Gavin McKenna is not treating the Toronto market as something to survive. Speaking to reporters at Maple Leafs training camp, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft was asked how he plans to navigate expectations in a city that will not give him the long rebuild runway most top picks receive.
âÂÂI obviously want to have high expectations for myself, so coming to a market like this, I think the expectations are going to be higher,â McKenna said on Wednesday. âÂÂSo for me I think it's a good motivator, coming to a market like this where the eyes are on you and you're going to hear it if you're playing bad.âÂÂ
He framed the scrutiny as something he has already learned to use. âÂÂSome people might not like it, but for me I see it as a blessing in disguise,â McKenna said. âÂÂLast year I had a bit of a slow start to the year and then kind of heard all the noise and started to work harder. So I want to obviously start the year as best as I can and hopefully not have to hear that noise, but if I do, I think it's a good motivator for me.âÂÂ
The 18-year-old from Whitehorse, Yukon, has a point about his situation being unusual. Toronto missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016 last season and won the draft lottery from the fifth-best odds, but general manager John Chayka has since spent aggressively rather than stripping down. The Leafs added two-time Stanley Cup winning goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and power-play defenseman Darren Raddysh to a core that still includes Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Matthew Knies, with Jim Hiller taking over behind the bench.
McKenna arrived after one season at Penn State, where he posted 51 points in 35 games. Before that he tore through the WHL with Medicine Hat, winning CHL Player of the Year in 2024-25 with 129 points in 56 games.
He has also leaned on Matthews, the Leafs' 2016 No. 1 pick, for advice on handling attention in the league's most scrutinized market. McKenna has already said he wants to make the playoffs and win the Calder Trophy this season.