The Toronto Maple Leafs have already faced no shortage of burning topics surrounding the team this season. Will Sergei Bobrovsky be as advertised despite his age and price? Will the bottom six really be different? How will Darren Raddysh play on the top pair in Toronto?
But there has been a lot of talk more recently about Gavin McKenna's ice time in his young NHL career. This leaves us with another debate -- should we be concerned about how often he takes the ice?
The first overall pick in this year's draft has been fairly steady in just over his first month in the NHL. However, it's no secret that head coach Jim Hiller could have certainly deployed the 18-year-old more frequently in games, which could have helped the Leafs steal a few points in the process.
So far, McKenna has averaged 13:44 of ice time in 16 games played. This is mainly due to Hiller having the rookie glued to the bench for what seems to be too long this early in the season.
Averaging just under 14 minutes of ice time per game is not what anyone expects a number one draft pick to encounter. The lack of time on ice seems not to affect McKenna's production that much, as he currently holds 11 points (five goals, six assists), which ties him with James Hagens of the Boston Bruins in points among rookies.
To put this a bit more into perspective, let's look at a few former first overall picks and their ice time during their rookie campaign. Starting with McKenna's linemate, Auston Matthews averaged 17:38 TOI in his full 82-game 2016-17 rookie season. Despite it being only around four minutes more than what the Yukon-born rookie is currently repping, Matthews put up a great freshman season and was put out to do what he is good at -- scoring huge goals.
San Jose Sharks captain and 2024 first overall pick Macklin Celebrini averaged 19:47 TOI in 70 games played. Connor Bedard, the Chicago Blackhawks' first overall pick in 2023, interestingly had the same TOI per game as Celebrini in 68 games.
Many could argue that both the Hawks and the Sharks rosters were not the strongest, so both players would have needed to carry a lot of the ice time. Still, they saw their share of the ice and continued to do so years after being drafted.
The decision to put McKenna on the ice should be a no-brainer
Although Hiller moved McKenna up to the first line, riding with both Matthews and Jack Roslovic, as well as getting reps on the first powerplay unit, giving the rookie a tap on the shoulder more often should be an easy choice.
While trying to avoid an unfortunate injury to McKenna from being on the ice a lot could be a factor, he was taken first overall for a reason. McKenna has shown so far that he is a skilled player who is crafty under pressure and can move the puck, dish a pass and rip a wicked shot at the net with ease.
He is still adjusting to life in the NHL, but that does not mean he should sit on the bench for a whole period of hockey. While there are still plenty of chances for McKenna to rack up more minutes, there should be concern about how often he sees the ice. While we don't want to overwork the rookie, he should be on the ice more to help the Leafs offensively.
It's unclear what plans Hiller and staff have for McKenna's ice time in the near future, but the Kirill Marchenko injury should be a factor going forward to see 92 play more.
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