- Gavin McKenna told TSN he’d be “very honoured” to go No. 1 to Toronto in June
- The projected top pick called the Leafs “the biggest hockey market in the world”
- Read below for the full quote, McKenna’s video highlights, and what John Chayka is weighing
Gavin McKenna isn’t running from Toronto.
McKenna sat down with TSN’s Laura Diakun, Jeff O’Neill and Craig Button on Wednesday night and got asked about going first overall to the Maple Leafs. He didn’t hedge.
“Obviously, it’s the biggest hockey market in the world, so that’d be pretty cool. I’d be very honoured,” McKenna told the panel. “I hear good things about Toronto. I’ve talked to some people, and it seems like an amazing place.”
That answer lands a little different in a week where Mitch Marner was talking about “dark times” in the same market on his way to a Cup Final with Vegas.
Catch his Penn State year:
Toronto won the lottery on May 5 with an 8.5 percent shot, jumping from fifth to first under brand new GM John Chayka. Chayka has called McKenna “an exciting player” but hasn’t tipped his hand on whether the Leafs go McKenna or Swedish winger Ivar Stenberg.
Numbers back it up.
His Penn State year: 51 points (15 goals, 36 assists) in 35 games, the program’s freshman scoring record, and Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. Before that he stacked 129 points in 56 WHL games with Medicine Hat and won CHL Player of the Year.
He’s also skipping the World Championship to lock in for the Combine.
Their last No. 1 selection was Auston Matthews back in 2016, and the Leafs have been running a daily countdown promo built around him:
Whitehorse to Medicine Hat to State College, Pa. McKenna has never lived in a market remotely like Toronto. Doesn’t seem to faze him.
The 2026 Draft is June 26-27 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.
