Gavin Mckenna Honors Grandfather With Tattoo at Buffalo Combine — Gavin Mckenna 2026 Nhl Draft
Gavin McKenna used the gavin mckenna 2026 nhl draft stage in Buffalo to show more than his skating and measurements. At the 2026 NHL Scouting Combine, the projected No. 1 pick displayed a tattoo on his right forearm that honors his grandfather, Joe Mason, and his Indigenous roots.
The tattoo is not decorative filler. McKenna said one side of the forearm shows a cabin in the mountains in the Yukon Territory near Whitehorse, while the other side features a moose and a wolf. The combine is taking place this week at KeyBank Center and LECOM HarborCenter, where NHL teams interview prospects and run physical and medical assessments before the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft.
McKenna’s right forearm
“This is my cabin that my grandpa built,” McKenna said in Buffalo. He said the cabin in the tattoo was his grandfather’s cabin, and that his mom and sister got the same tattoo with the coordinates.
He also tied the design to family and heritage. “These are the coordinates and the mountains. My mom and sister got the same tattoo with the coordinates. And then I'm obviously Indigenous, so our clan animal is a wolf, and my grandpa, we all grew up hunting moose. I'm yet to shoot my first moose, so moose is obviously a big part in our family.”
That mix of family history and identity came through again when he described the man behind it. Joe Mason is a survivor of the Canadian Indian residential school system, and Mason shared stories in The McKenna Project documentary that debuted on TNT on May 21.
Joe Mason’s family story
McKenna said one story about Mason has stuck with him. “One story that's always stuck with me was when he was a young kid, he was on a school trip and was left out in the mountains to pretty much just survive,” he said.
He added that Mason was left there without a ride back. “He wasn't worth the gas money of getting flown back into town, so he had to survive on his own out there for three or four days.”
That memory has become part of how he handles pressure. “So he's gone through a lot, and I'm obviously very grateful for what he's done for me, and how big of a motivator he's been for me,” McKenna said. “He's gone through so much in his life and dealt with so much.”
Combine eyes on McKenna
McKenna’s tattoo drew attention because he arrived at a combine built to scrutinize top prospects, and he remains the name at the center of the 2026 draft conversation. His story line in Buffalo is not just about a prospect under evaluation; it is about what he chose to carry onto the ice-level stage in front of NHL teams.
He also linked Mason’s experience to the criticism that can follow a high-profile player. “For me, I use that as a huge motivator, and I know if something's going on in my life, I'm getting flamed on Twitter or whatever it is, it's nothing compared to what he had to go through, and the way he had to survive.”
That is the part of the combine that sticks: while teams are measuring prospects this week, McKenna brought a family story, a clan symbol, and a personal reminder of resilience to the same setting.
