Meet the teen hockey phenom who went from a backyard Yukon rink to the top WHL draft pick

Last hockey season was a good one for Gavin McKenna in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League's U18 division.

He was their top scorer with 65 points in 35 games. 

McKenna's outstanding performance led to him becoming the first overall draft pick by the Medicine Hat Tigers in the upcoming Western Hockey League (WHL) season.

"I kind of knew that I was bound to accomplish something," McKenna said from his Whitehorse home. "But, yeah, it came quick. So, uh, it was a bit surprising."

That's because McKenna is just 14 years old. 

With the first-overall pick in the 2022 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WHLDraft?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WHLDraft</a>, the <a href="https://twitter.com/tigershockey?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Tigershockey</a> select forward Gavin McKenna of the <a href="https://twitter.com/rha_kelowna?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@rha_kelowna</a>. <a href="https://t.co/NyKycBbsPI">pic.twitter.com/NyKycBbsPI</a>

According to the CSSHL, he's just the third player to be granted exceptional player status by B.C. Hockey and Hockey Alberta, behind the WHL's Connor Bedard and Matthew Savoie, who is a top prospect in the 2022 NHL draft taking place Thursday at 7 p.m. ET. 

The status gives players the rare privilege of entering the WHL at such an early age. 

Willie Desjardins, the head coach and general manager of the Medicine Hat Tigers, likes how McKenna plays, and he especially likes how McKenna leads in scoring.

"I want to win championships," said Desjardins. 

He's hoping McKenna, who turns 15 in December, can help do that, even though WHL rules say he can only play five games this season because of his age. 

Fourteen-year-old Gavin McKenna has become the first Yukoner to be the 1st top draft pick for the WHL. <a