- Gavin McKenna makes his NHL preseason debut Saturday when the Maple Leafs host Montreal at Scotiabank Arena
- The 18-year-old is expected to start at left wing alongside John Tavares and William Nylander
- Read below for what Jim Hiller and Auston Matthews said about the No. 1 pick ahead of his first game
Gavin McKenna gets his first taste of NHL game action on Saturday.
The Maple Leafs open the preseason against the Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena (7 p.m. ET, TSN2, TSN4, RDSI), and the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft is expected to line up at left wing with John Tavares and William Nylander.
Jim Hiller was asked Friday what he plans to say to his 18-year-old winger before puck drop. The Toronto coach isn’t planning a speech.
“I’m not going to say anything to him. He’s going to talk to the guys. In the end, us as coaches are mentors and we guide them but we have plenty of guys who have been through this so it means way more coming from them. I’m going to tap him on the back, look him in the eye and shake his hand and say, ‘Go enjoy the night.’ There will be plenty of nights where we will demand more than that but I don’t think tomorrow night should be one of them.”
Watch Hiller’s full media availability from Friday:
McKenna has skated with Tavares and Nylander at both on-ice sessions since camp opened Thursday. Hiller likes how the puck has moved between the three of them.
“So when you have three guys who can find each other and you’re not relying on one guy and maybe the second guy, the way I see it is there is three guys who are moving it around pretty well.”
Here’s the line taking the ice together for the first time on Thursday:
Two practices in, Hiller said the thing he worried about hasn’t shown up. He went in expecting McKenna to defer to the veterans and force pucks to them.
“I haven’t seen that at all. He’s just a nice young man, no air about him. He’s confident in his own way, certainly not cocky. But when he gets on the ice, he knows how good he is and I thought that might be a problem, but he’s not selfish, he just makes the right play when it needs to be made. Very impressive.”
Auston Matthews went first overall to Toronto in 2016, so he knows exactly what this week feels like. The captain was asked about the rookie on Friday.
“He’s great, he plays with a lot of confidence. I think he’s come in right away and found his groove. You can tell when he’s on the ice and has the puck, the kind of skill, and the plays that he can make. That line seems to have meshed really well over the last few days, three extremely talented and skilled players that can move, can make plays and are dangerous one on one.”
Catch Matthews on the rookie and the rest of camp:
Sitting out the rookie tournament in Gatineau pushed McKenna’s first game in a Leafs sweater all the way to the preseason schedule. He’s living with Tavares this season and eating dinners at Matthews’ place, so the chemistry on that second line has had a head start off the ice.
