Breaking: Major Development in Gavin McKenna’s Legal Troubles

Top hockey prospect Gavin McKenna was facing a pretty uncertain future after the story broke this week that he had been hit with a felony aggravated assault charge following an alleged scrap near Penn State. But a sigh of relief comes for the promising hockey player on Friday, as we have learned that the felony assault charge has been dropped.

Penn State hockey star Gavin McKenna will have his felony aggravated assault charge dropped, the Centre County District Attorney's Office announced on Friday. https://t.co/Whqx2DzeAY
— ESPN (@espn) February 6, 2026

ESPN's Greg Wyshynski is reporting that the Centre County District Attorney's Office made the announcement on Friday. However, they will still go forward with misdemeanor simple assault and other charges "as they relate to the serious injuries suffered by the victim."

A story has emerged, though unsubstantiated, that McKenna was defending his mother in the incident, as the victim had been allegedly harassing her inside the bar that McKenna and his teammates were in. The likely No. 1 pick in this June's NHL Draft allegedly punched the man twice on the right side of his face, breaking his jaw and knocking out a tooth.

Why was McKenna's felony assault charge dropped?

The initial charge of first-degree felony aggravated assault carried with it, if found guilty, a maximum 20-year jail sentence. That charge was dropped based on a review of video footage taken from the pub and street cameras.

McKenna has a preliminary hearing on the lesser charges scheduled for Wednesday.

The NHL Draft will be on June 26 in Buffalo, and McKenna is projected to be the No. 1 selection, or very close behind. Currently, the Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers, Calgary Flames, and Winnipeg Jets are the five teams with the best odds of winning the lottery.

McKenna has 11 goals and 21 assists for 32 points in 24 games this season for Penn St. Last year, with Medicine Hat in the WHL, the 18-year-old from the Yukon Territories, racked up 129 points in 56 games with a +60 rating.