When the NHL Draft lottery ball landed on 12 and the Toronto Maple Leafs secured the No. 1 pick for the first time in franchise history, general manager John Chayka says his mind immediately went to the highlight-reel skill and goal-scoring instincts he had studied for years. 

But the real conviction that Gavin McKenna was the right player, and the right person, for the organization had been forced shortly after the lottery when Chayka made the trip to visit McKenna at his home in Whitehorse, Yukon.

“I landed at 11 o’clock at night to full sun,” Chayka recalled during his Saturday morning media availability at the team’s draft-day headquarters. “That was a new one for me. Never been out that way. My wife’s from Timmins, so I felt like I had an idea, but I didn’t. It was great, honestly. A beautiful place. I can tell why Gavin enjoys being there.”

What Chayka found was more than elite hockey talent. He spent four or five hours with McKenna’s family, listening to stories of the prospect’s upbringing and what drives him. The picture that emerged was the classic Canadian hockey narrative: a kid alone on the outdoor ice, working on his game with no skills coach, no skating instructor, no trainer,  just the love of the sport and the long Yukon winters.

“That’s who he is,” Chayka said. “Someone that loves his community and someone whose community loves him. And I think that’s a big part of who he is. We’re lucky now as the Toronto Maple Leafs to be a part of that.”

The visit included a drive up a mountain with McKenna behind the wheel. Chayka admitted he spent most of the ride with his eyes closed, but the time together served a deeper purpose. As a father of three, Chayka understood what it meant for a family to send their son into a new environment.

“If my kid was going to go play somewhere, I want to feel comfortable that he’s in good hands and we’re going to look after him,” he said. “It was important to start building relationships.

When the Leafs won the lottery on May 5, they had an idea that McKenna was going to be their pick. But after doing all the due diligence, including the trip, that sealed it.

“I kind of knew,” Chayka said of the moment Ball 12 dropped, “but I’ll give a lot of credit to the whole staff. They really dug in… Ultimately, the more we spent time on it, the more conviction we actually had in our initial instincts.”

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