Top hockey prospect Gavin McKenna is facing a felony aggravated assault charge in State College stemming from an arrest over the weekend, according to court documents viewed by The Post.
The freshman Penn State hockey forward has also been charged with misdemeanor simple assault and two summary offenses — harassment and disorderly conduct — for the alleged Jan. 31 incident.
Under Pennsylvania law, McKenna, considered by many to be the favorite to go No. 1 overall in the 2026 NHL Draft, is facing up to 20 years in jail and/or a $25,000 fine for the first-degree felony aggravated assault charge.
The purported incident occurred Saturday night, following Penn State’s outdoor game at Beaver Stadium against Michigan State while the team was at a bar in downtown State College with friends and family, according to student-run outlet Onward State, which first reported the charges. It’s unclear what led to the apparent incident, but the outlet reported that McKenna allegedly assaulted someone and left them with a broken jaw.
Mike McMahon of College Hockey News reported that “an individual unrelated to the team was verbally harassing a member of McKenna’s family,” leading to the physical incident.
A spokesperson for Penn State Athletics told The Post that the university is “ aware that charges have been filed.”
“However, as this is an ongoing legal matter, we will not have any further comment,” the spokesperson added.
No preliminary hearing has been scheduled, but online court documents showed that Magisterial District Judge Casey McClain had been assigned the case.
McKenna scored Penn State’s second goal in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Spartans. His jersey from the game is being auctioned off, with the highest bid sitting at $8,000.
He leads the Nittany Lions with 32 points in 24 games.
Prior to arriving at Penn State, McKenna spent three seasons playing for the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers. He has represented Canada several times on the international stage, including this year’s World Junior Hockey Championship.
Penn State’s men’s hockey team is not scheduled to play again until Feb. 13.
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