- Toronto selected Gavin McKenna with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft at KeyBank Center in Buffalo
- The 18-year-old Penn State forward put up 51 points in 35 NCAA games as a freshman this season
- Read below for the Bieber announcement, Matthews’ welcome, and what McKenna brings to the Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs drafted Gavin McKenna first overall in the 2026 NHL Draft on Friday night. The 18-year-old forward out of Penn State and Whitehorse, Yukon, has been the consensus top prospect in this draft class for years.
Justin Bieber, a lifelong Leafs fan, walked on stage at KeyBank Center to announce the pick. McKenna chose Bieber’s song “Yukon” as his walk-up music, a nod to his hometown:
McKenna becomes the third player in franchise history to go first overall, joining Auston Matthews (2016) and Wendel Clark (1985). Both of those picks happened in the same building. Matthews sent a video message congratulating McKenna and welcoming him to Toronto.
The Leafs finished second-to-last in the Eastern Conference this season with a 32-36-14 record. They won the No. 1 selection in the draft lottery back in May, and new GM John Chayka wasted no time making the call:
McKenna finished tied for fifth in the NCAA with 51 points, recording 15 goals and 36 assists in 35 games for the Nittany Lions. He won the Big Ten scoring title, was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and landed as a Hobey Baker top-10 finalist. His eight-point game against Ohio State on Feb. 20 was the most by a single player in an NCAA Division I game in 39 years.
Before Penn State, McKenna torched the WHL with Medicine Hat, winning CHL Player of the Year and stringing together a 54-game point streak across the regular season and playoffs in 2024-25.
Listed at 5-foot-11, 170 pounds, McKenna is a dynamic playmaker who grew up idolizing Patrick Kane. He adapted to the physical demands of NCAA hockey by adding muscle throughout the season, putting up 33 of his 51 points in his final 19 games.
He joins a forward group that already includes Matthews, William Nylander, Matthew Knies, and John Tavares:
San Jose took Swedish forward Ivar Stenberg second overall, and Vancouver selected Caleb Malhotra, son of new Canucks coach Manny Malhotra, at No. 3. Rounds 2-7 continue Saturday at 11 a.m. ET.
