Portal 2026

[Johnny Five]

4 hours ago, fightingsioux4life said:

Any chance Gavin McKenna sticks around Penn State for another season?

He probably isn't even on campus anymore lol

[Blackheart]

1 hour ago, Johnny Five said:

He probably isn't even on campus anymore lol

[nascar99]

6 hours ago, fightingsioux4life said:

Any chance Gavin McKenna sticks around Penn State for another season?

Yes, if the NHL team that drafts him doesn't think he's ready for the league yet. But I would only put that at 20%, I think there's an 80% chance he's in the NHL

[Brett0909]

 

45 minutes ago, nascar99 said:

Yes, if the NHL team that drafts him doesn't think he's ready for the league yet. But I would only put that at 20%, I think there's an 80% chance he's in the NHL

Also have to wonder if Penn St. will cough up another big bag of cash for his sophomore year…I’m sure he won’t stick around for free, and the ROI on a big NIL payout is way down after he’s already had the spotlight on PSU all year. 

[Blackheart]

3 hours ago, Brett0909 said:

 

Also have to wonder if Penn St. will cough up another big bag of cash for his sophomore year…I’m sure he won’t stick around for free, and the ROI on a big NIL payout is way down after he’s already had the spotlight on PSU all year. 

He's not really going to stay is he?

[Brett0909]

2 minutes ago, Blackheart said:

He's not really going to stay is he?

Yeah, I’m sure he’s gone. But for me, the growing biz/accounting angle of roster management is going to be interesting to see when things settle, with some of these top guys already pulling in big NIL money their first year and expected to be 1-and-done - how will the blue blood teams prioritize big offers to keep them a second year when they can, while still trying to land the next crop of big stars and keeping things somewhat equitable for the rest of the players? Even a Reschny and Verhoeff return for sophomore seasons no doubt warrants a nice chunk of change. I really hope it doesn’t all trickle down to create bad student athlete commitment experiences, while they’re stuck waiting for the dominoes to fall from the big fish.

It will be interesting to see how it evolves - while we get to armchair quarterback Bryn/Jax’s roster choices in the future. As well as what’s transparent (NIL announcements for retaining players, etc.) vs. left to speculation. 

I’m glad that Jax seems to have a team full of players who are fully bought in. Hopefully that culture helps protect against a mercenary team full of players just looking for the biggest payout.

Buckle up?

[southpaw]

If McKenna is smart, he'd put his name in for the transfer portal to keep his options open for next year. He of course could always go back to Penn St, but his drafting team may want him to go to a different school and the only way he could do that is if he enters the portal as soon as it opens.

[The Sicatoka]

3 hours ago, southpaw said:

If McKenna is smart, he'd put his name in for the transfer portal to keep his options open for next year. He of course could always go back to Penn St, but his drafting team may want him to go to a different school and the only way he could do that is if he enters the portal as soon as it opens.

That makes sense; McKenna keeps all options open that way. 

[Kevin G]

I wonder if PSU and McKenna already negotiated the possibility of a second year when they agreed on his NIL deal.

[cberkas]

So, your top two lines will be gone next season. That sounds more like a coaching/locker room issue that isn’t being talked about.

Edit: He’s the 4th line center. 

[brianvf]

15 minutes ago, cberkas said:

So, your top two lines will be gone next season. That sounds more like a coaching/locker room issue that isn’t being talked about.

Yeah something is afoot in "hockey valley".
Even with a couple of the pro signees, they were still only a few solid additions from portal/CHL from being good again next season.
All the unexpected departures signals something else.

[cberkas]

Just now, brianvf said:

Yeah something is afoot in "hockey valley".
Even with a couple of the pro signees, they were still only a few solid additions from portal/CHL from being good again next season.
All the unexpected departures signals something else.

Of the 9 possible 10 leaving 4 graduated 

[SIOUXFAN97]

23 hours ago, Blackheart said:

Who's Kevin McHenna?

friends with duane jetski

[burd]

19 hours ago, nascar99 said:

Yes, if the NHL team that drafts him doesn't think he's ready for the league yet. But I would only put that at 20%, I think there's an 80% chance he's in the NHL

McKenna hasn’t won the Hobey or been drafted #1 overall yet, but how do the experts among you compare him to Celebrini in terms of NHL readiness?  Was Celebrini expected to immediately perform the way he did?

[Walsh Hall]

6 hours ago, Kevin G said:

I wonder if PSU and McKenna already negotiated the possibility of a second year when they agreed on his NIL deal.

The ROI would be much better in year 2.  He'd be an incredible player next year.

[nascar99]

3 hours ago, burd said:

McKenna hasn’t won the Hobey or been drafted #1 overall yet, but how do the experts among you compare him to Celebrini in terms of NHL readiness?  Was Celebrini expected to immediately perform the way he did?

Yes he was, but Celebrini exploded beyond belief this year in Year 2. Would expect McKenna to put up 60 points in his rookie season if he turns pro for 2026-27, but bad 5v5, doing most of his damage on the PP.

Another year in the NCAA would help him round out his game further