McKenna Watch

[GioforPM]

Makes great passes his linemates can’t finish? Huberdeau commiserates. Only Kadri has been a relatively consistent scorer for him.

[Vinny01]

Of the 3 top 10 picks that transferred from the CHL to the NCAA it appears to be going good for only one of them and that is Porter Martone the 6th pick from the past draft and flyers pick.

McQueen (10th in 2025) and Lindstrom (4th in 2024) have some poor numbers. No goals for either

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Makes great passes his linemates can’t finish? Huberdeau commiserates. Only Kadri has been a relatively consistent scorer for him.

One of the reasons I think McKenna would actually be a great, great fit on the Flames is we’re in desperate need of another pure playmaker. We have a bunch of guys who can muck around the net and a couple guys with great shots. McKenna perimeter play and ability to pass through traffic takes a ton of heat off Huberdeau and gives us two lines (two whole lines!) where someone can facilitate passing plays.

Add Parekh on the backend and you can start to dream about what the power play could do.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Have they? I don’t recall reading that but I’m interested in hearing their argument over it, could you point it out?

He is a playmaker, yes. But as I said, there’s the kind that can utilize their line mates regardless of skill and the kind that need a certain calibre of line mates to convert. You look at Patrick Kane and he was very much a player that could do it all by himself and elevate anyone. Outside of when they stick McDavid and Draisaitl together, a lot of the stars in the NHL play with younger players or pluggy kind of guys that you wouldn’t expect, and do really really well doing it.

Sure. And McKenna was already doing it by himself, and elevating the people around him, last year at the WJs, having just turned 17. And it's interesting that you use Kane in your example, because I think he is one of the best comparables for McKenna.

[stemit14]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

Of the 3 top 10 picks that transferred from the CHL to the NCAA it appears to be going good for only one of them and that is Porter Martone the 6th pick from the past draft and flyers pick.

McQueen (10th in 2025) and Lindstrom (4th in 2024) have some poor numbers. No goals for either

Depending on how it goes for McKenna this year, I could see CHL players being more cautious about going the NCAA route in their draft year. If McKenna stayed in junior and just kept lifting up the same league, no questions or concerns about his draft position would likely be discussed right now. NCAA is a tougher league and might not be the right fit for every player depending on their play style and physical maturity.

I still think McKenna should go first overall though and I’m sure he’ll produce more as his NCAA season goes along.

[jg13]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1989120649349231098

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Sure. And McKenna was already doing it by himself, and elevating the people around him, last year at the WJs, having just turned 17. And it's interesting that you use Kane in your example, because I think he is one of the best comparables for McKenna.

Me too, as I mentioned previously, which is why I brought Kane up again.

McKenna is just going to have to learn to do the same at higher levels. He’ll get there.