Toronto’s draft weekend landed Gavin McKenna at No. 1 overall, and the 18-year-old forward arrives with a clear runway toward a scoring role beside the Maple Leafs’ established stars in 2026-27.
- McKenna, a left wing by trade, was selected first overall in the 2026 NHL Draft. He turns 19 on Dec. 20.
- Toronto missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2016. The franchise has not won the Cup since 1967.
- Jim Hiller was hired as coach June 17.
- Defenseman Darren Raddysh joined Toronto from the Tampa Bay Lightning on June 19 after signing an eight-year contract.
- Veteran goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky signed a three-year deal July 1.
- McKenna could open on either of the top two forward units. Possible looks include skating with Auston Matthews and William Nylander, or alongside John Tavares and Nylander. Toronto could instead keep Matthew Knies with Matthews and use McKenna on the other wing.
- McKenna is a candidate for the first power-play unit with Matthews, Nylander, Tavares and Raddysh. He scored five power-play goals at Penn State.
- No injuries, scratches or goaltending starts were listed.
McKenna’s college résumé gives Toronto a reason to test him immediately. In 35 games as a Penn State freshman in 2025-26, he put up 15 goals and 36 assists for 51 points, tying for fifth in NCAA scoring. After the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, he drove his finish with 11 goals and 22 assists in 19 games. He had 14 points across seven World Juniors games, second in the tournament, as Canada earned bronze.
The production has followed him for years. McKenna recorded 18 points in 16 Western Hockey League games with Medicine Hat at age 15, then produced 97 points in 61 games in his first full WHL season. Before heading to Penn State, he totaled 173 points over 76 regular-season, playoff and Memorial Cup games in 2024-25.
Toronto’s projected top-six options are built around a simple question: how quickly can McKenna create plays at NHL pace? Matthews, Nylander and Tavares would give him high-end finishing targets, while Knies remains a possible fit beside Matthews. McKenna also brings a shot-first element for a young distributor, having fired 152 shots on goal at Penn State — 4.34 per game.
The Leafs’ power play offers another opening. It ranked fourth in the NHL from March 24 through the end of the season at 37.0 percent after struggling for much of the year. Raddysh led NHL defensemen with 10 power-play goals, and McKenna’s arrival adds another shooting and passing option.
There is work to do at even strength. Toronto finished last in the League in offensive-zone-time percentage at 38.9 and in 5-on-5 shot-attempt share at 45.5. The club also ranked last in Ice Tilt, a territorial-possession measurement. McKenna’s puck distribution could help change that picture, especially if he settles in next to Toronto’s top finishers.
Tavares remains one of those finishers, placing 10th in high-danger goals with 22 and ninth in high-danger shots with 106. Nylander scored 20 high-danger goals, placing him in the 97th percentile among NHL forwards. Matthews was in the 96th percentile among forwards in both high-danger shots, with 84, and midrange shots, with 85.
Matthews may be the biggest beneficiary of the new support. The active leader in career goals per game at 0.62 was limited to 60 regular-season games and posted career lows of 27 goals, 53 points, 12 power-play points and an 11.9 shooting percentage. His five power-play goals tied his personal low, and his career shooting mark is 15.5 percent.
Toronto’s offense slipped after Mitch Marner left for the Vegas Golden Knights last offseason. The Leafs finished 16th at 3.07 goals per game and 15th on the power play at 21.3 percent. Matthews, however, has the track record for a rebound: his 69 goals in 2023-24 were the most by an NHL player in the past 30 years, matching Mario Lemieux’s 69 in 1995-96.
For draft purposes, McKenna is ranked 105th overall and fifth among Toronto skaters. The six Maple Leafs positioned around the top 100 are Matthews at 17, Nylander at 36, Raddysh at 53, Tavares at 87, McKenna at 105 and Knies at 110.
Philadelphia Flyers forward Porter Martone sits just ahead of McKenna among rookie options. Martone, taken sixth in the 2025 NHL Draft, registered six goals, nine assists, 55 shots and 49 hits in 19 regular-season and playoff games this season. His multi-category profile could give him an edge in some formats, but McKenna has a strong case to lead the Calder Trophy conversation.
A 63-point rookie projection — 22 goals and 41 assists — puts McKenna in range of recent No. 1 overall picks. Connor Bedard had 61 points in 68 games for Chicago in 2023-24, Macklin Celebrini recorded 63 in 70 for San Jose in 2024-25, and Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer finished with 59 in 82 in 2025-26. Bedard scored 22 goals, Celebrini 25 and Schaefer 23 in those first NHL seasons.
The bar for a truly explosive rookie year is higher. Mathew Barzal was the last rookie to clear 70 points, scoring 85 in 82 games in 2017-18; Artemi Panarin had 77 in 80 for Chicago in 2015-16. Matthews and Patrik Laine were the most recent teenage rookies to hit 30 goals, with 40 and 36 respectively in 2016-17. Matthews posted 69 points in 82 games as a rookie, a total McKenna could approach if his NHL adjustment is quick.
SEO Title: Gavin McKenna joins Maple Leafs top-six battle after No. 1 pick
SEO Description: Gavin McKenna is set to challenge for a top-six and first power-play role in Toronto after the Maple Leafs selected him first overall in the 2026 NHL Draft.
