The Chicago Blackhawks had their eyes on Gavin McKenna, who grew up a fan, for a long time. Instead, he will be a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The 2026 NHL Draft is underway. The Toronto Maple Leafs, who won the Draft Lottery earlier in the spring, made the first overall pick.
With this selection, they took Penn State forward Gavin McKenna, who grew up a fan of the Chicago Blackhawks. McKenna also modeled his game after Patrick Kane.
In addition to growing up a fan, McKenna is a cousin of Blackhawks superstar Connor Bedard.
McKenna talked about his relationship with Bedard a lot throughout the year, admitting that the Blackhawks star was an incredibly helpful resource throughout the process.
Throughout the 2025-26 NHL season, there was wonder if McKenna would end up playing for Chicago, but landing the 4th overall pick took them out of that discussion. Instead, he will play for a different Original Six franchise, the Maple Leafs.
Toronto was in a position to win the lottery because of a surprisingly bad season, its first without star winger Mitch Marner.
Now, McKenna will join forces with a team that includes Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares, Darren Raddysh, and Matthew Knies (assuming they keep all of them). That has the potential to be a strong core on a team that bounces back.
Despite there being a lot of star power there, McKenna will be given an opportunity to play a lot and shine there. The media attention will be a lot, but it's a great place to land early in his career from a hockey perspective.
McKenna has a lot of speed, is a play driver, and scores goals. With the core that exists in Toronto, it has the potential to work well. He grew his game over the course of the 2025-26 season and will now prepare to take his talents to the NHL.
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