McKown may be a classic late bloomer, depending on how you look at things. The California native was relegated into depth minutes with the USNTDP in his draft year, which led to his rights going unclaimed despite being ranked somewhere in the later rounds. That season, he scored just one goal and 8 assists in 41 games, split between the U17 and U18 squads.
He headed to Colorado College (NCAA) as an 18 year old, again playing depth minutes but producing fairly well for a young player at that level; scoring 2 goals and 6 points in 23 games as a freshman.