Gavin McKenna has been named the CHL Player of the Year.
At just 17 years, five months and 24 days old, the Medicine Hat Tigers star becomes the third-youngest player ever to receive the honour.
The projected 2026 NHL Draft first overall pick joins an exclusive group of under-18 winners that includes John Tavares and Sidney Crosby — the only players to capture the award at age 16.
McKenna is one of just six players in CHL history to win the award before turning 18, and the first Tigers player to do so in franchise history.
He also becomes the fourth consecutive WHL skater to earn the honour, following Jagger Firkus (Moose Jaw Warriors), Connor Bedard (Regina Pats) and Logan Stankoven (Kamloops Blazers).
McKenna, a native of Whitehorse, Yukon, finished the 2024–25 campaign with 129 points (41 goals, 88 assists) in 56 games, riding a 40-game point streak that he extended to 54 games during the WHL Playoffs — a modern CHL record (since 2000) for longest single-season point streak across the regular season, playoffs and Memorial Cup.
Meanwhile, Landon DuPont became the second-youngest recipient of the rookie of the year award. The Everett Silvertips defenceman is just 16 years and 16 days old. Tavares won the award at 15 years, eight months and seven days.
DuPont, from Calgary, is the first blueliner in 30 years — and just the third in CHL history after Philippe Boucher (1990-91) and Bryan Berard (1994-95) — to earn the honour. Dupont had 60 points (17 goals, 43 assists) in 64 games.
Saginaw Spirit forward Michael Misa was honoured as top scorer after leading the CHL with 134 points (62 goals, 72 assists) in 65 games. Erie Otters blueliner Matthew Schaefer was named the top prospect award winner being the No. 1-ranked North American skater according to NHL Central Scouting.
Other award winners included the Knights' Sam Dickinson as defenceman of the year, Jackson Parsons of the Kitchener Rangers as the goaltender of the year, Berkly Catton of the Spokane Chiefs as sportsman of the year, Mathieu Cataford of the Rimouski Oceanic as scholastic player of the year, and Maxwell Jardine of the Charlottetown Islanders as humanitarian player of the year.
--with files from The Canadian Press
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