Freshman Gavin McKenna was named a CCM/AHCA Second-Team All-American, as announced on April 10 during an NHL Network broadcast. This recognition makes McKenna the fourth Penn State Nittany Lion to receive All-American honors.
The award highlights McKenna’s standout season and adds to his growing list of achievements. He joins previous honorees Cole Hults and Nate Sucese, who were recognized in the 2019-20 season, as well as Aiden Fink, who earned second-team west honors last year.
McKenna recently became the first Nittany Lion to be named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and was also selected as a Hobey Baker Top-10 Award Finalist. He was the only unanimous choice for the Big Ten All-Freshman team and also received Second-Team All-Conference honors. His performance included winning the Big Ten Scoring Title with 38 points in conference play, which is second only to NHL players Kyle Connor and Cole Caufield for most points by a conference scoring champion.
During his freshman campaign, McKenna set several records for Penn State hockey. He became the first freshman from Penn State to reach 50 points in a single season, finishing with 51 points—just two short of Fink’s program record. His assist total set one of nine new school records this year; he tallied 36 assists overall, ranking second nationally behind Michigan’s Michael Hage.
McKenna averaged 1.46 points per game—the highest in the Big Ten and second nationally—and scored 15 goals, tying him for fifth-most by a Nittany Lion freshman all-time. In February, he set single-game program records with eight points and seven assists against Ohio State—a feat unmatched in NCAA Division I hockey over nearly four decades.
As anticipation builds ahead of the upcoming NHL Draft where McKenna is considered a potential top pick, he has twice been named HCA National Rookie of the Month and collected four Big Ten weekly awards this season.
