The Toronto Maple Leafs may have to figure out a bit of a new role for top prospect Gavin McKenna.
The 18-year-old has played well in his first three games this season. However, he is yet to register a point.
So, it’s fair to question if the scoring drought is just part of the justifiable adjustment period or if there’s a change needed to McKenna’s role.
The answer to that question depends on how you look at things.
If you look at it from the perspective that McKenna wasn’t supposed to be a savior for the Maple Leafs, well, there really isn’t much cause for concern.
If anything, the organization can take its sweet time in allowing McKenna to find his footing in the NHL.
But if you want to look at this situation from a more practical perspective, it’s time to drop McKenna down the lineup.
In fact, there may be a bit of a more logical switch that could happen. Why not switch McKenna with Easton Cowan? Moving Cowan into the second line could help John Tavares and William Nylander far more in sparking more offense than sort of babysitting McKenna.
McKenna, for his part, would benefit a lot more from playing down on the third line. While he wouldn’t get quite as much ice time, playing against third and even fourth lines could be just the trick to spark his overall offensive output.
For now, the most important thing would be to spur McKenna’s confidence as he finds his bearings at the pro level.
Are the Maple Leafs rushing McKenna?
There’s always the possibility that organizations rush their top prospects to the NHL. That’s certainly been the trend with first-overall picks. They generally head straight to the NHL, where they are expected to make an immediate impact.
That’s been the case over the last few seasons, in which guys like Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini, and Matthew Schaefer have found success right away at the NHL level.
Then, you look at other former top picks like Juraj Slafkovsky and Alexis Lafreniere, who took a bit longer to develop at the NHL level. Slafkovsky is looking better each season, though he hasn’t quite reached the level the Montreal Canadiens hoped he would.
As for Lafreniere, the fear is that McKenna could morph into the New York Rangers forward. If that’s the case, the Leafs would have used their first-overall pick on a guy who is good, but not quite superstar material.
The bottom line is that three games are far too soon to render a verdict on McKenna. But what is becoming increasingly clear is that dropping the Yukon native a bit down the lineup for a little while might be the best thing for his overall development.
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