- Gavin McKenna says he already feels “comfortable and confident” in his first skate as a Maple Leaf
- The No. 1 pick signed his three-year entry-level deal Friday and jumped straight into development camp
- Read below for McKenna’s full comments and what he made of landing on a loaded Toronto roster
Gavin McKenna is already settled in Toronto, and he has not even played a real game yet.
The No. 1 pick pulled on a Maple Leafs sweater for the first time at development camp this week, then made his entry-level contract official on Friday. McKenna was asked what those first skates felt like, and the 18-year-old sounded like a kid who has done this his whole life.
“When you’re out there, it’s pretty easy to be dialed in,” McKenna said. “It’s the game I’ve played my entire life. So, when I’m out there, I’m having fun, I feel comfortable and confident. And then, off the ice, you kind of want to let go and hang out with your buddies and get to know everyone. Just enjoy the city and the time I got here.”
Watch McKenna’s full development camp media availability:
Toronto locked up the Whitehorse, Yukon native on a three-year deal, the final step in a whirlwind stretch that started with the Leafs taking him first overall at last month’s draft. The team announced the news with a simple two-word post.
The resume backs up the hype. McKenna was the sixth-youngest player in men’s college hockey last season and still tied for fifth in the NCAA with 51 points in 35 games for Penn State. He finished second in the country at 1.46 points per game and landed as a top-10 Hobey Baker finalist.
Before Penn State, he tore up the Western Hockey League with Medicine Hat, winning CHL Player of the Year in 2024-25 after piling up 129 points in 56 games.
Most No. 1 picks walk into a rebuild. McKenna walked into the opposite. He joined a Maple Leafs team that spent the opening day of free agency adding seven players, headlined by goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. He said he could not stop grinning watching the additions pile up.
For a teenager who grew up dreaming about the NHL, stepping onto Original Six ice and feeling right at home is a pretty good first week on the job.
