Gavin McKenna heard it from the opposing fans at Mullett Arena during his first college hockey shift -- and it never let up.
In October, Penn State traveled to Arizona State, the highly anticipated first game for the then-17-year-old. The reaction from Sun Devils fans was neither scattered nor subtle.
"They were giving it to me," McKenna says. "Anytime I touched the puck I'd hear the boos and hear the 'overrated' chants."
McKenna's parents and grandparents had flown in and braved the crowd. His teammates and coaches were already discussing how to handle a season of weighted expectations.
None of it fazed McKenna, the 6-foot, 170-pound winger. "I usually have a good chuckle," he said. "Obviously sometimes it's tough to deal with. But when I hear all that stuff, I get pretty motivated."
Tied 2-2 with less than two minutes remaining, the Nittany Lions were on a power play. McKenna collected a cross-ice pass in the right faceoff circle and ripped a one-timer through traffic. The game winner was followed by a now iconic celebration. "I hit the 'forks down' celly," McKenna says. "That was pretty fun."
That sequence -- the noise, the response -- defined McKenna's NHL draft year. It also shaped the opinions of teams vying for the top spot in the 2026 NHL draft lottery, which will be determined tonight (7 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Gavin McKenna nets a game-winning goal for Penn State and trolls the Arizona State fans with a "forks down."
By the time he arrived at Penn State, McKenna was already being compared to recent No. 1 picks such as Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini. His decision to come to Penn State only raised the stakes.
"When you get a player like that, it's kind of like, 'holy cow,'" Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky said. "You don't expect that to happen here -- and then it does."
In an NIL-driven landscape, McKenna's commitment was viewed as one of the most significant in college hockey history -- a move that brought attention not just to him, but to the program. Speculation ran rampant about his record-breaking NIL deal; nobody will disclose the actual figure, though $700,000 was the number widely circulated in opponents' jeers (whether accurate or not).
"It's not really in this program's culture before to have those types of blue-chip prospects," teammate Matt DiMarsico said.
With that came unprecedented scrutiny.
"I can't even put into words the amount of pressure that was on him this year," his mom, Krystal McKenna, said. "Social media is such a double-edged sword."
For McKenna, the spotlight reinforced something unnatural for a teenager still finding his way.
"I've almost got to be perfect at all times," he said.
THE PATH TO STARDOM didn't look anything like that. McKenna grew up in the city of Whitehorse in Yukon, the far northwest territory of Canada defined by dramatic wilderness.
"Pretty remote," he said. "Long days of summer and long nights of winter. Pretty much just a hockey city, though. Everywhere you look, there's an outdoor rink. I'm very grateful to grow up there."
It's also close-knit.
"Whitehorse is a small community where everybody kind of knows everybody," Krystal said. "Everyone's quite supportive and really kind and very welcoming."
McKenna spent most of his childhood outside: camping, dirt biking, snowmobiling, fishing. He started skating at age 2, with a rink in his backyard. His biggest mentor was his grandfather Joe who instilled a competitive fire in him. When McKenna used a metal support frame to learn to skate, Joe would say: "Real hockey players don't use those." Not long after, Joe and his grandson were racing on the ice.
McKenna grew up watching the Chicago Blackhawks, modeling his game after Patrick Kane -- right down to wearing No. 88 whenever he could. He would watch Kane highlights on YouTube then immediately get outside and try the moves himself.
McKenna dressed his younger sister Kasey in goalie gear for practice in the driveway. Kasey is now building her own playing career. Their oldest sister, Madison, organizes hockey camps for First Nations youth -- the same community that shaped them.
Joe is a member of the Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin First Nation who survived Canada's residential school system, which separated indigenous children from their families for more than 100 years. McKenna, now 18, often talks about being proud to be from Whitehorse, and he loves honoring his family's roots. For his mother, that means everything.
"When I grew up, being Indigenous meant you were ashamed of your culture," Krystal said. "So now we're trying to ingrain in our kids -- no, be proud of who you are and where you come from. Hockey is super cool and it's fun and all of those great things. But for us to hear people tell us that he's a good human being, that is what's most important."
McKENNA'S SPECIAL SKILL SET was apparent by the time he went to the famous U-10 Brick Invitational Tournament. However, there wasn't enough opportunity for ice time or to get noticed in Whitehorse. McKenna moved away from his family to British Columbia at age 12, living with another family they trusted. That was followed by a stint with the Medicine Hat Tigers (Alberta) in the Western Hockey League of Canadian juniors. McKenna set a franchise record for points by a 16-year-old (97 in 67 games), then followed it with video-game production the next season (173 points in 76 games across the regular season, playoffs and Memorial Cup).
He could have stayed in juniors, dominated and controlled the environment. Instead, he wanted to challenge himself in the increasingly competitive Big Ten. College hockey has become less of a showcase and more of a test, with older players staying longer, NHL draft picks spread across rosters and NIL accelerating the talent pool.
"Playing against 24-year-olds, there's no time and space," McKenna said. "I thought it would make that jump to the next level a little bit easier."
The Penn State staff was blown away the moment McKenna arrived.
"His IQ, his brain, he sees plays in real time that other players can't," assistant coach Andrew Sturtz said. "Sometimes you're just like, how did he do that?"
McKenna's best attribute may be his vision.
"He's a player that knows where you are on the ice at all times," said former teammate Aiden Fink, who is now signed with the Nashville Predators. "No matter where you are, he knows where you're on the ice. He puts you in the right position. He'll always make you succeed."
While McKenna found some early success, NHL evaluators began nit-picking his game. In the first half of the season, some scouts questioned if McKenna played too much of a perimeter game, or didn't have enough pace. They wondered whether he was a threat only on the power play, and was too lazy defensively.
Lost in that narrative was McKenna's rotating cast of linemates (largely due to injuries, including Fink who missed over two months) or the fact that it's a hard, heavy league for a teenager. Many high-end players don't want to be told what they're doing wrong. McKenna heard the feedback, and he asked his coaches and inner circle: What can I do to improve?
In the second half of the season, McKenna arranged weekly video calls with his representation team at CAA: one of his agents, Matt Williams, former NHL player Byron Ritchie and Jim Hughes (father of Jack and Quinn) who works in player development. They'd go over every shift from the previous weekend and discuss. What did you see on that play? What could you have done?
McKenna finished the regular season ranked second in the NCAA in points per game (1.46 -- 51 points in 35 games) including a night when he piled up eight points against Ohio State. His defensive engagement became noticeably stronger. He ended the season leading the Nittany Lions in created turnovers.
One high-ranking NHL executive whose team is in the draft lottery said he had reservations about McKenna earlier in the season. He changed his tune when asked again last week.
"His game really grew in the second half of the season, especially after World Juniors," the NHL executive said. "He was playing against players on a nightly basis in college that ranged in age from five to seven years older than him. He most definitely improved his play away from the puck. For me, he is No. 1."
A HIGHLIGHT OF Penn State's season was the Nittany Lions' first-ever outdoor game at Beaver Stadium in front of a record-breaking crowd of 74,575. McKenna produced another signature moment: down 2-1 to Michigan State in the second period, McKenna scored to tie the game. His celebration in front of an exuberant crowd was a highlight of the game. Penn State would lose the game in a 5-4 overtime thriller, despite McKenna's three points.
Later that night, came the lowlight of McKenna's season: an altercation following a team function in downtown State College. While McKenna initially faced felony aggravated assault charges after a man filed a police report with a broken jaw, prosecutors reduced it to a misdemeanor two days later after a review of video evidence. The case is still pending, and several NHL evaluators told ESPN they were not concerned with the incident. "From the information I gathered, I don't consider it to be a big deal or something that would affect his draft stock at all," said one person who scouted McKenna extensively.
Penn State hockey supported McKenna and he never missed a game. But the noise was getting loud again.
"Those first two days [after the incident] were some of the craziest days of my life," McKenna said. "Obviously, there was a big reaction to it and it got a bit blown out of proportion. But honestly, I think going through a little adversity at this time, it helps me, honestly. I think I've learned a lot from it. I've had a lot of people to lean on."
At the forefront was his family. They decided it was best for him to fly home to Whitehorse for a few days.
"We needed to hug each other and ground everybody," Krystal said. "It was so stressful for everyone. By the time he left, we all had a new sense like we could breathe a little bit. We will get through it, together."
McKenna knows going forward the spotlight isn't going to let up. But he has a tendency to shine when the lights are the brightest.
"I've been in the spotlight for a few years now, so I've gotten kind of used to it," McKenna said. "And even this year, especially in my draft year, I knew there was going to be a lot and I was ready for it. But I think just being in the rink ... that's my happiness."