There was no doubt: Gavin McKenna is positioned at No. 1 in this Toronto Maple Leafs prospect ranking for TheHockeyNews.com.
It should surprise no one, but Gavin McKenna sits at the top of this Toronto Maple Leafs prospect ranking.
The players in this ranking do not have extensive NHL experience and are all under 23. Therefore, players such as William Villeneuve, Artur Akhtyamov and Easton Cowan, among others, won't feature in this ranking for either or both of those particular reasons.
In terms of where these players fall in the rankings, it is a mix of their ceiling and potential, as well as how they've performed in the past year with their respective clubs.
McKenna was the first overall pick from the 2026 NHL draft. He was projected to be the top choice of his class throughout his draft year, and the Maple Leafs received a fortuitous bounce in the 2026 draft lottery that allowed them to select the young star.
The 18-year-old oozes talent and is known for his crafty playmaking and puck skills. In fact, he models his game after Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov, who is arguably the league's best player and is typically set for a minimum of 100 points each season.
The buildup of McKenna's progression heading into the 2026-27 season should set him up to be a successful NHL player.
He played in 35 games, recording 15 goals and 36 assists for 51 points. That offensive production was good enough to lead his team in scoring and be fifth in the league. It's also worth noting that McKenna had the second-best point-per-game average in the NCAA (1.46), only behind Calgary Flames prospect Ethan Wyttenbach (1.48).
The Whitehorse, Yukon native was a superstar at the Jr. level. Even two years before his draft year, he was putting up stellar offensive numbers, setting him apart from his peers.
In 2023-24, as a 16-year-old, McKenna registered 34 goals and 63 assists for 97 points in 61 games with the Tigers in the Western League.
Of course, the next season was even more impressive for the youngster, as he put up 41 goals and 88 helpers for a total of 129 points in 56 WHL appearances. He backed up his regular-season play with nine goals and 38 points in 16 post-season games, helping his team to a WHL championship and a spot in the Memorial Cup.
In that Memorial Cup, McKenna scored three goals and six points for Medicine Hat. They advanced to the final of the competition, but were beaten by Easton Cowan's London Knights.
McKenna also represented Canada on a few occasions, including the past two World Junior Championships. In the 2025 tournament, he played in five games and scored just one goal in an underachieving Canada team. One year later, he averaged two points per game, notching four goals and 10 assists for 14 points in seven contests, going on to win bronze.
Individually, McKenna received multiple honors over the years, including NCAA rookie of the year, Hobey Baker finalist, CHL and WHL player of the year, CHL and WHL rookie of the year, and more.
His talent matches the confidence he has in himself. And with that, McKenna expects nothing less than making the Maple Leafs' roster out of training camp and for opening night.
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