No. 1 overall draft pick Gavin McKenna is expected to make his NHL debut Saturday night when his Toronto Maple Leafs host the Montreal Canadiens in a preseason game.
He was Toronto’s first No. 1 overall pick since Auston Matthews was selected in 2016.
McKenna, 18, is expected to slot in at left wing on a line with center John Tavares and right wing William Nylander after practicing with them in the opening days of training camp.
“He’s found them a lot with a lot pucks,” Toronto coach Jim Hiller said of McKenna, per NHL.com. “So, when you have three guys who can find each other and you’re not relying on one guy and maybe the second guy, the way I see it is there is three guys who are moving it around pretty well.”
Matthews, the Maple Leafs’ captain, said he likes what he has seen from McKenna, who played one season at Penn State.
“He’s great, he plays with a lot of confidence,” Matthews said. “I think he’s come in right away and found his groove. You can tell when he’s on the ice and has the puck, the kind of skill, and the plays that he can make. … I think he’s fitting really well with those guys, and fitting really well with the team so far and seems very comfortable and has the confidence that he knows he’s a great player, and that he can play at this level, too.”
McKenna was a star freshman at Penn State, where he tallied 51 points (15 goals, 36 assists) in 35 games. He also played for Team Canada in the 2026 World Junior Championships, where he notched 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in seven games for the bronze medalists.
He is a native of Whitehorse, the capital of Canada’s Yukon territory.
