Outside of Sidney Crosby’s greatness, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been tough to watch for the last three seasons. At 37 years old, Crosby is still playing at a historic level. The same can’t be said for the rest of the team. They have failed to make the playoffs three years in a row after a historic run of 15 straight playoff appearances. Although Crosby is still going strong and staying in Pittsburgh, it’s time to prepare for the future, and the NHL has a chance to do the funniest thing possible.
In 1984, the Penguins used the first overall pick in the NHL Draft to select Mario Lemieux. He went on to be one of the greatest hockey players to ever lace them up, despite battling health issues throughout his career. He brought two Stanley Cups to Pittsburgh, giving the city its first taste of winning hockey. If cancer didn’t stagger his career, he would be in the same conversation as Wayne Gretzky. He possessed the same skills as Gretzky, but he stood at 6-foot-4 and weighed 230 pounds.
21 years later, the NHL gifted the Penguins with the opportunity to select Sidney Crosby first overall in the 2005 NHL Draft. Many hockey fans believe that it was a fixed lottery to land Crosby next to Lemieux in Pittsburgh. Crosby has gone on to bring three Stanley Cups to Pittsburgh and be the face of hockey for two decades. His resume speaks for itself. He’s a Mt. Rushmore hockey player. The NHL has a chance to put the next face of the NHL next to him in the upcoming draft, 21 years after the Penguins selected Crosby.
Move over, Connor McDavid. Gavin McKenna is on his way, and he’s the next one. Hopefully, unlike McDavid, McKenna will be able to win the big one. If Gary Bettman and the NHL are feeling generous enough to give the Penguins another gift, now is the time. If they want to continue the 21-year trend, McKenna will be a Penguin at the 2026 NHL Draft.
McKenna is 17 years old and he has spent the last three seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL. Last season was historic for him. In 61 games, he posted 34 goals and a league-leading 88 assists for a total of 129 points. He only had three games all season in which he didn’t register a point. The Tigers won the WHL Championship, and McKenna received the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy as the WHL MVP and the David Branch Player Of The Year Award. He was the third youngest player to win the David Branch Award behind John Tavares and Crosby, who were both 16 when they won the award.
The young star has already won two gold medals with Canada, both in 2024. At the U18 World Championships in Finland, McKenna notched ten goals and ten assists for 20 points in seven games. At the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, he registered six points in five games. McKenna can join Crosby and Lemieux as Canadian heroes in the Steel City. Pairing him with Pittsburgh’s three first-round draft picks from 2025, Rutger McGroarty, and Ville Koivunen jumpstarts the Penguins’ future.
Despite having Crosby and Malkin, the Penguins won’t be good this year. They will be high in the lottery. To improve the situation, McKenna committed to playing hockey at Penn State this season, changing the landscape of college hockey. He will be two and a half hours down the road from his future home in Pittsburgh. It’s time for the next generation of Penguins hockey.
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