{"id":367178,"date":"2025-11-09T15:53:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T15:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/367178\/"},"modified":"2025-11-09T15:53:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T15:53:10","slug":"morning-notes-mckenna-karlsson-laughton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/367178\/","title":{"rendered":"Morning Notes: McKenna, Karlsson, Laughton"},"content":{"rendered":"

17-year-old Gavin McKenna<\/a><\/strong> is one of the top prospects in hockey and the presumptive No. 1 pick in the upcoming 2026 NHL Draft. Currently playing NCAA hockey for the Penn State Nittany Lions, he\u2019s gotten off to a productive start, scoring 14 points in 12 games. But even with that production, The Athletic\u2019s Scott Wheeler has indicated<\/a> that McKenna\u2019s performances in college hockey thus far have some left NHL teams wanting more.<\/p>\n

Wheeler reported yesterday that after McKenna\u2019s Penn State dropped back-to-back games against Michigan State in East Lansing, \u201cthe gathering collection of scouts and hockey folks weren\u2019t kind to\u201d McKenna in their thoughts postgame. Wheeler reported that \u201cmultiple NHL scouts\u201d commented to The Athletic on McKenna\u2019s \u201cwork rate off the puck, a number of backchecks he appeared to give up on,\u201d and perhaps most distressingly for McKenna\u2019s draft stock, \u201can ongoing desire for more effort.\u201d Wheeler stopped short of saying that McKenna\u2019s status as 2026\u2019s top prospect was truly under threat; he is still a point-per-game NCAA freshman, after all, and his incredible skill level is still evident. But Wheeler did note that \u201cthis college hockey season has revealed\u201d that McKenna is right now \u201ca flawed player\u201d whose flaws were better masked when he was playing in, and dominating, the WHL.<\/p>\n

Other notes from around the hockey world:<\/p>\n