On draft lottery night, I was at the Toronto Marlies game, watching the team get shut out by the Laval Rockets. Luckily, I was the bad luck charm; congratulations to the Marlies for getting another Calder Cup! I’ve never witnessed an arena lose its mind over something that didn’t happen on the ice, like everyone did when we simultaneously got the notification that the Toronto Maple Leafs had won the draft lottery. It is astonishing how the Leafs have been able to turn the vibes around in two months thanks to a ping-pong ball. But who is the young player upon whom all our hopes and dreams as a franchise are being put?
Gavin McKenna, obviously
Gavin McKenna was projected to be the number one pick in his draft class by pretty much everyone for over a year now. The eighteen-year-old left winger from Whitehorse, Yukon, is the first Indigenous (Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation) hockey player from Canada to be drafted first in the NHL in almost 50 years.
He was also drafted first in the WHL in 2022 to the Medicine Hat Tigers. During his final playoffs with the team in 2025, he had 38 points in 16 games and a +14 rating. The Tigers lost to the London Knights in the Memorial Cup Finals, where McKenna and new Maple Leaf (and winning Marlie) Easton Cowan faced each other. McKenna set a CHL record with a 54-game point streak in that final season.
The year of McKenna
McKenna has had, for lack of a better word, an intense six months. He started the year by winning Bronze at the World Juniors and playing in all seven games. He had 14 points (4 goals, 10 assists) and a +/- of +7. During his freshman college season with Penn State, McKenna logged 51 points in 35 games. He ranked #2 in the NCAA in points per game. He trailed just slightly behind Ethan Wyttenbach, who was drafted last year by the Calgary Flames.
As anyone who follows hockey even a little knows, the terms “franchise player” and “generational prospect” were being thrown around about McKenna a lot this year. Whether or not his stats back up these hopes will be debated for the rest of his career.
The play
The inescapable commentary about McKenna is his deception. He is an undeniable strategist. He’s not a selfish player. His highlights are filled with him creating gorgeous scoring chances for his teammates. His goals-to-assists ratio this last season (15:36) reflects this.
At 5’11” and 170 lbs, he’s small, allowing him to be extra fast. In his freshman year, McKenna successfully manipulated defencemen up to eight years older than him. He’s especially fast on his edges, but not afraid to get in the way defensively and stop chances.
Media circus
Unfortunately, due to the media circus around him this year, we can’t talk about McKenna’s year without mentioning that there was a moment this winter where McKenna’s Draft eligibility was on the line. He was charged with “first-degree felony aggravated assault” in Pennsylvania when he “allegedly struck a 21-year-old male in the face, resulting in facial injuries that required surgery.” The felony charges were dropped, but the misdemeanour charges remain. McKenna and his family have not made a public statement about the incident. McKenna continued to play for Penn State for the remainder of the season.
Honestly, it is incredibly interesting that even combined with the arrest earlier this year, McKenna is a branding dream for the NHL and the Maple Leafs. After this abysmal season and major management and coaching shifts, the Leafs needed someone to bring the fans hope. Who better than a young Canadian potential hero who isn’t afraid of the spotlight?
When asked about McKenna ahead of the draft, John Chayka said, “He’s a unique player, a unique person. Amazing story. Never had a skills coach until he was 13, didn’t have a skating coach until he was 13, not in the gym until he’s 15, just you know, that Canadian story of being out in the rink and love of the game and passion for the game.”
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