As the Penn State men’s hockey team continues its midseason pause, the international stage comes into play.

Two of the sport’s most well-known and prestigious tournaments, the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and the Spengler Cup, start on Friday, December 26.

Gavin McKenna, the freshman phenom, will be on Team Canada and compete in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Guy Gadowsky and other Nittany Lions are headed to Davos, Switzerland, to compete.

Let’s take a look at both of the competitions.

World Junior Ice Hockey Championships

McKenna and Jackson Smith were both invited to Ontario to train with Team Canada ahead of the tournament. Smith was cut after the first pre-tournament game against Sweden. With the first couple of cuts made, Team Canada is close to finalizing the roster, which will include McKenna.

McKenna is one of the top 2026 draft prospects headed into the tournament. He has 18 points so far on the season, with four goals and 14 assists.

In the first pre-tournament game against Sweden, McKenna had two assists. He set up each goal for Nashville prospect Brady Martin. He was said to be stellar in the game and very easy to play with, according to Martin.

In the second game against Sweden on Saturday, McKenna did something completely out of the ordinary…he scored on his own net.

GAVIN MCKENNA SCORES… for Sweden pic.twitter.com/phXojiCOmQ

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 21, 2025

Team Canada lost that night, and McKenna did not have any points except for the one he scored for Sweden.

McKenna and Team Canada are set to face Latvia on Friday, December 26. The rosters are still being finalized.

Spengler Cup

On August 15, Penn State men’s hockey head coach Guy Gadowsky was announced as the United States Collegiate Select Team ahead of the 2025 Spengler Cup. He would then bring five other Nittany Lions to Switzerland with him.

Aiden Fink and Mac Gadowsky were named to the team as part of the first five added to the roster. Each of the first five who were named are returning AHCA/CCM All-American.

Fink has nine points on the season with two goals and seven assists. He was on a roll until he was injured against Ohio State. It was announced that he would not return until after the winter break. Last season, Fink was announced as a Hobey Baker Award Top-10 Finalist.

Gadowsky was also named a Hobey Baker Award Top-10 Finalist. He spent the past two seasons at Army, where he recorded 65 points. This season, he has five assists.

Charlie Cerrato was named to the team later on in the season. He was then joined by his linemates JJ Wiebusch and Matt DiMarsico on the roster.

With only 16 games into the season, Cerrato has five goals and 16 assists. He is sitting at No. 2 in assists per game and No. 15 in total points.

Wiebusch is along the same track as Cerrato. He is tied at No. 21 for points with 19 points on the season. DiMarsico is at No. 43 for points with 17. The line has been electric so far this season.

The trio totals 57 points so far, and now, they take the international stage. This is the first time in the history of the Spengler Cup that the whole squad is NCAA players.

 The United States Collegiate Selects will face Team Canada to open play on December 26.