Category: NHL

Top 2026 NHL draft prospect Gavin McKenna says he’s committing to Penn State

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – Canada’s Gavin McKenna (9) skates with the puck as United States’ Drew Fortescue (5) defends during the second period of an IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship tournament game in Ottawa, Ontario, Dec. 31, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

(AP) Gavin McKenna said he is committing to Penn State, leaving the Canadian Hockey League for the U.S. college ranks in a long-anticipated decision by one of the sport’s most anticipated prospects since Connor McDavid.

McKenna’s jump highlights how much the junior developmental hockey landscape has changed in North America since the NCAA’s landmark decision in November to lift its ban on CHL player participation.

After word of McKenna’s destination leaked Monday, he made the announcement on “SportsCenter” on Tuesday. It coincidentally came 15 years to the day after “The Decision” when LeBron James revealed on ESPN he was leaving Cleveland for Miami.

“It was a super tough decision,” McKenna said before donning a Penn State hat. “Obviously there was a lot of great options out there, but I think me, my family and everyone that’s kind of a part of my circle, we all decided that the best spot for me next year will be Penn State University.”

McKenna, who turns 18 in December, is regarded a generational talent and has for the past two years been projected as the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL draft.

“The (Western Hockey League) was a great spot, and I’m very grateful for what it did for me and my family,” McKenna said, adding he believes facing bigger, older competition will help make the leap to the NHL easier. “Both options were great, but I just think going to college, being in such a great conference, it’ll really challenge me and prepare me.”

Leaving the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers after two-plus seasons, McKenna joining Nittany Lions makes them an immediate contender to win a Frozen Four title. He had narrowed his choices to Penn State, coming off losing its Frozen Four debut in April, and Michigan State.

“You saw what Penn State did this year making the Frozen Four,” McKenna said. “They’ve come a long ways, and I think next year when I go there, obviously that’s the goal is to win a championship with them.”

The NCAA rule change coincides with schools being allowed to lure recruits with name, image, likeness (NIL) endorsement money, further tipping the scales toward CHL players making the jump. Previously, CHL players were barred from competing in college because they were deemed professionals for receiving a stipend of up to $600 per month for living expenses.

The lifting of the ban led to college hockey officials envisioning the NCAA replacing the CHL as North America’s top producer of NHL draft-ready talent.

From Whitehorse, Yukon, McKenna is coming off his second full season with Medicine Hat in which he finished second in the WHL with 129 points (41 goals, 88 assists), behind 20-year Andrew Cristall’s 132. McKenna’s point total was third among all CHL players, rounded out by OHL’s Michael Misa’s 134. Misa is a year older and was selected second by San Jose in this year’s draft.

McKenna most notably closed this season with a 45-game point streak in which he combined for 32 goals and 100 points, and finished the playoffs with nine goals and 38 points in 16 games. Including playoffs, he failed to register a point just four times.

McKenna’s potential has already caused a ripple effect among NHL teams, who have been guarded about trading their 2026 first-round selections in fear of potentially missing out on a chance to select him.

McKenna’s name even caused a buzz at the Frozen Four in St. Louis, where there was already speculation of him being lured south.

Counting the regular season and playoffs, McKenna combined for 91 goals and 198 assists for 289 points in 158 career games in the WHL.

He already has NHL ties in being a cousin by marriage to Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft. McKenna grew up in Whitehorse befriending the family of Dylan Cozens, the Ottawa Senators forward who was selected seventh overall by Buffalo in the 2019 draft.

 

Penguins Hire Rangers assistant Dan Muse as New Coach

New York Rangers assistant coach Dan Muse, right, watches during the third period in Game 4 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, May 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker File)

Jun 4, 2025 2:30 PM

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Dan Muse is the new head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins hired the former New York Rangers assistant and tasked him with helping the franchise navigate a rebuild during the twilight of longtime captain Sidney Crosby’s career. Muse replaces Mike Sullivan. Sullivan and the Penguins split in April after a nearly decade-long tenure that included a pair of Stanley Cup titles. The Rangers scooped up Sullivan, naming him their coach in May. The 42-year-old Muse was hired after a monthlong search by Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas. Muse’s hiring leaves the Boston Bruins as the last of eight teams with offseason head coaching vacancies.

New York Rangers hire Mike Sullivan as coach days after he and the Pittsburgh Penguins parted ways

(AP File Photo)

May 2, 2025 9:49 AM

By STEPHEN WHYNO AP Hockey Writer

The New York Rangers have hired Mike Sullivan as coach. Sullivan was out of a job for less than a week after he and the Pittsburgh Penguins agreed Monday to part ways. Sullivan replaces Peter Laviolette, who was fired after the Rangers missed the playoffs following a trip to the Eastern Conference final last year. Sullivan, who coached Pittsburgh to the Stanley Cup back to back in 2016 and ’17, is tasked with trying to turn the Rangers back into an immediate contender. General manager Chris Drury made the move to get Sullivan not long after receiving a multiyear contract extension of his own.

Penguins split with two-time Stanley Cup-winning coach Mike Sullivan

(AP File Photo of Mike Sullivan Coaching the Penguins)

Apr 28, 2025 9:42 AM

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mike Sullivan’s nearly decade-long tenure running the Pittsburgh Penguins is over. The team announced Monday that it was parting ways with the two-time Stanley Cup winning coach just over a week after the Penguins missed out on the playoffs for a third straight season. Sullivan’s 409 wins with Pittsburgh are a franchise record. He led the Penguins to back-to-back championships in 2016 and 2017 and had two more years left on his contract. Sullivan said recently that he wanted to remain with the club as it tries to retool around future Hall of Famer Sidney Crosby. Instead, general manager Kyle Dubas said “we felt it was the best course forward for all involved” to move on.

Longtime Pittsburgh Penguins announcer Mike Lange, known for his distinctive style, dies at 76

FILE – Pittsburgh Penguins long time broadcaster Mike Lange addresses the crowd before the unveiling of a statue depicting Pittsburgh Penguins Hall of Fame center Mario Lemieux outside the NHL hockey team’s arena March 7, 2012, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)

By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Hall of Fame broadcaster Mike Lange, whose imaginative goal calls made his raspy voice immediately recognizable to Pittsburgh Penguin fans for decades, has died. He was 76.
The team confirmed Lange’s death Wednesday. No cause was given.
“Mike was a wordsmith — a magician behind the mic,” the Penguins said in a statement, later adding “only Mike could make the biggest names in hockey seem more magical with just his voice.”
Phil Bourque, a former Penguin who spent years alongside Lange in the team’s radio booth, called his former partner “one of the kindest, most loyal and loving humans I’ve ever met.”
Lange spent nearly five decades chronicling the franchise’s rise from also-ran to Stanley Cup champion five times over, his unique delivery and quirky sayings serving as the soundtrack for iconic moments from Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux and longtime running mate Jaromir Jagr to current stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
The Hockey Hall of Fame inducted Lange in 2001 when he received the Foster Hewitt Award for broadcast excellence.
From “It’s a hockey night in Pittsburgh” to “Elvis has left the building” to “he beat him like a rented mule,” Lange’s distinctive turns of phrase made his voice instantly recognizable.
When Pittsburgh defeated Chicago to win a second straight Stanley Cup in 1992, Lange punctuated the title on the team’s radio network by telling listeners “Lord Stanley, Lord Stanley, get me the brandy.”
Born in Sacramento, California, on March 3, 1948, Lange called games in the Western Hockey League before doing a one-year stint with the Penguins in 1974. He left while the team experienced financial difficulties before returning to Pittsburgh for good in 1976. He didn’t miss a single game for the next 30 years, serving as the club’s lead broadcaster on its television and radio networks as Pittsburgh became one of the NHL’s marquee clubs.
It wasn’t uncommon for Lange’s calls to be mimicked by sportscasters everywhere, with former ESPN anchor Keith Olbermann putting his own twist on a Lange classic by using the line “he beat him like a rented goalie” occasionally during NHL highlight packages. Lange even appeared as a broadcaster — and trotted out some of his singular sayings — in the Pittsburgh-set Jean-Claude Van Damme action movie “Sudden Death.” The fictional 1995 film was set against the backdrop of a Stanley Cup matchup between the Penguins and the Chicago Blackhawks.
Lange moved to the radio side full-time in 2006, calling the team’s Stanley Cup wins in 2009, 2016 and 2017 before retiring in August 2021 after 46 years with the Penguins. The team honored him in October that year, which Lange noted marked his 50th in broadcasting.
“I didn’t get cheated in my quest to do what I have always loved,” Lange said in a statement that coincided with his retirement.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is being evaluated for upper-body injury

Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby (87) celebrates after getting his 600th career goal in the NHL during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Utah Hockey Club, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Feb 5, 2025 1:47 PM

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. (AP) — Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is being evaluated for an upper-body injury. Crosby was held out of practice after colliding with New Jersey’s Luke Hughes and Erik Haula in the third period of a 3-2 shootout loss to the Devils. Crosby skated to the bench favoring his left arm/hand but returned after being examined in the locker room. Crosby said afterward he got “tangled up” and did not offer specifics of the injury. The 37-year-old Crosby is scheduled to serve as captain for Team Canada in the 4 Nations Faceoff later this month.

Timo Meier scores in the 7th round of a shootout to lift New Jersey past Pittsburgh 3-2

New Jersey Devils’ Timo Meier, left, and Jesper Bratt celebrate after Meier’s goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Feb 4, 2025 10:17 PM

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Timo Meier beat Alex Nedeljkovic in the seventh round of a shootout to lift the New Jersey Devils past the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2. Jack Hughes scored twice for the Devils. Nico Daws stopped 25 shots in overtime and regulation then turned away five of the seven Penguins he faced in the shootout as the Devils won for the sixth straight time in Pittsburgh. Rickard Rakell scored his 24th of the season for Pittsburgh and Kevin Hayes tied it with 12:07 to go in regulation

Sidney Crosby scores in 4th straight game in the Penguins’ 3-0 victory over the Predators

Pittsburgh Penguins center Cody Glass (19) and Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Jesse Puljujarvi (18) hug Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson, middle, after he scored the tying goal, during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Utah Hockey Club Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Egan)

BC-HKN–Predators-Penguins

Feb 1, 2025 9:45 PM

By DAN SCIFO Associated Press

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Sidney Crosby scored in his fourth straight game, Alex Nedeljkovic made 25 saves for his first shutout of the season and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Nashville Predators 3-0 on Saturday night. Crosby, the captain of Canada in the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off, added an assist for his 484th multi-point game. Only six players in NHL history have more multi-point games. Nedeljkovic had his ninth NHL shutout. Bryan Rust scored an empty-net goal for his sixth 20-goal season, and Philip Tomasino scored against his former team. Pittsburgh acquired Tomasino in a trade with Nashville on Nov. 25. Erik Karlsson, an alternate captain for Sweden, had two assists. He reached 30 assists for the 12th time in his career, most among active defensemen.

Struggling Penguins place 2-time All-Star goaltender Tristan Jarry on waivers

A shot by Seattle Kraken’s Chandler Stephenson gets past Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry for a goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Penguins ran out of patience waiting for two-time All-Star goaltender Tristan Jarry to emerge from a slump, placing him on waivers Wednesday ahead of a pivotal seven-game road trip that could determine the course of the rest of their season.
The 29-year-old Jarry is 8-7-4 with a 3.32 goals against average and a .886 save percentage this season for Pittsburgh, which is on the fringe of the playoff race in the Eastern Conference due in large part to subpar play in net.
The Penguins have allowed an NHL-high 173 goals, with neither Jarry nor Alex Nedeljkovic establishing themselves behind a defense prone to lapses.
The Penguins will call up promising rookie Joel Blomqvist to join Nedeljkovic on the road trip, which starts on Friday in Buffalo. Blomqvist went 3-5 with a 3.60 goals against average and a .904 save percentage during a stint in Pittsburgh earlier in the season.
It seems unlikely a team would be willing to claim Jarry and pick up his salary, meaning Jarry will be reassigned to the Penguins’ American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton once he clears waivers.
“At this point, (I) just feel it’s best in the long run for the team and for Tristan to allow Joel to come up here,” Pittsburgh general manager Kyle Dubas said Wednesday. “We think over the past year-and-a-half, with his play in Wilkes-Barre and when he’s been up here with us, he’s earned the right to have a go at it.”
The decision comes 18 months after Dubas signed Jarry to a five-year deal with an average annual value of $5.375 million. Jarry was an All-Star in 2020 and 2022 but has struggled most of the last two seasons.
“He’s continued to come in here, put the work in and that’s not been a question at all,” Dubas said. “That just hasn’t materialized the way we would like it to on the ice. At this level, you get to the point where you have to do what’s right … for him and for us.”
Jarry ceded the starting job to Nedeljkovic last spring. While he reclaimed his spot atop the depth chart coming out of training camp, he stumbled out of the gate and was sent to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for a lengthy conditioning stint.
While there was a brief uptick in his play after he returned, Jarry has lost five straight starts and continues to struggle early in games. He’s allowed a goal on an opponent’s first shot six times this season and allowed a shorthanded goal on Seattle’s second shot in a 4-2 defeat to the Kraken on Tuesday.
“When you lose, this is the kind of stuff that can happen,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said Wednesday. “A goaltender already has a ton of pressure, and it’s difficult for us because we feel like as a team we’re responsible if we don’t give our goalies enough help sometimes. I think that’s the tough part.”
Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan, who took his team to task for defensive letdowns in the third period against the Kraken that opened up the door for Seattle’s comeback, believes there’s a chance Jarry will make his way back at some point.
“I don’t think you make the All-Star team twice if you don’t have a certain level of talent and you’re not capable of making timely saves,” Sullivan said. “So, I know that Tristan has it. I believe to my core that he’s an NHL goaltender.”
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL

Sebastian Aho’s overtime goal lifts Hurricanes to 4-3 win over the Penguins

Carolina Hurricanes’ Sebastian Aho (20) celebrates after a goal by teammate Jalen Chatfield (not shown) with Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic (39) nearby during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Raleigh, N.C., Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

BC-HKN–Penguins-Hurricanes

Jan 5, 2025 9:00 PM

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Sebastian Aho’s goal at 1:30 in overtime led the Carolina Hurricanes to a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday night. Aho added two assists. Seth Jarvis had two goals and Jalen Chatfield also scored for the Hurricanes, who improved to 3-0 against Pittsburgh this season. Dustin Tokarski had 16 saves for the Hurricanes. Kevin Hayes, Michael Bunting and Erik Karlsson scored for the Penguins. Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 26 shots for Pittsburgh.