Penn State men’s hockey star and projected top NHL draft pick Gavin McKenna has been charged with felony aggravated assault, misdemeanor simple assault and two summary offenses for disorderly conduct and harassment, according to court documents.
The charges — which were filed on Wednesday, Feb. 4 in Centre County, Pennsylvania — stem from what was reported to be an alleged altercation in downtown State College on Saturday, Jan. 31, hours after Penn State had lost 5-4 to Michigan State in overtime in a game at Beaver Stadium in front of a crowd of 74,575.
The aggravated assault charge is a first-degree felony for “attempts to cause serious bodily injury or causes injury with extreme indifference.”
The case is currently assigned to Magisterial District Judge Casey M. McClain in State College Borough. A preliminary hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Penn State isn’t scheduled to play again until a February 12 matchup at No. 1 Michigan.
A Penn State spokesperson said to the York Daily Record, a part of the USA TODAY Network, that university officials ‘are aware that charges have been filed, however, as this is an ongoing legal matter, we will not have any further comment.’
The 18-year-old McKenna, a freshman, is widely viewed as one of the top picks in the 2026 NHL Draft. He is rated by NHL.com as the No. 1 prospect in the draft.
The Whitehorse, Yukon native has a team-high 21 assists and 32 points this season, as well as 11 goals, for Penn State. The Nittany Lions are one year removed from their first Frozen Four appearance and are No. 9 in the latest USA TODAY Sports college hockey rankings with an 18-8 record.
Last year, McKenna was named the player of the year in the Western Hockey League while playing for the Medicine Hat Tigers, whom he led to a WHL championship. The six-foot, 170-pound left winger was also named the Canadian Hockey League player of the year after recording 173 points in 76 games between the regular-season, playoffs and Memorial Cup. The then-17-year-old McKenna became the third-youngest CHL player of the year, behind only Sidney Crosby and John Tavares.
He committed to Penn State last July during an appearance on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.” According to a report last year from ESPN, McKenna earned a name, image and likeness (NIL) deal from Penn State that’s ‘in the ballpark’ of $700,000.
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