“The McKenna Project,” a film following Penn State hockey player Gavin McKenna’s journey to become projected No. 1 pick in the NHL Draft, will premiere on Thursday after game one of the Eastern Conference Final.

The film is a full-length documentary tracing McKenna’s path from Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, to the 2026 NHL Draft, with a focus on his season at Penn State.

“The McKenna Project is a rare, unfiltered look at the human story behind the hype, capturing a young man navigating stardom, sacrifice, and the pressure of living up to a legacy that hasn’t yet
been written,” a release from Words + Pictures Studios, which produced the documentary, said.

The film crew was allowed to follow McKenna around for the season, getting inside access to the pressure and drama the Nittany Lion forward faced throughout the year. Key moments from the season, such as the Forks Down celebration against Arizona State and his bronze medal at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, will also be shown.

“Throughout the year, I guess what impressed me most is just his ability to handle an unbelievable amount of pressure, and sometimes unrealistic expectations,” the film’s director, Matthew Chase, told NHL.com. “The goalposts are always moving on him, and they don’t move like that for other prospects.”

The documentary also takes a trip with McKenna to his home in Canada to meet his grandfather, Joe Mason. Mason was a survivor of the First Nations residential schools, something McKenna still holds with him.

“Knowing he could go through all that stuff and still get to where he’s at today, I can’t take anything for granted,” McKenna said. “If I’ve got something going on in my life that’s hard, I know it’s nothing compared to what he’s gone through. Been a huge motivator for me, especially when times are hard.”

The game between the Montreal Canadiens and the Carolina Hurricanes starts at 8 p.m. and will likely last about three hours. The documentary will air directly after on TNT.