On the first day of training camp, Gavin McKenna was slotted on the left wing beside John Tavares and William Nylander. Here's how they believe they can be complimented by each other.
With day one of training camp on Thursday, the Toronto Maple Leafs released their first draft of line combinations. The top six included Matthew Knies, Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic as the first line, followed by Gavin McKenna, John Tavares and William Nylander as the second line.
All eyes were on McKenna, the first overall pick of the 2026 draft, and where he would slot in. He'll get an opportunity to play alongside two of the most talented forwards on the roster, and one of them is his new housemate.
"It feels good knowing that, you know, the staff has confidence in me and putting me with those type of players," McKenna said after the first session. "So it was fun being out there with them."
Both Nylander and Tavares had glowing feedback for the 18-year-old, getting a number of reps together on Thursday.
"Just the way he sees the ice and getting out through all practice," Nylander said. "From what I've seen, very, very nice player."
Though McKenna lacks experience, his talent level and skill set can already make him a complementary piece in the top six of Toronto's forward group. One aspect of McKenna that stood out to his linemates on the first day of training camp, his playmaking.
"The playmaking is elite," Tavares said of McKenna. "You can already see times when he gets out there and you think he doesn't have much room, time and space, his ability to make the play out of nothing. The puck control, the puck skills is off the charts."
"I mean, I thought we had some very good opportunities just today in practice when we were out there," Nylander said. "So, I mean, we just want to keep building and don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves. Just take it day by day."
Regardless of coming in as a rookie and with a smaller frame, one of the league's most respected veterans had a lot to say about how McKenna handled himself on the ice.
"Even though he's not the biggest guy, you can tell how firm he is on his stick," Tavares said. "I think he's got some of that natural hockey strength. You can tell he's strong on the puck."
"That's a good compliment from John," McKenna responded. "He's got one of the best sticks I've ever seen. So, yeah, I think, for me, that was something I tried to work on this summer. You know, come in the NHL, guys are going to be heavy on their sticks, and it's going to be hard to strip pucks and, you know, be hard on that stick."
McKenna also explained how he believes he can be a complementary left winger for Tavares and Nylander.
"I think they're both super smart players, McKenna said of his linemates from Thursday. "And, you know, with John, he's a workhorse, and with Willie, he's so skilled. I think for me, just trying to play my game and not trying to change things up and just, you know, make my plays and try to get towards the net. and I think, you know, pucks will find me with those type of players, and it should be fun."
The former Penn State University star understands that it's still early in the Maple Leafs' preparations for the 2026-27 season. To maintain the luxury of playing with those two stars, he'll have to earn it.
"Nothing's set in stone," he admitted "Obviously, I'm playing with those type of players, and with the roster we have, we have so much talent. So I've got to obviously earn that stay there. So just trying to be as best as I can for that first pre-season game and the next skate and just see what happens from there. Like I said, it's super awesome that they've got confidence in me to play with those type of players."
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