John Tavares has been a mentor for the Toronto Maple Leafs on and off the ice, and his latest decision to welcome first-overall pick Gavin McKenna into his home is just another example of his commitment to being a leader.
There are only 16 teams in the NHL that have a former first-overall pick on their active roster, and there are just four teams with two of them.
Then there are the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are set to have three No. 1 picks in their lineup this season — captain Auston Matthews, veteran pivot John Tavares, and now Gavin McKenna.
Having not one, but two sounding boards for McKenna who have been in his position is a luxury for the Maple Leafs that is rare in the NHL. And mentorship for young players is something Tavares takes pride in.
The 35-year-old spoke with The Hockey News’ Michael Traikos at the NHL-NHLPA North American Player Media Tour on Wednesday about how he plans to tutor McKenna as the 18-year-old phenom acclimatizes to the professional level.
“You're a rookie once in the NHL and have this amazing opportunity to just enjoy it, be driven, compete your ass off and have fun with it,” Tavares said of McKenna. “There's going to be ups and downs, but that's part of the journey.
"You get to live your dream. You've been thinking about this for as long as you can remember, and you've really got to enjoy it."
Tavares revealed that McKenna will be living with him throughout the 2026-27 season. It’s a tradition around the NHL for veterans to take rookies under their wing for at least their first year, and Tavares said he and the organization are giving McKenna all the help he could ever want as he finds his footing as a professional athlete.
Billeting McKenna is a way of paying it forward for the aid and assistance Tavares received as a member of the New York Islanders in his rookie year of 2009-10, when he lived with veteran Doug Weight.
He has famously opened his home to a handful of the Maple Leafs' previous prospects, including Easton Cowan and Fraser Minten in recent years.
“I really enjoy that opportunity and that mentorship type of aspect," Tavares said. "Hopefully when (McKenna) can come home, he can kind of decompress and disconnect and just be part of that family environment. I think that can be really beneficial.”
The other thing Tavares made crystal clear was how thoroughly impressed he already is with McKenna. Depending on the strategy of new head coach Jim Hiller, Tavares and McKenna could not only be linemates, but they also could be on the same power-play unit.
Considering that Tavares has scored 69 goals in the past two seasons combined, McKenna’s sublime offense-creating skills could push Tavares to the 40-goal plateau for the first time since his first year with the Maple Leafs in 2018-19.
While it's far too early to project how things will shake out on the ice, Tavares has faith in the rookie as a player and as a person.
“He's an unbelievable kid,” Tavares said of McKenna. “I've been very impressed with how well he carries himself. I always say, too, it's a lot of benefit for me as well.
"I really enjoy, whether it was Easton Cowan last year and now Gavin this year — even when (Matthew Knies) came on board — just how they see things, how they play the game, their perspective on things, experiencing things for the first few times, and just a lot of fun to see that enthusiasm, that energy, that excitement."
There could be significant highs and lows for McKenna this season, and young players usually don’t realize what a huge machine the Maple Leafs are off the ice until they’re in the belly of the beast.
Being thrusted into the spotlight at a young age can be difficult for any player, let alone a kid who grew up in a town with less than 40,000 people. However, Tavares believes
“Being 18 years old and from a small town and a more remote place out in the Yukon and a remote place in Canada — that can be really positive for him,” Tavares said of McKenna. "When it does feel heavy at times or when it is a lot and going through it for the first time, he has that ability to kind of just be in a family environment.
"You just want him to go out there and enjoy all the great things about being a Maple Leaf, living his dream playing in the NHL and the opportunity to play for an unbelievable fan base that's going to love him and support him."
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