There is an immense amount of hype surrounding Gavin McKenna as he heads into his rookie season with the Toronto Maple Leafs after being selected first overall just a couple months ago. To get ready for this pressure-filled campaign, he spent multiple weeks out in British Columbia training with one of the best young players in the entire world.
McKenna, as part of the Kaivo Hockey training program, got to share the ice with San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini and recently got to talk about it.
Gavin McKenna learned something from Macklin Celebrini
While at the Upper Deck Rookie Showcase on Wednesday, McKenna was asked about spending time with Celebrini on and off the ice.
"Not a whole lot," McKenna said when asked if he picked his brain for any advice heading into his rookie year. "I think we just tried to be normal people with each other. Sometimes when you're grinding and stuff, you kind of want to step away from the game and just be normal people and just talk. So yeah, he was awesome.
"I think I learned a lot from how hard he works and where I kind of got to get. I think it's all been good for me."
McKenna is undeniably a hard worker himself, so we're not too sure just how much he had to learn that. But, it's always good for a rookie to get a really strong taste of what an offseason can be like for one of the best young NHL stars, and what he has to do in the future to keep developing and growing if he wants to be the best.
And speaking of hard work, McKenna mentioned just how often he would actually be on the ice with Celebrini.
"Before the Draft, I was on the ice for the least amount I've ever been, so obviously just been itching to get out there again. To get out there and grind again, it felt really good. My trainers probably won't like to hear this, but there was a week where we were on the ice for like 17 hours. Like I said, Mack is crazy, but every skate out there, you're getting better and it's a competitive group, so I had a lot of fun with it."
Hopefully all the hard work and ice-time pays off for McKenna. He's not depended on to be a star immediately, but if he starts in the Leafs' top six alongside either Auston Matthews or John Tavares, there will be an expectation for him to at least contribute in ways that we know he can.
The Leafs' preseason starts September 19 with a match against the Montreal Canadiens -- the first game where we could see McKenna wear the Blue and White.
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