Gavin McKenna, the projected 2026 No. 1 pick, announced Tuesday he is committing to play for Penn State University for the 2025-26 season, leaving the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers.

McKenna’s name, image, and likeness rights are expected to be around $700,000, sources tell Daily Faceoff.

In 2024-25, McKenna scored 41 goals and 88 assists for 129 points in just 56 regular-season games, then added 38 points in the playoffs to help the Tigers win the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL Champions.

On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL defenseman Colby Cohen discuss McKenna’s decision to move to college hockey and what it means for the future of the game.

Tyler Yaremchuk: There is a part of me that is sad that this is the new normal in the hockey world, where the top prospect goes and plays college hockey instead of playing things out in the CHL. But I also think it’s pretty clear to see why this is not just best for McKenna, but best for the sport, as well.

Colby Cohen: I live in a world where everybody can play in the sand box. I can understand people from the town of Medicine Hat that are probably very disappointed today, they’ve spent a lot of time watching McKenna the last couple seasons, they’ve invested money in the jerseys. State college is not an easy place to get to from Alberta, and I do recognize and understand that.

But at the end of the day, I think this just makes the NHL better. I think these kids now have an opportunity to move up a level and play against older, more mature hockey players. Bigger guys, stronger guys, which is what you’re going to get at the next level in the pros, anyway.

Look at what McKenna did in junior last year. You tell me: what is best for him? To score 220 points and not have to worry about habits? Or go to the NCAA, get in the gym, spend a lot of time practicing and then playing against an average of 21-, 22- and 23-year old players all season?

You can watch the full episode here…

LONDONDERRY, Vt. – On July 4, 2025, Robert J. “Bobby” Collins Jr., 53, died unexpectedly, at his home in Londonderry, Vt. Born in Bennington, Vt., on Aug. 1, 1971, he was raised in Chester, and graduated from Green Mountain Union High School in 1989. As a multisport athlete, he excelled in varsity soccer, basketball, baseball, and ice hockey.

After graduating Becker Junior College in 1991, Bobby became a professional painter for Ray Wilcox and the late Jerry Stevens of BMW Painters, and worked at Stratton Mountain Resort. Later in life, and until his unexpected death, he was a private painting contractor.

To know Bobby was to love Bobby; the life of the party, and your one true friend. He loved his family, blood and chosen, his lifelong network of friends. His passion for Boston sports was unmatched, Boston Red Sox – “Yankees suck!” – the Patriots, the Celtics, and the Bruins.

An avid, lifetime outdoorsman, he loved fishing and hunting, especially on Brophy Lane and Stephentown. He loved NASCAR and Skoal long cut mint. He loved people and the great outdoors, and had the ability to make friends wherever he went.

Bobby is survived by his parents Robert J. Sr and Cynthia, of Chester, Vt.; his sister, Linda Collins, of Cavendish, Vt.; and his longtime partner Hilary Dawley, her son Tyler, and their cats, of Londonderry, Vt.

There will be no calling hours or public burial.

Please join his family in celebrating his life on Sunday, July 13, at 1 p.m., at Vermont Vines Vineyard, 275 Williams Road, Rockingham, Vt.

Honorary pallbearers are David Montaquila, Scott Renfro, Sam Gordon, Matt Wilson, Jason Klezos, and Andy Rigby.

Revealing gym clothes are sparking a debate online – and maybe a return to modesty

USA Today: Einav Rabinovitch-Fox, lecturer of history at the College of Arts and Sciences, said that the national debate over gym attire misses the point. “If you’re not doing [it] for yourself, it’s not an empowering tool,” she said, urging shifting focus from modesty versus exposure to autonomy.   

By Alexis Demopoulos

Through a lot of hard work and determination, Worcester Railers Junior Hockey Club defenseman John McLachlan is excited to announce his NCAA Division III commitment to Elmira College for the 2025-26 season.

McLachlan, a Fairport, N.Y., native, played in 49 regular season games for the Railers during the 2024-25 season tallying 20 points (three goals, 17 assists) and was a key defenseman for them. He had a great experience playing in Worcester as head coach Sean Bertoni really helped him up his game to play at the next level.

“I loved all aspects of playing in Worcester,” said McLachlan. “Coach Bertoni and the coaching staff really helped take my game to the next level and prepare myself for the college game. Coach Bertoni’s attention to detail and structure helped not only me but also my teammates reach the playing level by the end of the year that we needed to make a late push and achieve the success we did come playoff time.

“I had heard great things about the organization as a whole and heard Coach Bertoni really helped push players to get to where they wanted to go in terms of playing college hockey,” McLachlan added. “I also had many friends who I had played with in the past on the Railers team.”

The Elmira coaching staff liked McLachlan’s game at both the prep and junior levels and he officially began contact with them in the fall of last year.

“They really liked my skating abilities and the way I saw the ice as an undersized defenseman,” said McLachlan. “Playing both power play and penalty kill as well as being a player who could play in any situation was something they really liked. They also liked how I was a defenseman who could add offense on the rush.”

There were many factors that went into McLachlan picking Elmira College. He liked how it was close to home, so family and friends could come watch, their successful hockey program and top notch academics.

“What interested me about the program at Elmira first was their consistent success in the past on the ice and the rich tradition the program has in New York, being from the state,” said McLachlan. “Their combination of facilities and what they offer for players who attend the college really spiked my interest and gravitated me towards the program. Also the proximity to home being only two hours away was a great fit for me and my family, as well as getting a respected education in the state of New York.”

McLachlan really enjoyed the campus when he visited and is familiar with a number of people who attend there.

“When visiting campus and going on my tour there were many things I found familiar and enjoyed about my experience,” said McLachlan. “It was very similar to the size and feel in which I attended prep school.

“It seems like the community as a whole really loves hockey in Elmira and that was similar to where I had been in the past for prep school and juniors,” he added. “Also, I had played with many freshmen on this past year’s team I had played with before whether it be growing up or in juniors along the way.”

McLachlan is spending his time this offseason taking his game to the next level and working on some things that Elmira Assistant Coach Mike Grace suggested to him.

“I’m really excited to push myself and advance my game to the next level next year in all aspects of being a hockey player,” said McLachlan. “The faster speed I think will be good for my game and I look forward to becoming a more well-rounded player at the next level. As well as coach Grace would like me to bring a more offensive side to help round out their defensive core with all types of players.”

The NCDC congratulates John McLachlan, his family, the Worcester Railers JHC and Elmira College for his commitment.

EXCLUSIVE: Steve Howey (Shameless, High Potential) has been tapped for a major recurring role on Amazon MGM Studios’ college-set romantic drama Off Campus, based on the best-selling book series by Elle Kennedy.

There are 5 books in the series, which depicts the elite ice hockey team, and the women in their lives, as they grapple with love, heartbreak, and self-discovery — forging deep friendships and enduring bonds while navigating the complexities that come with transitioning into adulthood.

In the vein of Bridgerton, each of the first four novels tells the love story of a hockey player, with the fifth being a novella collection of all four couples. Season 1 of the TV series, based on the first book, The Deal, follows the unlikely romance between Hannah Wells (Ella Bright), a wry, hockey-hating music major, and Briar University’s playboy star center Garrett Graham (Belmont Cameli).

Howey will play Garrett’s dad, Phil Graham, a former hockey legend famous for his temper on the ice who pushes his son to be the star player he is today. The character is prominent in the first book and, like Garrett, also appears in the second, The Mistake.

Other Off Campus series regulars playing hockey players who would each take turns as a lead in subsequent seasons include Antonio Cipriano (Logan from The Mistake), Jalen Thomas Brooks (Tucker from Book #4, The Goal) and Stephen Kalyn (Dean from Book #3, The Score), with Mika Abdalla as Dean’s future leading lady, Allie. Fellow series regular Josh Heuston plays the Season 1 love rival role of Justin.

Off Campus was created by Louisa Levy and Gina Fattore who will serve as executive producers and co-showrunners. Also executive producing are Temple Hill’s Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen and James Seidman, Leanna Billings via her banner Billings Productions, Neal Flaherty, Silver Tree, with Temple Hill’s Annika Patton and author Kennedy producing. Deanna Brigidi and Andrea Bunker served as casting directors.

Howey was recently tapped as a new series regular on ABC’s hit new procedural drama High Potential as police Captain Jesse Wagner. He is probably best known for his role as Kevin Ball on the long-running Showtime comedy-drama Shameless. Howey also was a series regular on the hit WB comedy Reba and, most recently, led the CBS action series True Lies, executive produced by James Cameron and McG. He is repped by Independent Artist Group.

During Big 12 media day, Colorado football coach Deion Sanders repeated a narrative that’s dominated college football recently surrounding NIL. Essentially, he said the teams that spend the most money end up in the College Football Playoff, according to ESPN’s X account. While that’s true for most of the teams in the field, Arizona State’s NIL budget wasn’t nearly as hefty as Colorado’s last year. 

Yet the Sun Devils received a first-round bye while the Buffaloes got blown out in the Alamo Bowl against BYU. This is an interesting perspective from a coach who has heavily benefited from both NIL funds and the transfer portal. Last season, Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders, the top two players on Colorado’s roster, had a combined NIL valuation over $11 million. 

For context, according to a USA Today story in Nittany Lions Wire, Arizona State ranked ninth in the CFP last season for NIL funds at $10.6 million. The irony of Sanders saying this and still finishing behind a team with far fewer funds is what makes it sound like an excuse. 

NIL doesn’t win games, but it does put a team in a competitive spot

I guess the conversation around NIL is destined to change with revenue sharing now part of college athletics. Programs will be allowed to keep their NIL collectives if they choose, though teams like Colorado have already jettisoned their collectives to focus solely on revenue sharing. Either way, the amount of money a team has to spend doesn’t directly correlate to that team actually winning at the highest level 

While it gives teams access to the best players, it doesn’t actually play the games. Colorado found that out when they came up short of a College Football Playoff bid, losing games they shouldn’t have lost. They needed to beat Kansas, of all teams, to reach the Big 12 championship game and couldn’t do it. NIL (and family ties) helped the Buffs have the Heisman winner and one of the top quarterbacks in college football last year, but it didn’t get them over the hump.

You mean to tell me Sanders was able to poach Julian Lewis from USC simply because of the appeal of Boulder, CO? Yeah, I doubt that. Colorado was able to provide the money Lewis was interested in while also proving a better opportunity for him to play — though the latter usually gets left out of NIL discussions. 

If you look at last year’s CFP field, SMU, Arizona State and Boise State all spent less than Colorado did, but that didn’t stop them from making the field. NIL has changed the recruiting game, but it doesn’t — and probably never will — directly correlate with winning national championships.