The Gavin McKenna era with the Toronto Maple Leafs started with a bang, as one of the team's most well-known celebrity fans and one of the world's biggest music superstars, Justin Bieber, announced that he would be joining the team in a way only he could.
The moment Justin Bieber and the Toronto Maple Leafs made it official and drafted Gavin McKenna No. 1 in the 2026 NHL draft 👏 pic.twitter.com/CFuNKKCDTy
— ESPN (@espn) June 26, 2026
Bieber played the announcement cool, which was an ironic twist as all of Leafs Nation was likely spontaneously combusting about McKenna's draft selection finally being made official. To add to the luster of the selection, the first-overall pick walked to the stage to Bieber's song, Yukon, an ode to his hometown.
There was some speculation about who would announce the first overall pick after ESPN's Emily Kaplan teased that someone special would be coming to the stage, but almost everyone guessed that it would have to be Bieber, who hasn't been shy about expressing his fandom. Bieber has not only been a fan from afar; he is often seen at games and has friendships with Auston Matthews and other players.
Speaking of Matthews, his inclusion in the pick announcement added another layer of excitement for Maple Leafs fans. With all the talks about American-born players leaving their teams and the uncertainty of Matthews' feelings about the direction of the team, his making this public of an appearance while wearing the Maple Leafs hat is sure to pour plenty of cold water on the speculation.
Auston Matthews n'a pas pu être présent à la draft, mais il a enregistré une vidéo pour souhaiter la bienvenue à Gavin McKenna pic.twitter.com/uUSt8gxWmn
— The Icebreaker (@TheIcebreakerFR) June 26, 2026
With the Maple Leafs looking like they could potentially go all-in to win now with Matthews having two seasons left on his contract, we'll likely be seeing plenty more of Bieber around the team. Toronto fans might already be having visions of Bieber on the ice with the Stanley Cup alongside Matthews and McKenna, similar to Timothee Chalamet's inclusion in the New York Knicks championship win.
One positive for the Maple Leafs is that Bieber was the Toronto-based artist to show up for this pick. The last thing they needed after their difficult last couple of seasons was to get the Drake curse thrown upon them.
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