The Toronto Maple Leafs are privileged to own the first-overall pick in the upcoming 2026 NHL draft. With debate as to who they should select with that pick, here is the case for Gavin McKenna
It's been over two weeks since the NHL draft lottery fell in the favor of the Toronto Maple Leafs, propelling them from fifth position to the first pick of the upcoming draft.
With that privilege comes many discussions and decisions as to who the Maple Leafs should draft with that first-overall selection.
In addition to that top pick, it's been confirmed that Toronto will have the 60th pick in the draft, which is the 28th pick of the second round.
With multiple players projected to fall in both ranges of selections, here's a short series of prospect profiles on who the Maple Leafs could draft this year.
First on the list is Gavin McKenna.
McKenna is projected to be drafted first overall this year, regardless of who is making the first pick. It just so happens that after the results of the draft lottery, the Maple Leafs have the opportunity to claim a youngster who is likely NHL-ready, has tremendous offensive upside, and models his game after Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov.
TheHockeyNews.com's prospect expert Ryan Kennedy had McKenna getting picked by the Maple Leafs with the first pick, and so do many other NHL draft gurus.
"While McKenna still needs to round out his game, you have to go with the massive potential here," Kennedy wrote in his mock draft. "This kid can create with elite hockey sense and vision."
There is tremendous upside to McKenna's offensive game. This past campaign was his freshman season in the NCAA with Penn State University. The 18-year-old scored 15 goals and 51 points in 35 games, leading his team and second in the league in scoring.
In the year before that, McKenna had an offensive explosion in his final season with the WHL's Medicine Hat Tigers. He finished that 2024-25 campaign with 41 goals and 129 points in 56 games, averaging 2.3 points per game.
The Tigers went on to become champions of the WHL, with the help of McKenna's nine goals and 38 points in 16 playoff games. Medicine Hat went on to the Memorial Cup, but lost to Easton Cowan's London Knights in the final of that tournament.
Speaking of Cowan, he and McKenna shared the stage at the 2025 World Junior Championship. McKenna didn't have much pull in that competition, recording just one goal in five appearances.
However, in the last world junior tournament, McKenna was a star for Team Canada, scoring four goals and 14 points in seven contests. He finished second in scoring behind Montreal Canadiens prospect Michael Hage.
Though the question remains whether Toronto should consider taking another player with the first pick of the draft, McKenna is certainly an incredibly talented left winger who has skills that cannot be taught.
http://thn.com/FREEFor action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.