Gavin McKenna allegedly punched a man twice after “an exchange of words” Saturday near the entrance to a parking garage, sending the man to the hospital with a broken jaw and missing tooth and leaving blood on a sidewalk in State College, Pa., according to police records.
McKenna, a top NHL prospect and star forward at Penn State, was charged Wednesday with felony assault, according to court documents and a statement from the State College Police Department. The native of Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, is also facing a misdemeanor assault charge and summary charges of harassment and disorderly conduct for his role in the altercation.
According to a probable cause affidavit, security camera footage showed McKenna leaving Doggie’s Pub shortly before the alleged assault. Cameras owned by the borough of State College captured the encounter, police said. About 150 feet separate the pub entrance and the Pugh Street Parking Garage, according to Google Maps.
The officer who filed the affidavit, identified as L. Sharer, was dispatched to speak with the injured man at Mount Nittany Medical Center. The man had dried blood on his lips and was missing a bottom tooth. According to the affidavit, the man was struggling to speak, so two of his friends who witnessed the incident recounted it to Sharer.
They said, according to the affidavit, that McKenna punched the man twice on the right side of his face at approximately 8:45 p.m., “following an exchange of words between them and the group of people that (McKenna) was with.” They also said they recognized McKenna, and they suspected that he and his group were coming from Doggie’s, which had hosted a hockey event following Penn State’s game at Beaver Stadium earlier in the day. The game concluded around 4:20 p.m.
The man’s friends also said, according to the affidavit, that they remembered seeing his blood on the sidewalk; the arresting officer said he located the blood and photographed it.
The maximum penalty for first-degree felony aggravated assault in Pennsylvania is 20 years in prison and/or a $25,000 fine.
Multiple attempts by The Athletic to contact McKenna’s representatives at CAA have not yet been answered.
In a written statement provided to The Athletic on Wednesday, John Hanna, Penn State athletics’ associate director of strategic communications, said: “We are aware that charges have been filed; however, as this is an ongoing legal matter, we will not have any further comment.”
McKenna is in his first season with the Nittany Lions after three seasons in the junior-level Western Hockey League, during which he emerged as a potential No. 1 NHL Draft pick — and as the first hockey player worthy of a six-figure NIL deal, a major factor in his stunning jump from Canadian juniors to the Big Ten. Once considered the top draft-eligible prospect, McKenna was ranked No. 4 on The Athletic’s most recent list of prospects, owing largely to an uneven first few months of NCAA hockey.
In 24 games this season, McKenna has 11 goals and 21 assists, which ties him for the team lead with 32 points. Penn State has eight regular-season games remaining on its schedule. The 2026 draft is scheduled for June 26 and 27 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y.
