By The Canadian Press

NHL chooses Buffalo Sabres to host draft in late June, Gavin McKenna billed as event’s centrepiece

Jan 12, 2026 | 8:09 AM

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Sabres will host the National Hockey League draft in June, commissioner Gary Bettman announced Monday, with highly prized prospect Gavin McKenna as the centrepiece of the event.

Bettman made the announcement while joined by Sabres executives, including team owner Terry Pegula, during a news conference before Buffalo’s home game against the Florida Panthers.

“This is a great sports town, a great hockey market. The reception we get here is always terrific,” Bettman said. “Fans are knowledgeable and passionate. We’ve got a great organization with great ownership.

“All the factors that you would take into account, the boxes are checked in a first-class way.”

The two-day draft was already set for June 26-27, with the league going with a decentralized format for a second straight year. The format features prospects and their families attending the draft, while teams make the picks from their home markets.

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The draft in Buffalo will be held at the Sabres home arena, KeyBank Center. That’s a switch from last year, when the two-day event was held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

Buffalo has also been home to the NHL’s annual pre-draft combine since 2015, and will once again host the league’s top prospects this spring.

This will mark the fourth time the Sabres host the draft — the second-most by any NHL team behind only Montreal’s 27. Buffalo most recently held the event in 2016, when Auston Matthews was selected No. 1 by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

This time, all eyes will be on McKenna, the Penn State freshman forward who has long been projected to be the 2026 draft’s No. 1 pick.

The draft announcement coincided with NHL Central Scouting releasing its midseason rankings of prospects with McKenna topping the list of North American prospects, ahead of North Dakota’s Keaton Verhoeff. Swedish forward Ivar Stenberg tops the list of international players.

The 18-year-old McKenna is from Whitehorse, Yukon, and made a major splash this summer when he elected to leave the Canadian Hockey League after two-plus seasons in Medicine Hat, Alberta, and make the jump to Happy Valley. The move south came in the first off-season after the NCAA lifted its longtime ban in making CHL players eligible to compete at the college ranks.

McKenna has been labeled a “generational talent,” and regarded as the 2026 draft’s top prospect since 2024.

McKenna ranks fourth on the Nittany Lions and seventh among NCAA freshmen with four goals and 15 assists for 19 points in 18 games.

The college ranks are considered more challenging because a majority of players are 19 and older, as opposed to the CHL where the age range is 16 to 20.

Pegula is a Penn State alum, and donated more than $100 million to help launch the Nittany Lions men’s and women’s hockey program in 2013, which included the construction of a new arena that bears his name.

“When we opened the arena, I remember part of my speech was maybe someday the next Sidney Crosby will come out of this arena,” Pegula said, referring to the Penguins captain. “So I don’t know where Gavin’s going to get drafted. I’m not making any predictions. But he’s a great young player and it’s nice to prospects like that starting to come out of Central PA.”

As a member of Canada’s bronze medal-winning team at the recent world junior championships, McKenna finished the tournament second with 10 points (four goals, six assists) in seven games.

McKenna thrived at Medicine Hat, where he had 91 goals and 198 assists for 289 points in 158 career games. Last season, he failed to register a point in just four outings, while closing the year with a 45-game point streak in which McKenna combined for 32 goals and 100 points.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

John Wawrow, The Associated Press