Aiden McKenna provides professional experience to Oswego State men’s hockey
A new season of collegiate hockey brings in a new wave of freshmen, but Oswego State’s freshman goalie Aiden McKenna brings something to the team that no one else has: professional experience.
The Webster, New York, native is one of a few players in Division III hockey who have also been invited to an NHL team’s development camp. The Buffalo Sabres put him on their 2024 camp roster, amongst many high-end draft picks they have selected in the NHL Draft.
Given that McKenna would be working with an NHL team, the opportunity itself wasn’t just exciting – it had local ties to him being a native of Western New York.
“The Sabres were my favorite team growing up,” McKenna said. “I just was so excited and I couldn’t believe it. I showed my parents, they couldn’t believe it. Being at that camp has been my dream – being with the Sabres has been a dream since I was young.”
Outside of being from the Western New York area, McKenna had other local ties that helped him to gain attention from the organization. He was part of the Buffalo Jr. Sabres program from 2021 to 2024, mostly playing with the youth teams. For the 2023-2024 season, McKenna got to play with the Jr. Sabres in the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL), posting a .897 save percentage, 2.89 goals against average and a 20-13 record through 36 games.
His time with the Jr. Sabres wasn’t only impressive to his favorite NHL team, it was even impressive to his then-head coach Sean Wallace.
“He stole us a game vs. St. Mikes with a shutout,” Wallace said. “It was a tremendous performance…Aiden was always very well-liked by his teammates. It’s all about getting good people.”
McKenna then spent the 2024-2025 season with the Northeast Generals in the North American Hockey League (NAHL), before receiving the call from Buffalo.
“I was actually on a plane going to Omaha to their training camp and I got a text from my agent, telling me that I got invited to the camp,” McKenna said. “I guess the GM (Kevyn Adams) has seen me play a bunch. I guess he liked my game and he wanted me to come as an undrafted Invite.”
The Sabres had 29 players on the development camp roster, including two other goalies that McKenna got to work with. Topias Leinonen was selected by the organization in the second round of the 2022 NHL Draft, while Scott Ratzlaff was drafted by the team in the fifth round of 2023. Both players saw McKenna, who was the only undrafted goalie on the team, as an equal.
“On the first day, they were super friendly,” McKenna said. “They welcomed me right in. If they ever saw something that I could add to my game, they’d let me know and they did it in a super nice, kind way.”
The camp was open to the public and ran for the first four days of July at the LECOM Harborcenter, where McKenna played when with the Jr. Sabres. Practicing and playing in front of a large number of people brought him nerves, but he embraced it.
“There’s always nerves when I play – but I think the nerves are good,” McKenna said. “They keep me honest with my game – pressure is a privilege. I just took every opportunity I got and I was happy to be there. I just had fun with it and I had a nice shootout win in that scrimmage (3v3 Tournament).”
Although McKenna never got a professional contract from the Sabres, he remained determined to pursue the collegiate route for hockey. He initially committed to Division I Vermont at 16 years old, although a visit to Oswego State – a school that is just over an hour away from his hometown of Webster – changed his mind.
Originally for the Lakers, though, trying to recruit McKenna was a shot in the dark.
“Aiden’s recruiting process was actually quite late and it actually occurred after Ed (Gosek’s) retirement,” Lakers interim head coach Jon Whitelaw said. “We had him on our radar, but he was a player at the time who was committed to Vermont. I can’t say we were actively pursuing him at that point. When we did have a goalie that we had committed and landed in Division I elsewhere, that’s when we kind of went back on the market and started to have conversations with Aiden about his future.”
Outside of the need for a goalie, Whitelaw liked what he saw from McKenna. It wasn’t just the stats, though, that he posted in both of his stints at the junior hockey level.
“He can play the puck well, and I think that was one thing that we were looking for,” Whitelaw said. “Aiden’s strength is his ability to work side-to-side and to cover the net low. It’s very difficult to beat him in those situations – he’s a kid that can make a big save when you need it because of his athleticism.”
With a pair of other goalies rostered, McKenna will face some competition for playing time this season. After Brandon Milberg graduated last season, it left sophomore Michael Manzi and junior Gavin McCarthy as the remaining netminders on the roster. Manzi started in 17 of 19 games last season, while McCarthy saw action in seven games and recorded a trio of wins.
Even with the intense competition in a loaded goalie room, McKenna remains unfazed.
“The competitive part makes us all better…we all push each other so much harder since we’re all very good goaltenders,” McKenna said. “It’s all part of the game, so we never get too far into it, but it’s always good to be competitive and push each other. I think it makes our goaltending so much better.”
McKenna and the No. 12 Lakers will kick off regular season action this Friday, as they make the long trip to De Pere, Wisconsin, for a gritty back-to-back test with No. 4 St. Norbert on Oct. 30 and 31.