-net goal from Porter Martone (Michigan State). Canada will next face Latvia on Saturday.

ADDENDUM: Team USA edged Switzerland, 2-1, on a goal by Zellers, while Canada topped Latvia by the same score on an overtime goal from Hage.

Penn State Sweeps ASU to Start 2025-26 Season

Penn State men's hockey is off to a good start. The Nittany Lions, who made their first-ever NCAA Frozen Four last spring, opened their 2025-26 campaign with a two-step sweep at Arizona State, winning 6-2 on Friday before rebounding for a 4-2 victory on Sunday at Mullett Arena.

Sophomore forward Charlie Cerrato finished with two goals and four assists for PSU (2-0-0 overall), with five of those points coming on Friday. Projected No. 1 overall 2026 NHL draft choice Gavin McKenna fired home the game-winning goal Saturday on the power play, after providing a two-assist collegiate debut the night before. Kevin Reidler, in his first season with the Nittany Lions after spending his freshman campaign at Omaha, stopped 80 of 85 shots over the weekend, making 45 stops on Saturday as PSU rebounded from a 2-0 second-period deficit.

Bennett Schimek and Samuel Alfano posted a goal and an assist apiece for the Sun Devils (0-2-0), who also got 82 saves overall from Bentley transfer Connor Hasley.

CHL's McKenna to Play at Penn State

The best player in the Canadian Hockey League will be playing in the NCAA this upcoming season.

Gavin McKenna, who led the Medicine Hat Tigers to a Western Hockey league playoff title and an appearance in the 2025 Memorial Cup final, will skate at Penn State University for the 2025-26 campaign. The six-foot center from Whitehorse, Yukon tallied 41 goals and 88 assists for 129 points in just 56 games this past season, and was named the CHL Player of the Year. In three years with the Tigers, he posted 79-165—244 points in 133 career WHL regular-season outings, plus 12-33—45 points in 25 postseason appearances. He also helped Team Canada to gold medals at both the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship and the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

McKenna, 17, who is projected to be selected first overall in the 2026 NHL Draft, is the highest-profile signing to date since the NCAA allowed CHL/major junior players to be eligible to play American college hockey late last year. 

Penn State, which finished 22-14-4 overall last season (9-11-4 Big Ten Conference), is also coming off the first NCAA Frozen Four appearance in the school's varsity history.

Marlies Win AHL's Calder Cup

The Toronto Marlies are the American Hockey League champion.

The top farm club of the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the visiting Texas Stars, 6-1, at Ricoh Coliseum in Game 7 of the Calder Cup Final on Thursday night in Ontario to clinch the club's first-ever AHL crown, and first by any pro hockey team from Toronto in 51 years.

Toronto captain Ben Smith (Boston College), who won two NCAA titles with the Eagles and also has a 2013 Stanley Cup ring from the Chicago Blackhawks, tallied an empty-net goal in Game 7. He led a contingent of former NCAA players on the Marlies' roster that included the likes of Chris Mueller (Michigan State), Trevor Moore (Denver), Colin Greening (Cornell), Justin Holl (Minnesota) and Vincent LoVerde (Miami).

Loverde had two assists for Toronto in the clinching contest, while Moore posted one. Mike McKenna (St. Lawrence) made 40 stops for the Stars in defeat, while Brian Flynn (Maine) and Matt Mangene (Maine) assisted on Texas' lone goal.

Stars Stay Alive in 2018 Calder Cup Final

Mike McKenna (St. Lawrence) made 43 saves and the Texas Stars stayed alive in the AHL's Calder Cup Final with a 5-2 victory at Toronto in Game 6 on Tuesday night.

Curtis McKenzie (Miami) was one of five different goal scorers for the Stars, along with Sheldon Dries (Western Michigan). Texas, which trailed the best-of-seven series, 3-2, following a 6-2 loss at home in Game 5 on Saturday, broke open a scoreless Game 6 with three second-period tallies.

Justin Holl (Minnesota) scored one of the host Marlies' two goals on Tuesday. The Marlies, who went 0-for-4 on the power play, outshot the Stars, 45-24, overall on the night.

The American Hockey League's playoff championship series will be decided on Thursday night (7 p.m. ET, NHL Network) at Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto.

AHL's Griffins Claim Second-Ever Calder Cup

The Grand Rapids Griffins won their second-ever Calder Cup, and first-ever at home, with Tuesday night’s 4-3 win over the Syracuse Crunch in Game 6 at Van Andel Arena in downtown Grand Rapids, Mich.

The Griffins claimed their first American Hockey League championship in 2013, by also defeating the Crunch in six games, with the deciding contest that year held in Syracuse. Grand Rapids, the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings, won 15 of 19 games during the 2017 postseason, ousting Milwaukee, Chicago and San Jose before doing likewise to Syracuse.

Ben Street (Wisconsin) of the Griffins was second on the squad, and fourth in the league, with 21 points during the playoffs. Jared Coureau (Northern Michigan) was in net for all of Grand Rapids’s postseason games, going 15-4-0 with a 2.89 goals-against average in 19 contests.

Syracuse forward Cory Conacher (Canisius) led all scorers during the Calder Cup Playoffs with 12 goals and 28 points. Mike McKenna (St. Lawrence) finished with a 13-9 record and a 2.68 goals-against average in 22 playoff appearances, while Matt Taormina (Providence) paced all league defensemen with 15 assists and 20 points.