McKenna (5-foot-11, 162 pounds) is the most high-profile prospect to go from the CHL to the NCAA. He ranks first in points per game (2.30) among players in their draft-minus-one season in the CHL in the past 25 years, ahead of Sidney Crosby (2.29), John Tavares (2.00), and Connor Bedard (1.61).

McKenna, who turns 18 in December, is regarded as a generational talent and has for the past two years been projected as the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL draft.

Here's where the landscape stands after McKenna became the most high-profile player to go from the CHL to the NCAA.