Gavin McKenna, a prodigious 17-year-old forward, is poised to lead Canada at the 2024 World Junior Hockey Championship. His dazzling skills and unmatched offensive prowess have earned comparisons to the Sedin twins, leaving coaches and fans alike in awe.
Dec 19, 2024 at 10:08 AM ET Every so often when he was guiding the Vancouver Canucks from 2014 through 2017, the razor-focused head coach would crack a smile at something Henrik and Daniel Sedin — a pair of future Hall of Famers — had pulled from their bag of tricks. Desjardins now experiences eerily similar moments watching Gavin McKenna from the same perch with the Western Hockey League's Medicine Hat Tigers.
And he expects Canadians will feel something along those lines when the baby-faced forward expected to go No. 1 at the 2026 NHL draft dons the red Maple Leaf at the world junior hockey championship. 'It was like, 'How do you do that stuff?'' Desjardins said of the Sedins.'You'll get that with Gavin … he'll make a play and you just have to laugh.' Set to turn 17 on Friday, the six-foot, 165-pound winger from Whitehorse leads the WHL in scoring with 19 goals and 41 assists for 60 points across 30 games. McKenna still holds an eight-point edge in the race despite having already missed four contests while away with the men's under-20 national team. 'The first thing that sticks out is just how hard he is to defend,' Canadian centre and Winnipeg Jets prospect Brayden Yager said.'So quick and agile. Not the biggest guy, but super sneaky.' McKenna learned how to leverage his frame as a youngster against older players growing up in Yukon's capital as he searched for the best competition available. 'Knowing where to be at the right times,' he explained of the benefits.'You have to play with a little bit of caution. Playing against those older, bigger guys at such a young age, it gets you ready for this.' The world juniors and thoughts of an NHL career were distant dreams when McKenna was first carving up his hometown's frigid outdoor rinks. But fellow Whitehorse product Dylan Cozens, who won 2020 gold with Canada and now plays for the Buffalo Sabres, showed what was possibl
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