When Gavin McKenna officially became a part of the Toronto Maple Leafs at the 2026 NHL Draft, life was going to be different for the young 18-year-old from here on out. After all, McKenna will be joining a storied franchise that has been striving for a Stanley Cup title for almost the past six decades. As a result, every little decision that the Leafs and their players make will be heavily under the microscope.
Well, for McKenna, he just made his first big decision in a Maple Leafs uniform. That decision had everything to do with the uniform that he will be wearing as the Toronto first-round, first overall draft pick selected the number that he will be wearing on his hockey jersey. That elusive number will be 92.
Gavin McKenna makes his first big decision as a Maple Leaf
Ever since playing hockey in juniors, McKenna had always wore number 72 on his back. However, when the Maple Leafs went big in free agency to reel in one of the biggest fish in the market to solve their goalie problems in Sergei Bobrovsky, it created a dilemma. It just so happens that Bobrovsky also sports the number 72, so who gets to keep their favourite digits?
In the end, McKenna did the respectable gesture that any Leafs fan would applaud to in giving the honour to the two-time Stanley Cup champion and potentially future Hall of Famer, as per the Toronto Sun.
“We chatted on the phone,” McKenna said. “Any time you have a guy like that coming in who’s been in the league for that long, won two Stanley Cups, I’m not going to take his number.”
With Bobrovsky taking on the offer, it left the young 18-year-old scrambling to look for a new number to etch on the back of his new Maple Leafs jersey for years to come. As a result, 92 becomes the new number that people will begin to take notice around the NHL, at least that is what both McKenna and the Leafs hope.
According to the Toronto Sun, only three former Maple Leafs players have ever wore number 92 on their backs during their tenure with Toronto: Jeff O’Neill, Igor Ozhiganov and Alexander Nylander. The Leafs certainly envision McKenna will turn out better, a lot better that is, than his three previous predecessors.
And to think of it, 92 is just one away from 93, which just happens to be the number of another iconic Maple Leaf in Doug Gilmour. If McKenna can turn out to be anything close to Gilmour or even more, let’s just say Toronto should be set for winning success for the foreseeable future.
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