From Whitehorse to World Juniors: Gavin and Willy McKenna share ODR memories

Ottawa, Ont.- Friday marks a special birthday for Gavin McKenna- even if it doesn’t come with a cake or a party.

The Medicine Hat Tigers superstar is celebrating his 17th with Team Canada in Ottawa, Ont. in the midst of IIHF World Junior Championship pre-tournament action.

“It’s a dream come true for me,” McKenna said of being named to the national junior squad. “It’s something you dream of as a kid to play for your country at the biggest stage and I think this is one of the biggest accomplishments I’ve had in my career so far. I’m super honoured.”

More than 5,000 kilometres away, there are probably many men breathing a sigh of relief that they’ll be watching the youngster on TV over the holidays, rather than getting worked by a teenager in an annual holiday charity hockey game in his hometown of Whitehorse.

That’s where his World Juniors dreams began, on the outdoor rink his dad, Willy, built in their backyard.

“Ever since Gavin was two, maybe three years old, we’ve always had a rink in our backyard,” Willy McKenna said. “It was a big piece in him kind of perfecting his game and getting to where he is now. I think that creativity and stuff like that is really nurtured when you’re just having fun right on the backyard rink. Honestly, for me, some of my favorite moments with Gavin were us playing in the backyard because it was just two people doing something they both love.”

Courtesy McKenna family

On a Zoom call with Willy in Whitehorse and Gavin in Medicine Hat, preparing to head to Ontario, those memories- and the laughs that come with them- start spilling out.

“We’d always do drills and at the end, I’d get sick of the drills and just want to 1V1 against my dad,” Gavin recalled. “My dad would always play defense- I was never defense- and we just spent hours out there playing.

“I remember one time I was out there by myself and I shot the puck off the crossbar… I was a little too close to the net, the puck bounced off the crossbar, hit me in the nose and it immediately started bleeding.”

Willy wasn’t immune to getting a little cut up on the ice, either.

“It was the first time Gavin was playing a spring hockey tournament for a hockey team outside of Whitehorse,” Willy said. “The night before we’re heading down to Kelowna for the camp, me and him are playing. He’s always been so, so competitive and he doesn’t like losing. One time he was just going to throw up the stick and the blade of the stick came up and hit me right in the forehead. Here we are, going to meet the BC Interior Stars, all the new parents, and I’ve got this big bruise and a cut on my head.”

At least a Band-Aid is cheaper than a broken window?

Courtesy McKenna family

The McKennas mixed in World Juniors watch parties with their time on the ice.

Though Gavin was still a toddler when Jordan Eberle scored one of the most famous goals in World Juniors history (funnily enough, Eberle’s iconic tally happened the last time the tournament was held in Ottawa in 2009), he was glued to the television for the 2015 edition of the tournament- particularly for future Conn Smythe Trophy winner Connor McDavid and Max Domi.

“That’s something that Gavin’s been working for pretty much his whole life,” Willy added. “Not to lessen any other of the accomplishments he’s had so far in his career, but this is the biggest highlight of his career, I’d say at this point. We’re all happy for him and, obviously, very proud.”

While it’s becoming tougher to separate the young man on the ice who is filling the net and breaking the ankles of opposing defenceman from the teenager who never misses a chance to tease one of his sisters, Willy is proud of how his young son has managed to rise to the occasion at every level.

Even more, he’s most proud of who Gavin has become.

“A lot of people say, ‘How do you keep Gavin grounded, and all this kind of stuff,'” Willy shrugged. “Gavin, he’s a good person all around. I think that’s part of why he’s becoming what he is, and why he’s having the success that he is having… When you talk to his coaches, his teammates and all that kind of stuff, there’s never a bad thing they say about him. That, to me, is probably the things that makes me the most proud outside of success at hockey, just the person he is and who he’s become.”

McKenna is the reigning WHL and CHL Rookie of the Year, has won gold at the 2024 IIHF U18 World Championship, the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, and leads the WHL with 19 goals and 41 assists for 60 points in 40 games- helping Medicine Hat become a major player to watch ahead of the 2025 WHL Playoffs.

“It’s pretty cool to kind of see dreams coming to reality here,” McKenna added. “You watch the McDavids and guys (like that)… It’s a tournament you remember forever just watching. So for me to kind of be in their position, and hopefully follow in their footsteps, I think that’s really cool. I know it influences a lot of kids because I was that kid.”

No one will be cheering harder than McKenna’s parents as he hits the ice with Team Canada on Boxing Day against Everett Silvertips forward and Seattle Kraken prospect Julius Miettinen and Finland at 5:30 p.m. MST.