In today’s time, age is not a barrier in sports. Over the past few years, we have seen many young stars emerge in a variety of sports. Even as the age for excellence decreases day by day, the NHL has strict playing rules in this regard. Only the players who have completed 18 years by September 15th of the draft year are eligible to enter the draft. While this has been a long-time rule, 17-year-old Gavin McKenna came into the spotlight recently over his potential entry in the draft.

NHL  insider, Austin Kelly, took to his social media handle and suggested that McKenna should be handed an exceptional entry into the draft, although he hadn’t turned 18. McKenna is playing in the CHL currently and is showing his worth there.

In his words. “He’s far too good already for the CHL and is scoring at over 3PPG in his last 10 games. I’d draft him first overall this year and not lose sleep.”

Although Kelly suggested that McKenna should be included in this year’s draft, he would be eligible only next year after he turns 18. Thus, fans dismissed Kelly’s idea and instead called him out for wanting to hurry McKenna on hockey’s biggest stage.

Fans dismiss any exception to Gavin McKenna’s NHL draft entry

Years ago, Canadian star and alternate captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, John Tavares, also found himself in a similar situation as Gavin McKenna. Although he dominated in the CHL, Tavares had to wait for his chance to get an entry into the NHL draft. Thus, a fan compared their situation while dismissing Kelly’s idea, saying, “No f**king chance. They didn’t do it for John Tavares.” The fan believed that the NHL might not tweak the rule as an exceptional case, as Tavares also had to wait for his chance.

Meanwhile, a section of fans also highlighted the downside of rushing a 17-year-old McKenna into the NHL. The fans felt that the extremities of the NHL could hinder his growth, and one of them wrote, “Naw… let him be a kid.” As he continues to shine in the CHL, he could build on that confidence and enter the NHL next year. Further, another fan also made an analogy with Connor Bedard. “Now this, this is a bad idea 🙂 – bad precedents, when and how to make exceptions again in future, etc. Reality is Bedard was also dominating and yet… we see the jump is hard. but mainly, it’s unfair IF he gets drafted by crap org vs just letting things run their normal course,” the fan revealed, as he felt that exceptional entries at an age below 18 years were unfair to the other players who didn’t get the chance.

Even as the debate between his entry in the 2025 or the 2026 draft heated up, one of the fans had a suggestion for the 17-year-old. The fan wrote, “He can go to the NCAA and play, and likely get a VERY lucrative NIL deal.”  However, it is only a matter of a year before he gets an entry into the NHL. Lastly, one of the fans dismissed the idea based on the fact that the level of play in the CHL and the NHL was miles apart. “Yeah sorry dude but the level of talent he faces in the CHL vs what is in the NHL is not even a discussion. It would be like a totally different sport,” the fan wrote, as he was unsure if McKenna could have the same impact in the NHL as he has had in the CHL.

This debate kept aside, McKenna continues to impress one and all with his scintillating display. In the 56 games that he has played this season, the 17-year-old has already scored 41 goals and 88 assists. Surely, he would be the one to watch out for when he enters the NHL draft next season.