WHL Player of the Week McKenna focused on making Team Canada

“I know him super well just to kind of see what he did in World Juniors like he lit it up and I know the city of Whitehorse was super proud of him, and we all supported him,” McKenna said.

“I think it’s exciting knowing that I have that support in Whitehorse and my hometown behind me so it’s super cool.”

McKenna knows he’ll have the city of Medicine Hat behind him as well as he works to make Team Canada.

It’s a roster he says he’s been working towards making since he began playing hockey.

“It was obviously an honour. It’s something I’ve kind of worked towards my whole life and you know I’m super grateful of the opportunity but I think you know the job’s not finished,” McKenna said.

“I still got to make the team, so I’m gonna go into camp there and show them what I can do and hopefully crack a spot,” he added.

“I don’t want to just go there just to be there and play there. I want to play some big minutes and play a big role and I think that all starts in camp so I got to make sure I’m ready for camp.”

It’s a process he has been focused on earning this season with input from the Tigers coaching staff to help reach that goal.

“Willie [Desjardins] helped me quite a bit and the coaching staff kind of told me what I got to work on to get my chances up of getting there and I’ve been working on that all year and it helped me,” McKenna said.

“My defensive abilities for sure that was a big one they talked about,” he added.

“Hockey Canada they love their big boys and they’re defensive players, so that me being a smaller guy I had to work on that stuff and just the little details like stopping and starting and just little habits.”

McKenna said he will now focus on showcasing what got him to the selection camp.

“”I think they they took me for a reason so I’m not gonna change anything,” McKenna said.

There will be some familiar faces joining him there from his time playing for the National U17 and U18 teams.

“I’ve played with lots of those guys before, so I’ve kind of built some chemistry with them and it’s exciting,” McKenna said.

“We’ve talked about how excited we all are and I think when we’re there we’re gonna be ready to go and you know it helps a lot that I’ve played with a couple of those guys before.”

McKenna said he looks to continue to build on the confidence in his game he has shown so far this season, leading up to camp in Ottawa Dec. 10-13 with Team Canada.

by Jesse Gill

WHL Player of the Week McKenna focused on making Team Canada

Our Community