Felony charge against top NHL prospect Gavin McKenna dropped: prosecutors

U.S. prosecutors have withdrawn felony assault charges against highly ranked NHL draft prospect Gavin McKenna.

A Pennsylvania district attorney’s office says it will drop an aggravated assault charge against Canada-born hockey player Gavin McKenna.

“Both the District Attorney’s Office and the State College Police Department have reviewed video evidence of this incident and do not believe that a charge of Aggravated Assault is supported by the evidence,” reads a press release.

“Prosecution will go forward with the misdemeanor Simple Assault and other summary charges as they relate to the serious injuries suffered by the victim,” the release later adds.

The alleged incident

McKenna, a forward for Penn State University and the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, was originally charged with felony aggravated assault, misdemeanor simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct after an alleged altercation last Saturday, police say.

The press release goes on to say that State College Police confirmed the victim suffered two fractures to one side of his jaw, rather than both sides, and he wasn’t missing a tooth, as was originally indicated. The victim has received surgery and is recovering, it stated.

“A review of the video does not support a conclusion that Gavin McKenna acted with the intent to cause serious bodily injury or with reckless indifference to the value of human life,” the release read.

On Jan. 31, an officer who gave an affidavit was reportedly dispatched to the Mount Nittany Medical Centre to speak with a patient who had allegedly been assaulted near the Penn State campus. According to the statement, the patient had fractures to both sides of his jaw and a missing tooth.

“The patient was in substantial pain and could hardly speak,” the statement said, according to The Canadian Press. “The patient had two friends in the room with him who were both witnesses to the assault.”

The witnesses reportedly told the officer they recognized McKenna as the perpetrator, given that he plays for the university’s men’s hockey team. They suspected he was coming from a hockey event at a local pub after Penn State had hosted Michigan State earlier in the day.

The victim’s friends told police the alleged assault took place near a parking garage, and the officer claims he reviewed video footage from street cameras that appeared to show McKenna “throwing two punches at the patient’s face, which caused him to stumble backwards.”

An initial incident report viewed by The Associated Press said the alleged altercation took place between McKenna and a 21-year-old man. McKenna was arraigned and released on US$20,000 unsecured bail, according to the news service.

The first outlet to report the incident was Onward State, an independent Penn State student news site.

If found guilty, McKenna could face up to 20 years in prison. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 11, the AP reported.

In a statement to CTVNews.ca, Penn State Athletics said: “We are aware that charges have been filed; however, as this is an ongoing legal matter, we will not have any further comment.”

Who is Gavin McKenna?

McKenna is among the top-ranked prospects for the 2026 NHL Entry Draft and is widely expected to be taken with the first pick. He was part of both the 2025 and 2026 Canadian World Junior rosters, helping Canada earn bronze in 2026.

McKenna made headlines last summer when he announced he would leave the Canadian junior hockey development system in favour of the U.S.-based NCAA, which had lifted its ban on Canadian Hockey League (CHL) players.

The NCAA had previously banned CHL players — any athlete who played in the Western Hockey League (WHL), the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) or the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey Leagues (QMJHL) — as they were deemed to be professionals, due to weekly stipends of around $500 per month for living expenses.

That decision came soon after the NCAA approved rules that student athletes could be directly paid by their college or university, providing schools another incentive to recruit athletes. ESPN reported last July that Penn State would pay McKenna around US$700,000, which is slightly under the NHL’s minimum salary of $775,000.

McKenna is in his freshman season at Penn State after spending three seasons with the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers. In 24 games with the Big Ten school, McKenna has 11 goals and 21 assists for 32 points.

Before making the switch to the NCAA, McKenna was named both the WHL and CHL Player of the Year in 2024-25, finishing the 2024-25 season with 41 goals and 88 assists for 129 points.

He led the Tigers to a WHL Championship last spring, but they lost in the Memorial Cup final to the OHL’s London Knights.