Gavin McKenna’s first NHL goal did more than put the rookie on the scoresheet. It arrived in the middle of Toronto’s comeback from a two-goal hole against the Nashville Predators on Oct. 6, and it offered a clean snapshot of the responsibility already sitting on the 18-year-old’s shoulders.
The Maple Leafs’ 2026 first overall pick entered the night without a point through three games, then broke through with a goal and an assist in a 5-4 overtime win. McKenna set up John Tavares in the second period before scoring later in the frame, cutting Nashville’s lead to 4-3 on a shot from 25.28 feet out. Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic assisted on the goal.
It was not an attempt expected to beat the goaltender often. The shot carried a projected goal rate of 2.61 percent, but McKenna found the finish anyway. He became Toronto’s youngest player to score his first NHL goal since Luke Richardson did so on Oct. 16, 1987. McKenna was 18 years, 290 days old; Richardson was 18 years, 204 days old.
Toronto’s established stars carried plenty of the scoring load in the rally. Matthews finished with four points, William Nylander had three, McKenna posted two and Tavares scored once. For the rookie, though, the game was a marked jump from his first week in the League: he put up six shot attempts against Nashville after recording five total across his opening three appearances.
Speed has been there from the opening shift
McKenna has been noticeable even before the points came. He has generated 42 skating bursts between 18 and 20 mph, leading the Maple Leafs, ranking sixth across the NHL and placing him in the 99th percentile among forwards. He has also recorded at least one burst above 20 mph in each of his first four games.
His eight bursts of 20 mph or better are tied for fourth among rookies. Amadeus Lombardi leads that group with 11, while Owen Michaels and Brad Lambert each have nine. McKenna’s top speed has reached 21.64 mph, above the 21.21 mph average for NHL forwards and good for the 69th percentile at the position.
Against Nashville, McKenna also produced his hardest shot as a pro, a 75.66 mph attempt that was stopped. It came on his only rush chance of the season, defined as a shot within five seconds of the puck entering the offensive zone. The pace is clearly NHL-ready; the next part of the rookie’s adjustment is turning more of those skating flashes into dangerous puck touches.
Coach Jim Hiller has put McKenna in positions to do just that. At five-on-five, 53.1 percent of his starts have come in the offensive zone, a rate in the 93rd percentile among forwards. Nine of his 10 tracked shot attempts have come on established offensive-zone possessions rather than from distance, below the goal line or in empty-net situations.
McKenna is also fourth among rookie forwards in average power-play time at 2:16 per game. He has worked in different looks with Nylander, Tavares and Matthews, spending most of his five-on-five shifts alongside Nylander and Tavares while also getting the key first-goal setup from Matthews.
The possession numbers turned in his favor against the Predators as well. McKenna posted a plus-6 shot-attempt differential at five-on-five after sitting at minus-18 through his first three games combined. Four games are only four games, but Toronto is giving its young forward offensive-zone usage, power-play minutes and experienced linemates. His first NHL finish may be the first visible sign that the early growing pains are beginning to move in the right direction.
