The first round of the 2026 NHL draft was all about Gavin McKenna for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who was selected with the first overall pick.

The next phase of the draft holds rounds two to seven of the draft on Saturday, and the Maple Leafs selected left-handed defenseman Alexander Bilecki with the 60th pick. Bilecki was Toronto's first pick following the selection of McKenna.

Bilecki is a Mississauga, Ont., native who spent the past two seasons in the OHL with the Kitchener Rangers. This past year, the blueliner scored nine goals and 29 points in 66 regular-season contests, as well as two goals and 11 points in 18 OHL post-season games.

He helped push the Rangers to an OHL championship. He also wound up becoming a Memorial Cup champion, chipping in three assists and a plus-five rating in four appearances at the tournament.

Bilecki was the third-highest scoring defenseman on the team in both the regular season and the playoffs. He was also tied for the third-most points as a defenseman in the entire Memorial Cup tournament.

The 18-year-old has been labelled as a power-play specialist and a blueliner who thrives at moving the puck from the back end. Bilecki had eight power-play points, but was behind Kitchener's captain, Cameron Reid, on the depth chart as the team's quarterback.

Next year, if Bilecki remains with the Rangers, he'll get plenty more ice time as Reid, a first-round pick of the Nashville Predators, will be taking his talents to the University of Michigan next year.

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