The 2026 NHL Draft is just weeks away and the Toronto Maple Leafs have a crucial decision at the top with the first-overall pick -- and they might just get someone who sees himself compared to one of the best offensive talents in the NHL.
Gavin McKenna is projected to go first overall to the Leafs, and by all accounts and if we're able to read the tea leaves correctly, he will be Toronto's pick. It just makes sense -- everything from the team needing an elite playmaker on the wing again, to having such a unique story being an Indigenous player from the Yukon and how the executives at MLSE must love hearing how he has a marketable story. It just makes sense.
At the 2026 NHL Draft Combine last weekend, a whole lot of media members had the chance to speak with these prospects and ask them questions for the first time. One of the easiest questions to ask these top prospects is what current NHL star do they compare their own game to? It's not groundbreaking, but it's interesting to hear a player's perspective of their own game.
Gavin McKenna compares himself to Nikita Kucherov
Some answers, like from Latvian defenseman Albert Smits, was pure gold since he straight up said that he doesn't have any favourite players. But McKenna had a very interesting comparable and it makes a lot of sense.
Gavin McKenna sees himself as a player similar to Nikita Kucherov.
“I think I play pretty similarly to him. I think we both see the ice pretty similarly and have the ability to slow the game down and speed it up," McKenna said about Kucherov.
Now, this is not McKenna saying that he is going to be scoring the 130 points and be as good as Kucherov in the NHL. But, the comparison does make sense. Like he said, they both are able to control the tempo of the game in the offensive zone -- and if you asked a scout who is skeptical of McKenna's game, they would also point out that him and Kucherov aren't the best defensive players and could be seen as big black holes on that side of the puck.
Even if he falls short of the eventual impact of Kucherov -- and just playing the odds, he likely will not be a three-time Art Ross winner and regular Hart Trophy finalist -- McKenna is going to be one heck of a player offensively. We cannot wait to see him wearing the blue and white as soon as possible.
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