While Penn State men’s hockey will not play in the month of December in the midst of a prolonged holiday break, many members of their roster will be playing internationally.

On Christmas Day, star freshman forward Gavin McKenna was officially named to Team Canada’s final roster for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championships.

Check out the 2⃣5⃣ to get us started on Boxing Day!

Et voici les 2⃣5⃣ joueurs qui donneront le coup d’envoi pour le Canada au lendemain de Noël! #WorldJuniors | #MondialJunior pic.twitter.com/XASYo43ODY

— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) December 25, 2025

The World Junior Championships are an annual tournament that features the best young talent that hockey has to offer. Any player born in 2006 or later is eligible to compete in the tournament, and the tournament is not limited to players in college hockey or the Canadian Hockey League, as even some players who are already signed to NHL rosters will compete.

McKenna, along with defenseman Jackson Smith, was initially named to a 27-man training camp roster on December 8 and participated in a lengthy evaluation process that included several exhibition games. When it came time to cut down the final roster to 25, McKenna made the cut, while Smith was released.

McKenna, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft, is tied for fourth among all freshmen in points in the first half of what could be his lone collegiate season, posting four goals and 14 assists for 18 points in 16 games. Despite a mountain of expectations, the 17-year-old has been the quarterback of the Penn State power play and figures to be a key part of Team Canada’s offense as they try to bounce back after the United States won the previous two tournaments.

The star freshman played in last year’s World Juniors as the youngest player on the roster, while Smith won gold at the 2025 IIHF U18 World Championships, scoring four goals in seven games. He joins just two other Nittany Lions ever to participate in World Juniors, joining Aarne Talvitie and Evan Barratt, representing Finland and the United States, respectively, in 2019.

He’s expected to be a big fixture of Team Canada’s pursuit of their first World Juniors’ title since 2023, doing it alongside many other college hockey stars like Michigan State’s Porter Martone and Michigan’s Michael Hage and Jack Ivankovic. The roster also includes the San Jose Sharks’ Michael Misa, a former No. 2 overall pick and brother of Penn State’s Luke Misa, as well as top 2026 NHL Draft prospect Keaton Verhoeff.

He will not be the only Nittany Lion playing in international tournaments, as head coach Guy Gadowsky and five players will be heading to Switzerland to represent college hockey on the U.S. Collegiate Selects team at the Spengler Cup, beginning on December 26.

The 2026 World Junior Championships will be played from December 26 to January 5, 2026, in Minneapolis. Due to the timing of the tournament, McKenna is expected to miss the home-and-home series against RIT to start the second half of the season on January 3-4.