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U20 WNT Roster Announced for Concacaf

The 21 players who will represent the USA at the 2025 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship in Costa Rica in a quest for a berth to the 2025 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup have been named.  The roster is made up of players born in 2006 and 2007, and current U.S. U-19 head coach Carrie Kveton […]

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U20 WNT Roster Announced for Concacaf

The 21 players who will represent the USA at the 2025 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship in Costa Rica in a quest for a berth to the 2025 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup have been named. 

The roster is made up of players born in 2006 and 2007, and current U.S. U-19 head coach Carrie Kveton will lead the squad before new U.S. U-20 WNT head coach Vicky Jepson takes over after the qualifying tournament.

The USA will take aim at one of four berths to the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland and a record eighth Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship after dominant runs to the confederation crown in 2020 and 2022. Mexico won the title in 2023. 

The USA will face Guyana on May 30 (1 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. local), Puerto Rico on June 1 (1 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. local) and host Costa Rica on June 3 (4 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. local) in Group A play at the tournament, which will run from May 29-June 8 in Alajuela, Costa Rica. The top four finishers in the tournament will advance to represent the region in Poland in the fall of next year. 

Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2006, are age-eligible for the 2025 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship. The roster is almost evenly divided between birth years with 10 born in 2006 and 11 in 2007.  

Before heading to Costa Rica, the team will train in Florida for a week, beginning on May 22.  

2025 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship Roster by Position (College or Club; Hometown)  

Goalkeepers (3):  Caroline Birkel (Stanford; St. Louis, Mo.), Sonoma Kasica (Notre Dame; St. Petersburg, Fla.), Kealey Titmuss (Penn State; Grand Blanc, Mich.) 
 
Defenders (7):  Aven Alvarez (North Carolina; New Hill, N.C.), Bella Ayscue (Penn State; Apex, N.C.), Edra Bello (San Diego Surf SC; San Diego, Calif.), Emma Johnson (Lexington Sporting Club – USL Super League; Greenfield, Ind.), Abigail Mills (Notre Dame; Southlake, Texas), Leena Powell (Tudela FC; Culver City, Calif.), Katie Scott (Kansas City Current – NWSL; Fairview, Pa.) 
 
Midfielders (6):  Kennedy Fuller (Angel City FC – NWSL; Southlake, Texas), Peyton McGovern (Florida State; Bristow, Va.), Ashlyn Puerta (Unattached; Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.), Grace Restovich (Notre Dame; St. Louis, Mo.), Kennedy Ring (World Class FC; East Greenbush, N.Y.) Linda Ullmark (North Carolina; Buffalo, N.Y.) 
 
Forwards (5):  Izzy Engle (Notre Dame; Edina, Minn.), Mary Long (Kansas City Current – NWSL; Mission Hills, Kan.), Chloe Ricketts (Washington Spirit – NWSL; Dexter, Mich.), Sealey Strawn (Dallas Trinity FC – USL Women’s Super League; Prosper, Texas), Mya Townes (Georgia; Aldie, Va.) 

TOURNAMENT FORMAT 

The eight-team 2025 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship will feature round-robin play within two groups of four teams each. After group play, the group winners and runners-up will advance to the semifinals and qualify for next year’s World Cup. For the first time, the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup will feature 24 nations, up from 16 in the previous eight editions of the tournament. Twelve nations contested the title in 2002 and 2004, when it was held as a U-19 event. The semifinals will be played on June 6 followed by the final on June 8. All matches will take place at Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto in Alajuela, Costa Rica. 

Additional Notes: 

• This is the first time a U-20 Concacaf qualifying roster for the United States has had more than one professional player, so the six pros on this roster are far and away a team record for a Concacaf Championship. The 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Team that finished third in Colombia had eight professionals on the roster, showing how quickly the women’s youth international environment is changing. 

• The four NWSL professionals are Chloe Ricketts from the Washington Spirit, Mary Long and Katie Scott from the Kansas City Current and Kennedy Fuller from Angel City FC.  

Long, Scott and Fuller all played for the USA at the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, where the USA finished third, its best finish since the inaugural tournament in 2008 when the USA finished second. Fuller was the leading scorer for the USA at the 2024 Concacaf U-17 Women’s Championship, which the Americans won handily. Forward Leena Powell was also on both of those U-17 teams in the last cycle. Forward Mya Townes was also on the U-17 Concacaf qualifying team last cycle and scored five goals in the tournament.  

• Fuller has seen the most action of her NWSL peers this season, playing 671 minutes in eight matches while scoring once with three assists. Ricketts has seen action in seven matches, with two starts, while Long has played in four matches as a sub. Scott has yet to appear in a regular season match this season. 

• The two USL Super League players on the roster are Sealey Strawn of Dallas Trinity FC and Emma Johnson of Lexington Sporting Club. Strawn has appeared in 18 games for Dallas Trinity and has four goals, tied for second best on a squad battling for a playoff spot in the inaugural season of the new pro league. Johnson has seen action in one match this season. 

• Of the 11 college players on the roster, four come from Notre Dame, including the 2024 ACC Freshman of the Year Izzy Ingle, who found the net a remarkable 19 times in 2024. Grace Restovich added five goals and 11 assists.  

• Penn State has two players on the roster with goalkeeper Kealey Titmuss and defender Bella Ayscue

Sonoma Kasica (Notre Dame) and Caroline Birkel, who will be entering her first season at Stanford in the fall, are the other two GKs on the roster. Birkel was one of the back-up ‘keepers on the USA’s 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Team and is the only player on this qualifying team from that squad. 

• Two players from 2024 NCAA Champion University of North Carolina made the squad in defender Aven Alvarez and midfielder Linda Ullmark, who finished fourth on the Tar Heels in scoring with six goals and five assists. 

• Two of the three youth club players are from Southern California in Powell, who plays for Tudela FC in Los Angeles, and defender Edra Bello from the San Diego Surf. Midfielder Kennedy Ring plays for World Class FC and hails from New York.  

• The only player on the roster who currently holds U-20 WNT international caps is Alvarez, with two from the last cycle. 

• Two players from the last U.S. team that played at the Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship in 2023 have earned full U.S. Women’s National Team caps: forward Ally Sentnor and defender Gisele Thompson. 

• There are numerous players in the U-20 WNT pool currently playing in the National Women’s Soccer League who are age-eligible for this roster but were not available for this event. Those include Jordyn Bugg (Seattle Reign FC), Ainsley McCammon (Seattle Reign FC), Emeri Adames (Seattle Reign FC), Claire Hutton (Kansas City Current), Melanie Barcenas (San Diego Wave) and Trinity Armstrong (San Diego Wave). All of them have World Cup experience for the USA at the U-17 or U-20 levels or both. 

• Four players on the roster helped the USA take the bronze medal at the 2023 Pan American Games in Chile where an Under-19 American team squared off against senior Women’s National Teams, gaining valuable international experience. Those players were Kasica and Titmuss, Alvarez and Restovich.  

• Three training players will join the U.S. camp for just the Florida portion: Defender Kiara Gilmore, midfielder Riley Cross and defender Daya King.


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Running a Baseball League Sparked Sarah Dunkel-Jackson to Start the Hockey Challenge Camp

Sarah Dunkel-Jackson and her husband, Jim, started a baseball league in Michigan for kids with unique medical and learning needs five years ago.  Intertwined with her work as a researcher and professor at Michigan State University, Dunkel-Jackson conducted a formal program evaluation of the league, which involved talking with players, parents and coaches about how […]

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Sarah Dunkel-Jackson and her husband, Jim, started a baseball league in Michigan for kids with unique medical and learning needs five years ago. 

Intertwined with her work as a researcher and professor at Michigan State University, Dunkel-Jackson conducted a formal program evaluation of the league, which involved talking with players, parents and coaches about how it could be improved.

“Overwhelmingly it was positive, but the thing to improve baseball was to add more sports,” Dunkel-Jackson said. “I was reviewing it with my son, and he said, ‘Mom, can we do hockey?’

“And I said, ‘You know what? Let’s do it.’”

That’s how the Hockey Challenge Camp was born. The camp is open to younger kids all the way up through young adults, some who’ve played hockey before on organized teams and others who are new to playing the sport. The camp takes players of all abilities and ages.

Dunkel-Jackson recently won the Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award for her work founding the camp. The annual award is given to someone who has positively affected their community, culture or society all through the sport of hockey. 

The nomination itself excited Dunkel-Jackson because it gave her a chance to highlight the importance of accessible sports and a community coming together to run a program like Hockey Challenge Camp.

“It doesn’t have to be this scary, really difficult thing to do,” Dunkel-Jackson said. “You just get some really good community members together and some good organizations who share those values and who can run a program like this.”

She was also excited about the award because of the “incredible story” of O’Ree. Dunkel-Jackson recalled reading the chapter about him in Wayne Gretzky’s book, “99: Stories of the Game.”

“That was really cool to see that, somebody who’s already overcome barriers to accessing sports like hockey,” Dunkel-Jackson said. “Just to be said in the same sentence as him was kind of, ‘Wow,’ humbling and a big honor.”

Sports have always been a big part of Dunkel-Jackson’s life. She grew up right outside East Lansing, Michigan, and loved watching her little brother play hockey. However, she didn’t play because there weren’t girls teams when she was a kid. 

Dunkel-Jackson ran track, played basketball, won a softball state championship her senior year of high school and played lacrosse in college.

After grad school, she and her husband moved to Ontario and worked with kids with disabilities. They later moved back to Michigan and Dunkel-Jackson got her job at MSU. She’s part of the Research in Autism and Developmental Disabilities Lab and the Department of Human Development and Family Studies.

As coaches for softball and baseball in the community program, the couple saw kids who’d stop coming to practices because they weren’t quite at the skill level. That sparked the need to start the Baseball Challenge League, finding a way to make the sport work for kids no matter their ability level.

“Being part of a team is something all kids should get a chance to do,” she said. “When we saw that not a lot of kids had the opportunity to participate in a sport because they just weren’t being able to adapt to their needs, I just wanted to do something about that. Every kid should have a chance to play.”

Dunkel-Jackson is also the guardian for her older cousin, Stephanie, who’s participated in the Special Olympics, plays a variety of sports and is a bocce ball state champion.

This year’s Hockey Challenge Camp will be held mornings in the first week of August. Every participant gets one or two hockey buddies who play hockey on house or travel teams. Buddies help campers learn to skate and spend time on the ice together.

The camp includes various on-ice and off-ice sessions. The first is for the hockey buddies as an orientation to educate them about questions such as: What is a disability? What are invisible and visible disabilities? How can they help campers and meet them with their specific needs? They also teach them a Stay, Play, Talk strategy where hockey buddies stay with their buddy, play hockey with their buddy and talk to their buddy in the best way that works for them.

They end camp with a morning scrimmage and a pizza party before a night game at Munn Ice Arena on Michigan State’s campus the following day.

In its third year in 2025, the camp has grown from 12 players and about 20 buddies the first year to more than 90 people registered for this year’s camp.

“It’s grown a ton,” Dunkel-Jackson said. “Half of them are buddies this year, but we have a bunch of new players. We’re really excited to adapt to their needs.”

Funding from winning the Willie O’Ree Award went towards purchasing new sleds and equipment for the camp.

It brings Dunkel-Jackson a lot of joy to see the campers happy playing hockey.

“They just love to play hockey,” she said. “And that’s what it’s about. It’s just kids playing hockey, that’s all.

“Because no, not everybody’s going to be a (Tier I) hockey player… but everybody can love participating in a sport in some way. Just finding opportunities for them and seeing that they’re having a blast and hanging out with their friend, I just love that. I’m glad we get the opportunity to do that.”

Dunkel-Jackson appreciated the chance to share the story of the Hockey Challenge Camp, with the hope the other communities will see it and say: “‘Yeah, we can do something like that.’ That’s just what I hope,” she said.

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.





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University of New Hampshire

GLOUCESTER, Mass.  – Six student-athletes on the 2024-25 University of New Hampshire women’s hockey team have been named American Hockey Coaches Association Krampade All-American Scnolars.   Senior forward and two-time captain Kira Juodikis (Windsor, Ontario) received this accolade for the fourth consecutive year as she earned a Business Administration: Management degree with a 3.97 cumulative GPA.   Sophomore forward Julia […]

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GLOUCESTER, Mass.  – Six student-athletes on the 2024-25 University of New Hampshire women’s hockey team have been named American Hockey Coaches Association Krampade All-American Scnolars.
 
Senior forward and two-time captain Kira Juodikis (Windsor, Ontario) received this accolade for the fourth consecutive year as she earned a Business Administration: Management degree with a 3.97 cumulative GPA.
 
Sophomore forward Julia Cabral (Lee, N.H.) and sophomore goaltender Noemi Martinez (Glen Ridge, N.J.) both earned Scholar All-American recognition for the second time in as many years.
 
Senior defender Marina Alvarez (Center Moriches, N.Y.), senior forward Brooke Hammer (Commerce Township, Mich.) and junior forward Hannah Rodgers (Wilmington, N.C.) are all first-time honorees.
 
To earn recognition on this ninth annual list, a student-athlete had to attain a 3.75 or higher GPA in each semester of the 2024-25 academic year and had to play in 40 percent of the team’s games; exceptions were granted for injuries and backup goaltenders. The school is also required to be an ACHA member.
 
A total of 349 Division I women were named to the ninth annual Krampade All-American Schoalars list. 
 
All six Wildcats were named to the 2024-25 Hockey East All-Academic Team with Juodikis and Martinez also earning Top Scholar-Athlete recognition for recording a perfect. 4.0 GPA in the academic year. 



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Isaac Howard traded to Edmonton, signs to begin pro career

Michigan State forward Isaac Howard will start his pro hockey career rather than return to the Spartans. Howard signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers on July 8 after being traded from the Tampa Bay Lightning for forward prospect Sam O’Reilly. Howard, who won the 2025 Hobey Baker Award given to the best […]

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Michigan State forward Isaac Howard will start his pro hockey career rather than return to the Spartans.

Howard signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers on July 8 after being traded from the Tampa Bay Lightning for forward prospect Sam O’Reilly.

Howard, who won the 2025 Hobey Baker Award given to the best player in college hockey last season as a junior, was set to return to East Lansing after contract negotiations with the Lightning broke down following MSU’s season. Instead, he’ll start his career in the Edmonton organization.

Howard was the 31st overall pick by the Lightning in the 2022 NHL Draft and had 26 goals with 26 assists in 37 games for the Spartans last season, including the double-overtime game-winning goal against Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament championship game.

Howard is now set to join the Oilers, who have reached the Stanley Cup Final before losing to the Florida Panthers in each of the past two seasons.

The Spartans now have two open roster spots to fill ahead of the 2025-26 campaign following Howard’s departure. Earlier on July 8, top prospect and likely No. 1 overall 2026 draft pick Gavin McKenna committed to play at Penn State next season over the Spartans, who were the other finalist to land him.

Contact Nathaniel Bott at nbott@lsj.com and follow him on X @Nathaniel_Bott



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Gavin McKenna officially commits to Penn State

Gavin McKenna’s next trip is to the Big Ten. To State College, Pennsylvania, to be exact. The projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft has committed to Penn State after deciding between the Nittany Lions and Michigan State. After the news was reported Monday that the 17-year-old was likely going to don the […]

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Gavin McKenna’s next trip is to the Big Ten.

To State College, Pennsylvania, to be exact.

The projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft has committed to Penn State after deciding between the Nittany Lions and Michigan State.

After the news was reported Monday that the 17-year-old was likely going to don the blue and white, McKenna made it official on Tuesday during an appearance on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.”

The 2024 CHL Player of the Year said he’s excited to make the leap from major junior hockey to the stateside NCAA game, which is allowed under a game-changing November decision that will now let players from the OHL, WHL and QMJHL go to college hockey if they so desire.

ESPN reported that McKenna was offered a six-figure NIL deal by Penn State during his recruitment, which is thought to be the highest total for a college hockey player.


Gavin McKenna of Team Canada celebrats his empty net goal during the 2024 IIHF ice hockey U18 world championships.
Gavin McKenna of Team Canada celebrates his empty net goal during the 2024 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship. AP

“I feel this is the next step in my development to reach my ultimate goal of playing in the NHL and I am excited to get to Happy Valley,” McKenna said. “I’m very appreciative for all the support I’ve received so far, especially to my family who has been with me through it all.”

McKenna spent the last two-plus seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers in the WHL, tallying an absurd 41 goals and 88 assists this past season to finish second in the league with 129 points.

Landing McKenna is a huge boon for Penn State, which fell to Boston University in the national semifinal — the first time in the program’s history it had reached the Frozen Four.


Canada's Gavin McKenna (9) skates with the puck as United States' Drew Fortescue (5) defends during the second period of an IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship tournament game in Ottawa, Ontario, Dec. 31, 2024.
Canada’s Gavin McKenna skates with the puck as United States’ Drew Fortescue (5) defends during the second period of the USA’s 4-1 victory in the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship final on Dec. 31, 2024. AP

McKenna will be joining another WHL star in defenseman Jackson Smith, who was drafted No. 14 overall by the Blue Jackets after a season on the blue line of the Tri-City Americans.



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ISCO Championship: Odds to win this week’s PGA TOUR stop in Kentucky

Golf fans, you can find the PGA TOUR in Kentucky this week for the 2025 ISCO Championship, the TOUR’s annual stop in the Bluegrass. This year, however, Louisville’s Hustbourne Country Club takes over hosting duties from Nicholasville’s Keene Trace Golf Club, which had been the site of Kentucky’s summer PGA event since 2018. Competition for […]

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Golf fans, you can find the PGA TOUR in Kentucky this week for the 2025 ISCO Championship, the TOUR’s annual stop in the Bluegrass. This year, however, Louisville’s Hustbourne Country Club takes over hosting duties from Nicholasville’s Keene Trace Golf Club, which had been the site of Kentucky’s summer PGA event since 2018.

Competition for the ISCO Championship, formerly known as the Barbasol Championship, will begin on Thursday, with a spot in next week’s Open Championship and 300 FedEx points up for grabs to the winner. It is an alternate event on the tour schedule, played the same week as the Scottish Open, but still carries a $4 million purse and the title of PGA TOUR winner to the lowest scorer.

Before the ISCO begins, let’s meet the field of golfers and their gambling odds to win, starting with the most familiar names.

J.B. Holmes (+60000)

University of Kentucky graduate J.B. Holmes will make his ISCO debut this year, playing in his first PGA event since October 2024. The Campbellsville native is a five-time winner on TOUR and a two-time Ryder Cup winner.

Josh Teater (+17000)

Jul 7, 2022; Nicholasville, Kentucky, USA; Josh Teater walks off the third tee during the first round of the Barbasol Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

Josh Teater didn’t attend the University of Kentucky, but the Henry Clay High School grad bleeds blue. Even in Louisville, he’ll be one of the fan favorites at the ISCO this week as he plays to revive his career at 46.

Earlier this year, Teater won the Korn Ferry Tour’s Panama Championship for his second career Korn Ferry victory. Teater, who has 246 PGA starts, currently sits in eighth on the Korn Ferry’s points list for the season. The top 20 earn their PGA TOUR cards for next year.

Stephen Stallings Jr. (+60000)

Stephen Stallings Jr. is a Louisville native and former Wildcat in the ISCO field for the sixth time. Stallings’ golf career began at Saint Xavier High School and continued at the University of Kentucky from 2013 to 2017.

Cooper Musselman and three more St. X alums (N/A)

A teammate of Stallings Jr. at St. X and Kentucky, Cooper Musselman Monday qualified for the ISCO. St. X also had Drew Doyle take up one of the four qualifying spots, giving St. X five golf alums in this week’s field in Louisville.


2025 ISCO Championship Field and Odds To Win

Michael Thorbjornsen (+1600)
Emiliano Grillo (+1800)
Kevin Roy (+1800)
Jackson Koivun (+2200)
Rico Hoey (+2200)
Vince Whaley (+2500)
Cameron Champ (+2500)
Patrick Fishburn (+2800)
Mark Hubbard (+2800)
Beau Hossler (+3000)
Seamus Power (+3500)
Chandler Phillips (+4500)
Carson Young (+4500)
Sam Ryder (+4500)
S.H. Kim (+4500)
Quade Cummins (+4500)
Steven Fisk (+5000)
Ricky Castillo (+5000)
Kris Ventura (+5000)
Joseph Bramlett (+5000)
Hayden Springer (+5500)
Chan Kim (+5500)
Angel Ayora (+5500)
Luke List (+6000)
William Mouw (+6500)
Takumi Kanaya (+6500)
Adam Svensson (+6500)
Jeremy Paul (+6500)
Jackson Suber (+7000)
Chad Ramey (+7000)
Adam Schenk (+7000)
Will Gordon (+7500)
Nick Hardy (+7500)
Adam Hadwin (+7500)
Mac Meissner (+7500)
Lanto Griffin (+7500)
Justin Lower (+7500)
Harry Higgs (+8000)
Greyson Sigg (+8000)
Gordon Sargent (+8000)
Dylan Wu (+8000)
Thomas Rosenmueller (+8000)
S.Y. Noh (+8000)
Ben Kohles (+8000)
Wenyi Ding (+9000)
Taylor Montgomery (+9000)
Brice Garnett (+9000)
Brandon Robinson Thompson (+9000)
Trevor Cone (+10000)
David Lipsky (+10000)
Ben Silverman (+10000)
Ben Martin (+10000)
Martin Laird (+10000)
Kazuma Kobori (+10000)
Ivan Cantero Gutierrez (+11000)
David Skinns (+11000)
Marcus Armitage (+11000)
Zac Blair (+12000)
Tyler Duncan (+12000)
Fabrizio Zanotti (+12000)
Tim Widing (+12000)
Davis Bryant (+12000)
Patton Kizzire (+12000)
Noah Goodwin (+12000)
Andrea Pavan (+12000)
Maximilian Kieffer (+12000)
Kiradech Aphibarnrat (+12000)
Gavin Green (+15000)
Scott Piercy (+15000)
Scott Jamieson (+15000)
Callum Shinkwin (+15000)
Andreas Halvorsen (+15000)
Kevin Velo (+15000)
John Pak (+15000)
Jason Scrivener (+17000)
Hayden Buckley (+17000)
Tom Vaillant (+17000)
Cristobal Del Solar (+17000)
Casey Jarvis (+17000)
Callum Tarren (+17000)
Ricardo Gouveia (+17000)
Manuel Elvira (+17000)
M.J. Daffue (+17000)
Josh Teater (+17000)
Jack Senior (+20000)
Hamish Brown (+20000)
Troy Merritt (+20000)
Carl Yuan (+20000)
Robin Williams (+20000)
Paul Peterson (+20000)
Matthew Riedel (+20000)
Matt NeSmith (+20000)
Marcus Kinhult (+20000)
Jens Dantorp (+20000)
Frankie Capan III (+25000)
Taylor Dickson (+25000)
Conor Purcell (+25000)
Bronson Burgoon (+25000)
Rafael Campos (+25000)
Rafa Cabrera Bello (+25000)
Peter Malnati (+25000)
Andrew Wilson (+25000)
Kaito Onishi (+25000)
Will Chandler (+30000)
Chez Reavie (+30000)
Brandon Wu (+30000)
Mikael Lindberg (+30000)
Marcus Byrd (+30000)
Kevin Chappell (+3000)
Braden Thornberry (+35000)
Mason Andersen (+35000)
Jonathan Byrd (+35000)
Jason Dufner (+40000)
James Hahn (+40000)
Shubhankar Sharma (+40000)
Sean O’Hair (+40000)
Richard Sterne (+40000)
Anders Albertson (+40000)
Aaron Baddeley (+40000)
Joel Girrbach (+40000)
Jannik De Bruyn (+50000)
Cody Gribble (+50000)
Brendon Doyle (+50000)
Nick Watney (+50000)
Alfredo Garcia-Heredia (+50000)
Alexander Levy (+50000)
Kevin Kisner (+50000)
Jimmy Walker (+50000)
Jeong Weon Ko (+50000)
J.B. Holmes (+60000)
Stephen Stallings Jr. (+60000)
Bill Haas (+60000)
Matthew Baldwin (+60000)
Julien Brun (+60000)
Tommy Gainey (+70000)
Thomas Aiken (+70000)
Ryan Brehm (+70000)
Brian Stuard (+70000)
Bjorn Akesson (+70000)
Austin Cook (+70000)
Zihao Jin (+100000)
George McNeill (+100000)
Joel Moscatel (+100000)
Matthias Schwab (+150000)
Alexander Knappe (+150000)
Daniel Iceman (+250000)
Jim Herman (+250000)
Erik Barnes (+500000)
Martin Trainer (+500000)





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Top Canadian junior hockey star says picking PSU was the best choice for him | News, Sports, Jobs

McKenna Gavin McKenna said he is committing to Penn State, leaving the Canadian Hockey League for the U.S. college ranks in a long-anticipated decision by one of the sport’s most anticipated prospects since Connor McDavid. McKenna’s jump highlights how much the junior developmental hockey landscape has changed in North America since the NCAA’s landmark decision […]

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McKenna

Gavin McKenna said he is committing to Penn State, leaving the Canadian Hockey League for the U.S. college ranks in a long-anticipated decision by one of the sport’s most anticipated prospects since Connor McDavid.

McKenna’s jump highlights how much the junior developmental hockey landscape has changed in North America since the NCAA’s landmark decision in November to lift its ban on CHL player participation.

After word of McKenna’s destination leaked Monday, he made the announcement on “SportsCenter” on Tuesday. It coincidentally came 15 years to the day after “The Decision” when LeBron James revealed on ESPN he was leaving Cleveland for Miami.

“It was a super tough decision,” McKenna said before donning a Penn State hat. “Obviously there was a lot of great options out there, but I think me, my family and everyone that’s kind of a part of my circle, we all decided that the best spot for me next year will be Penn State University.”

McKenna, who turns 18 in December, is regarded a generational talent and has for the past two years been projected as the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL draft.

“The (Western Hockey League) was a great spot, and I’m very grateful for what it did for me and my family,” McKenna said, adding he believes facing bigger, older competition will help make the leap to the NHL easier. “Both options were great, but I just think going to college, being in such a great conference, it’ll really challenge me and prepare me.”

Leaving the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers after two-plus seasons, McKenna joining Nittany Lions makes them an immediate contender to win a Frozen Four title. He had narrowed his choices to Penn State, coming off losing its Frozen Four debut in April, and Michigan State.

“You saw what Penn State did this year making the Frozen Four,” McKenna said. “They’ve come a long ways, and I think next year when I go there, obviously that’s the goal is to win a championship with them.”

The NCAA rule change coincides with schools being allowed to lure recruits with name, image, likeness (NIL) endorsement money, further tipping the scales toward CHL players making the jump. Previously, CHL players were barred from competing in college because they were deemed professionals for receiving a stipend of up to $600 per month for living expenses.

The lifting of the ban led to college hockey officials envisioning the NCAA replacing the CHL as North America’s top producer of NHL draft-ready talent.

From Whitehorse, Yukon, McKenna is coming off his second full season with Medicine Hat in which he finished second in the WHL with 129 points (41 goals, 88 assists), behind 20-year Andrew Cristall’s 132. McKenna’s point total was third among all CHL players, rounded out by OHL’s Michael Misa’s 134. Misa is a year older and was selected second by San Jose in this year’s draft.

McKenna most notably closed this season with a 45-game point streak in which he combined for 32 goals and 100 points, and finished the playoffs with nine goals and 38 points in 16 games. Including playoffs, he failed to register a point just four times.

McKenna’s potential has already caused a ripple effect among NHL teams, who have been guarded about trading their 2026 first-round selections in fear of potentially missing out on a chance to select him.

McKenna’s name even caused a buzz at the Frozen Four in St. Louis, where there was already speculation of him being lured south.

Counting the regular season and playoffs, McKenna combined for 91 goals and 198 assists for 289 points in 158 career games in the WHL.

He already has NHL ties in being a cousin by marriage to Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft. McKenna grew up in Whitehorse befriending the family of Dylan Cozens, the Ottawa Senators forward who was selected seventh overall by Buffalo in the 2019 draft.



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