By The Canadian Press

CHARGE DROPPED

Felony assault charge against former Medicine Hat Tigers player Gavin McKenna withdrawn

Feb 6, 2026 | 12:47 PM

STATE COLLEGE — A Pennsylvania district attorney’s office has withdrawn a felony aggravated assault charge against top NHL prospect Gavin McKenna and will proceed instead with a misdemeanour simple assault charge, citing insufficient evidence to support the felony count.

A criminal complaint filed Wednesday alleged McKenna, a star hockey player at Penn State University, punched a man twice on the right side of the face after two groups exchanged words in the downtown neighbourhood of the municipality where the university is located.

The complaint also alleged the victim sustained fractures to both sides of his jaw that required surgery and that he was missing a tooth.

State College Police later confirmed the victim suffered two fractures to one side of his jaw, not both, and was not missing a tooth. The victim has undergone surgery and is recovering.

The district attorney’s office said in a release Friday that to establish probable cause for aggravated assault, “the Commonwealth must establish that a person acted with the intent to cause serious bodily injury or acted recklessly under circumstances showing an extreme indifference to the value of human life.”

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After a review of video evidence of the alleged incident, the district attorney’s office and police determined there was no such intent.

“Accordingly, the District Attorney’s Office will be withdrawing the felony count of Aggravated Assault and correcting the record regarding the injuries suffered by the victim,” the release said. “A review of the video does not support a conclusion that Gavin McKenna acted with the intent to cause serious bodily injury or with reckless indifference to the value of human life.”

The prosecution will proceed with a misdemeanour simple assault charge, among other charges.

McKenna played parts of three seasons with the Medicine Hat Tigers from 2022-2025, winning a WHL Championship in 2025.

He was also a member of the South Alberta Hockey Academy during the 2022-23 season, where he was named the MVP of Calgary’s Circle K Classic, a tournament won by the Dunmore-based Canadian Sports School Hockey League prep team.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2026.

The Canadian Press

— With files from Jesse Gill