'It Felt Longer': How Maple Leafs' McKenna Survived His First Week Under The Microscope

The monkey is finally off Gavin McKenna's back.

And by monkey, we mean the big, bad media.

It took only four games for the No. 1 pick to record his first NHL goal and assist, but for McKenna — whose first week in the NHL had reporters tracking his morning skate attendance and wondering if he should be sent down to the minors — those first three games without a point must have felt like three months.

"Yeah, I'd say it felt longer," said McKenna, smiling after he recorded two points in a 5-4 overtime win for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday.

Welcome to life under the microscope. 

The constant attention, which McKenna called his "welcome to the NHL moment", can be stifling for a young player, especially one who is only 18 and is still navigating life outside of the Yukon Territory.

Maybe that's why veteran John Tavares opened up his home to McKenna this year. And why Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews invited McKenna to his place for a sleepover on Sunday, in hopes of settling the youngster down. 

The Maple Leafs are being super careful with their golden goose. They're not sheltering him, but they're also trying to avoid another Mitch Marner situation and have McKenna sour on the city before he even finds his bearings. 

Of course, scoring a goal and picking up an assist in a comeback win will help in that regard.

"They've been awesome, honestly," McKenna said of Matthews and Tavares, two first-overall picks who know first-hand what McKenna is going through. "Living at John's, I've learned a lot from him, so to have my first point from him is pretty special. And with Auston, we had a little sleepover on Sunday, so I might have to do that and have a weekly sleepover now.

"But I've learned so much from those two. They've been very special to me and they’ve helped me a lot."

It was prior to the start of the season when New Jersey's Jack Hughes told The Hockey News that Toronto was perhaps the best possible destination for McKenna to land as a No. 1 pick.

For one, they have a good team. But more importantly, they have Tavares and Matthews, a couple of No. 1 overall picks who know first-hand what McKenna is going through and who can help him navigate the pressures of being a top pick.

"He might be set up for the best spot," said Hughes. "There’s no better person in the league for him to listen to than Auston Matthews, because (he) went through all that stuff 10 years ago, so it should be a great setup for him."

At the same time, there are some things that McKenna had to experience for himself.

While he's had eyeballs on him ever since the Medicine Hat Tigers selected him with the first pick in the 2022 WHL Draft, nothing could have prepared him for his first week in the NHL. From his very first game, there have been questions about why McKenna skipped an optional morning skate and whether being the second-lightest player in the league was cause for concern.

It can be a bit much.

But if there is anything McKenna has learned in his first week in the NHL, it's that pressure is a privilege. The reason why fans are demanding — and sometimes overly critical — is because they care.

While McKenna experienced the extreme lows of what it's like to have all those prying eyes on you, the reaction he received from a sold-out Scotiabank Arena after picking up an assist and then scoring his first goal was the cortisol high of what to expect when things in Toronto are going good.

"Definitely feeling the love from the fans," said McKenna. "Obviously, I kind of dealt with it throughout the years. But coming here, it's a little bit more. I just think doing your best to try to block it out. At the end of the day, it's a privilege to have those people watching you and wanting to see you succeed."

It's not just the fans who want to see McKenna succeed. Matthews, who set up McKenna's first NHL goal, sounded like a proud older brother after McKenna assisted on Tavares' goal and then scored his first on a feed from Matthews.

"It can be tough when you don't score for a little bit," said Matthews, who as a rookie scored four goals in his NHL debut. "It just kind of gives you a little boost. He scores the goal and gives you another little boost. He's got all the confidence in the world in himself in the best way possible.

"But, obviously, when you find the back of the net, it obviously helps. And it was great to see him and get that moment, and enjoy that. It's very well deserved."

Taking a pass from Matthews at the top of the right faceoff circle, McKenna fired a wrist shot over the shoulder of Predators goalie Juuse Saros at 14:31 in the second period. The Tuesday night crowd roared in applause.

When asked about the goal, Matthews offered a one-word description:

"Beautiful."

Indeed, the goal provided a glimpse of what’s to come — not just from McKenna, who scored 41 goals in 56 games during his final season in the WHL, but also from the tandem of McKenna and Matthews, who everyone expects will be playing together on a line soon enough.

Of course, all that will have to wait. 

In what was a reminder of just how up-and-down this rookie season for McKenna will likely go, the youngster was dropped to the third line for most of the third period as coach Jim Hiller put his lines in a blender. Chances are that reporters will be asking about the rookie's perceived demotion at the next media availability.

But after the week that McKenna experienced, he's probably already used to it.

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