Gavin McKenna had already bagged two goals when the puck landed on his stick in stride.
There has been plenty of talk about the 18-year-old phenom no longer being the unquestioned No. 1 overall pick at the 2026 NHL draft.
With a quick flick of the wrists and an ice-cold finish, he showed why many still believe his name still belongs at the top of the list.
McKenna scored three times, including a breathtaking finish to complete his hat trick, as Canada finally flexed its muscles at the world junior championship in a 9-1 victory over Denmark on Monday in Minneapolis.
“It’s something you dream of as a kid,” the Yukon product said his big night in front of his family. “Felt pretty good.”
With the Canadians already cruising in the third period, McKenna took a pass off the rush, moved in alone on Patrick Tiedjin and faked a shot before sliding the puck around the helpless Danish netminder.
“He’s got all the skill,” said captain Porter Martone, who finished with two goals and an assist. “I don’t know why people are questioning him.”
Those doubts have crept into some draft circles for a talent who put up a 129 points in 56 games last season for the Western Hockey League’s Medicine Hat Tigers, but has just 18 through 16 contests since joining Penn State in the NCAA as he competes against bigger and stronger opposition.
“He showed everyone the world-class talent,” said Braeden Cootes, who scored once against Denmark. “I think he’ll go No. 1, for sure. There’s noise and all that, but he’s a special guy.”
From the Yukon to Penn State: Who is Gavin McKenna?
Michael Misa scored once and set up two more for Canada, while Zayne Parekh and Kashawn Aitcheson each added a goal and an assist. Carter George had to make just 12 saves. Brady Martin registered three assists, while Michael Hage, Tij Iginla and Caleb Desnoyers chipped in two apiece.
Frederick Amondsen replied for Denmark, which is taking part in the men’s under-20 showcase for the first time since the 2019 event. The under-siege Tiedjin finished with 41 stops.
“We moved the puck around,” Canadian head coach Dale Hunter said. “We scored some nice goals, but for a coach, it’s always the defensive side of it. We played well that way.”
Canada, which is looking to get back atop the podium after consecutive quarterfinal exits, improved to 7-0 all-time against Denmark with a combined score of 59-5.
The Canadians, who thumped the same opponent 13-2 in exhibition play, now turn their attention to a New Year’s Eve clash with Finland for first in Group B ahead of the medal round.
Coming off a back-and-forth 7-5 victory against Czechia and a nervy 2-1 overtime triumph versus Latvia where Canada never got in gear against a determined underdog, the hockey powerhouse tilted the ice early — and never really let up.
McKenna scored on a power play early in the first period before Cootes, a Vancouver Canucks prospect, ripped a shot upstairs at 3M Arena on the University of Minnesota campus.
Parekh, who has played 11 games for the Calgary Flames this season, made it 3-0 with Denmark forward Tristan Petersen struggling to get back to his team’s bench minus a skate blade at the other end of the rink.
Aitcheson then delivered a thunderous hit on Oliver Larsen along the boards in an opening 20 minutes that finished with a 15-1 shot advantage as an opponent with just one NHL draft pick struggled to keep up with the talent-rich North Americans.
Denmark got on the board on only its second shot 28 seconds into the second when Amondsen jumped on a turnover and roofed a puck on George.
“Tough one mentally to stay in,” said the goaltender. “It was a good team win, and glad we got the win. But there’s definitely a lot of waiting around. I just tried finding different ways to stay in it mentally.”
Martone restored the three-goal lead for Canada, which last faced the Danes at the world juniors on Boxing Day 2018 in Vancouver when the hosts picked up an emphatic 14-0 victory following an 8-0 whitewash the previous year in Buffalo, on a man advantage.
Tiedjin robbed Iginla later in the period with a terrific glove stop before McKenna buried his second to make it 5-1.
Misa, the No. 2 pick at the 2025 draft by the San Jose Sharks, scored in the third. McKenna followed that up with his hat-trick effort 64 seconds later on that slick move around Tiedjin before Aitcheson and Martone rounded out the scoring.
“That’s just his hockey mind and his skill just showing off,” Martone said of McKenna. “A lot of hockey players would shoot that, but he has the patience, he sees the goalie bite and tucks around him.”
“I was just laughing,” Parekh added. “It was pretty sick. That’s just the stuff he does.”
The games are only going to get harder. Canada will be looking for more of the same.
Gavin McKenna finishes the hat trick IN STYLE! 🎩🎩🎩<br><br>Gavin McKenna complète son tour du chapeau AVEC ÉCLAT! 🎩🎩🎩<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldJuniors?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#WorldJuniors</a> | <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/MondialJunior?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#MondialJunior</a> <a href=”https://t.co/F8kEhJtWYG”>pic.twitter.com/F8kEhJtWYG</a>
Boston College forward James Hagens scored in a 1:03 span late in the second period and early in the third and the United States overcame a two-goal deficit to beat Slovakia 6-5.
Hagens, from Hauppauge, N.Y., tied it 4-4 with 45 seconds left in the second, then gave the Americans the lead 18 seconds into the third.
The U.S. matched Sweden at 3-0 in Group A play ahead of their New Year’s Eve showdown. In the early game, Sweden had four power-play goals in an 8-1 romp over Germany.
“We have to be careful with some things like taking too long shifts or getting stuck on the blue lines,” Swedish captain Jack Berglund said. “Stuff like that can punish us against the U.S. If we have a bad change, bad turnover, they will come with speed. We need to be ready for that.”
Caleb Heil backstopped the U.S. in goal. He’s from Victoria, Minn., and plays for Madison in the United States Hockey League. Fellow Minnesotans Brendan McMorrow and Will Zellers scored. McMorrow is from Lakeville and plays at Denver. Zellers, from Maple Grove, plays for North Dakota.
Lee Ryker of Michigan State and AJ Spellacy of Windsor of the OHL added goals. Tomas Chrenko scored twice for Slovakia.
In the opener, Swedish captain Jack Berglund, Anton Frondell and Viggo Bjorck each scored twice.
“We had, from the start, good energy,” Berglund said. “We came at them hard.”
Elsewhere in Group B at the University of Minnesota, Adam Jiricek scored at 3:39 of overtime to give Czech Republic a 2-1 victory over Finland.
Czech Republic won after Emil Hemming tied it for Finland with 19.3 seconds left in regulation.
Finland’s Veeti Vaisanen received a major penalty and game misconduct for cross-checking at 1:06 of the first period.
Matej Kubiesa scored 46 seconds later on the power play, snapping a shot past Petteri Rimpinen. The Finns spent seven of the first 10 minutes short-handed.
