Felony charge against top NHL prospect Gavin McKenna dropped - ESPN

Penn State hockey star Gavin McKenna will have his felony aggravated assault charge dropped, the Centre County District Attorney's Office announced Friday.

McKenna, the consensus first overall pick in this June's NHL draft, was charged on four counts by the State College Police Department stemming from an altercation on Jan. 31, the same day 74,575 fans watched the Penn State men's hockey team play an outdoor game against Michigan State at Beaver Stadium.

The District Attorney's Office said that while the aggravated assault charge has been dropped — which could have earned McKenna a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison per Pennsylvania state law — prosecution will go forward with misdemeanor simple assault and other summary charges «as they relate to the serious injuries suffered by the victim.» McKenna has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

The police complaint alleged that a man was punched twice on the right side of his face by McKenna following an exchange of words between the man's group and a group of people with McKenna, who had attended «a hockey event» at Doggie's Pub after the Beaver Stadium game.

The complaint further alleged that the man sustained fractures to both sides of his jaw, which would require surgery, and that he was missing a tooth. But a follow-up by State College Police confirmed that the man suffered two fractures to one side of his jaw and found no missing tooth. The man had surgery and is recovering.

McKenna, 18, was initially charged with first-degree felony aggravated assault, which is defined as «attempts to cause serious bodily injury or causes injury with extreme indifference»; misdemeanor simple assault; and two summary counts of disorderly conduct for harassment and