Gavin McKenna case: Felony charge dropped against top NHL prospect from Penn State

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State hockey star Gavin McKenna will have his felony aggravated assault charge dropped, the Centre County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.

McKenna, the consensus first overall pick in this June’s NHL draft, was charged on four counts by the State College Police Department stemming from an altercation on Jan. 31, the same day 74,575 fans watched the Penn State men’s hockey team play an outdoor game against Michigan State at Beaver Stadium.

The District Attorney’s Office said that while the aggravated assault charge has been dropped — which could have earned McKenna a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison per Pennsylvania state law — prosecution will go forward with misdemeanor simple assault and other summary charges “as they relate to the serious injuries suffered by the victim.” McKenna has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

The police complaint alleged that a man was punched twice on the right side of his face by McKenna following an exchange of words between the man’s group and a group of people with McKenna, who had attended “a hockey event” at Doggie’s Pub after the Beaver Stadium game.

The complaint further alleged that the man sustained fractures to both sides of his jaw, which would require surgery, and that he was missing a tooth. But a follow-up by State College Police confirmed that the man suffered two fractures to one side of his jaw and found no missing tooth. The man had surgery and is recovering.

McKenna, 18, was initially charged with first-degree felony aggravated assault, which is defined as “attempts to cause serious bodily injury or causes injury with extreme indifference”; misdemeanor simple assault; and two summary counts of disorderly conduct for harassment and engaging in a fight.

According to the District Attorney’s Office, to establish probable cause for a felony charge of aggravated assault meant establishing that McKenna “acted with the intent to cause serious bodily injury or acted recklessly under circumstances showing an extreme indifference to the value of human life.”

Based on a review of video footage taken from the pub and street cameras, both the District Attorney’s Office and the State College Police Department do not believe that a charge of aggravated assault is supported by the evidence.

The District Attorney’s Office said it is withdrawing the felony count and correcting the record regarding the injuries the man suffered.

Penn State’s men’s hockey program said it would not comment on an ongoing legal matter. The NHL told ESPN earlier this week that it is aware of the charges against McKenna but offered no comment, as he is not a player in the league yet.

McKenna, a high-scoring winger from Canada, stunned the hockey world last year by opting to leave Canadian junior hockey for Penn State’s men’s hockey program. In 2024, the NCAA ruled that Canadian junior players were now eligible to play on Division I teams, ending a decades-old policy that made young athletes choose between the CHL and college hockey. McKenna was one of the first Canadian junior players to make the jump to the NCAA. His NIL money for attending Penn State is “in the ballpark” of $700,000, a source told ESPN at the time.