Rink Hockey Academy star Gavin McKenna (right) is Tigers property after being selected first overall in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft on Thursday (Photo courtesy of CSSHL / Twitter)

By Scott Roblin

McKenna a Tiger

Tigers select budding star McKenna first overall in WHL Prospects Draft

May 19, 2022 | 10:25 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – It was likely the worst kept secret in junior hockey, but the Medicine Hat Tigers finally have the cornerstone of their rebuild.

Holding the first overall pick in the 2022 WHL Prospects Draft on Thursday, the Tigers selected Rink Hockey Academy – Kelowna standout Gavin McKenna to join the fold.

McKenna immediately becomes the Tigers’ most promising young prospect, leading the CSSHL U18 ranks in scoring with 23 goals and 65 points in just 35 games despite being just 14 years old.

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The Whitehorse, Yukon forward also put pen to paper in signing his WHL standard player agreement with the Tigers on Thursday.

McKenna becomes the third player to be drafted first overall in Tigers history, joining Jay Bouwmeester and Ryan Hollweg in 1998 and 1999, respectively.

“It’s really exciting for our franchise to have the first overall selection in this year’s draft,” said Tigers head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins in a statement. “Gavin is an elite player with a huge upside. His vision and awareness are exceptional, a level I’ve only seen from a handful of players in my career. It takes an entire family to get a player to this level, we’d like to thank Crystal, Willy and Gavin’s two sisters for their hard work and sacrifice. We’d also like to thank Gavin’s agent, Byron Ritchie and CAA in helping us sign Gavin.”

McKenna can’t become a full-time player with the Tigers until the 2023-24 WHL season, but is able to play a handful of games as an affiliate call-up in the 2022-23 campaign.

Tigers add Harsanyi

The first round drafting didn’t end there for the Tigers, as they picked Northern Alberta Xtreme U15 Prep forward Hayden Harsanyi with the 16th overall selection.

Harsanyi exploded for 31 goals and 67 points in 25 games with the Xtreme U15s in 2021-22 and is projected to be another skilled forward option for Medicine Hat down the line.

The Tigers acquired the 16th overall pick from the Seattle Thunderbirds back in December, as part of a package in exchange for Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Lukas Svejkovsky.

2nd round

High-end forwards continued to be the focus for Medicine Hat to kick off the second round, as they went back to Rink Hockey Academy – Kelowna to select Kadon McCann at 23rd overall.

McCann is expected to bring a blend of size and skill listed at six-foot-two and 178 pounds, which helped him put up 22 goals and 45 points in 30 games with RHA’s U15 Prep program.

The Cochrane product also played a handful of games for the academy’s U17 and U18 team, where he was briefly teammates with McKenna.

3rd round

Medicine Hat took their first defenceman of the day in the third round with the 45th overall pick, snapping up OHA Edmonton blueliner Matt Paranych.

Captaining 30 games with OHA’s U15 Prep team, Paranych finished second in divisional scoring for defencemen with 13 goals and 52 points.

Paranych was also called up for nine games with the OHA U16 Prep squad, where he netted two goals and 11 points.

Medicine Hat product Ryan Miller was the first local skater taken off the board in the third round, as he was drafted 66th overall by the Portland Winterhawks after a 59-point season with the Northern Alberta Xtreme U15 Prep team.

4th round

The Tigers stayed in their own backyard for their fourth round choice, as they drafted SEAC U15 AAA blueliner Hudson Gainer with the 77th overall pick.

Gainer was no stranger to finding the back of the net in 2021-22 with 14 goals and 30 points to his credit in 34 games played with SEAC.

Medicine Hat acquired the pick to select Gainer from the Lethbridge Hurricanes back in January as part of the Corson Hopwo and Logan Barlage deal at the WHL trade deadline.

He joins Josh Van Mulligen, Shane Smith and Cole Unger as other local players to be drafted by Medicine Hat in recent years.

5th round

Starting off the fifth round, the Tigers went with a defenceman for the third consecutive round with the selection of St. Albert U15 AAA Sabres rearguard Jack Kachkowski at 89th overall.

Nearly a point per game with the Sabres this year, Kachkowski captained the team with a stat line of 14 goals and 31 points in 33 games played.

6th round

It was a double-dip for Medicine Hat in the sixth round with a pair of selections beginning with the 111th pick of the draft, choosing netminder Jordan Switzer.

Backstopping Northern Alberta Xtreme’s U15 squad, Switzer had a sparkling 12-1 record over 14 games with a 2.06 goals against average, a .917 save percentage and a trio of shutouts.

Three picks later, the Tigers went back to addressing the blueline with Leduc U15 AAA Oil Kings defenceman Cohen Carter with the 114th selection of the draft.

Carter played in three games at the U16 level this year, but spent the bulk of the season at U15 with five goals and 12 points in 29 games for Leduc.

Southeastern Alberta’s third area skater to get drafted Thursday was Brooks’ Noah Smith, who went to the Prince Albert Raiders at 126th overall after putting up 12 points in 26 games with Rink Hockey Academy’s U15 team in Kelowna.

7th round

Medicine Hat’s final two picks of the 2022 draft both came in the 7th round, as they selected winger Brody Green 133rd overall and defender Kyle Heger with the 135th pick.

Green comes to the Tigers via Winnipeg, where he tallied 19 goals and 48 points in 30 games with Rink Hockey Academy’s U15 outfit in Manitoba.

As for Heger, he was picked out of the prestigious Shattuck St. Mary’s program where he posted seven goals and 36 points in 51 games with the school’s U14 AAA club.

SEAC U15 AAA Tigers forward Cole Fisher was the final local to be taken on Thursday, as he was nabbed in the 11th round at 231st overall by the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

From Dunmore, Fisher recorded 12 goals and 23 points in 20 games for SEAC over the 2021-22 season.

History was also made in the late rounds, as the Vancouver Giants selected defender Chloe Primerano out of the Burnaby Winter Club with the 268th pick of the draft in Round 11.

Primerano tallied 19 points in 30 games with Burnaby’s U15 Prep team and not only became the first female to ever be drafted in the WHL, but is now the first female skater drafted in the history of the Canadian Hockey League.