Gavin McKenna has been very busy since being selected first overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the NHL Draft. From visiting his new home city to training and preparing for the upcoming season, and recently attending the NHLPA Rookie Showcase, he has had a lot to do.
As the calendar turns to August and summer winds down, it won't be long until things get more serious for the former Penn State Nittany Lion. Soon enough, all eyes will be on McKenna when he joins his new Maple Leafs teammates for the start of training camp in September.
His progress will be one of the more intriguing storylines to follow for the Original Six franchise's quest to become relevant again. While many NHL observers expect him to have a positive impact on the Leafs, McKenna faces a unique pressure unlike any previous first overall NHL pick.
How Toronto's Expectations Create an Unprecedented Rookie Obstacle
Of the past five first overall picks in the NHL Draft before McKenna, four went to teams that were perennial league doormats. Only Matthew Schaefer, drafted first by the New York Islanders in 2025, is the exception. The Islanders finished 2024-25 with 82 points and, just like the Leafs, scored an improbable win in the NHL Draft Lottery to land the first overall pick.
The Buffalo Sabres picked Owen Power first overall in 2021 after an NHL-worst 37-point campaign in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season. The Montreal Canadiens finished last in the NHL in 2021-22, then drafted Juraj Slafkovsky with the first pick overall in the summer of 2022. Before taking Connor Bedard with the top pick in 2023, the Chicago Blackhawks finished one point out of last place in the NHL during the 2022-23 season. The San Jose Sharks took Macklin Celebrini with the top choice in 2024 after a league-worst finish in 2023-24.
None of those players were expected to help their teams make the playoffs in their first season or two. The Islanders, despite having better talent than other recent teams with the top overall pick, always find themselves in the "mushy middle", a borderline playoff team or just outside the postseason bubble, never a serious contender.
That's what makes McKenna's situation with the Maple Leafs so unique. He is expected to make a significant impact for a team whose goal is to make the playoffs. After all of general manager John Chayka's substantial changes, anything less would be a major disappointment.
McKenna recently commented, "I know I've gotten lucky," when describing his getting drafted by Toronto, a team with immediate expectations. He realizes he could have been in an environment similar to other recent first overall picks and is embracing it.
The Maple Leafs, having missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade in 2025-26, are heading into a critical year for the organization. Auston Matthews, the team's best player, will likely be traded or sign an extension with the team, based on how the 2026-27 season goes.
Everything Chayka and new front-office partner Mats Sundin have done in their first offseason together has centered around one last shot at success with Matthews and other long-term Leafs players like William Nylander and John Tavares.
Matthews, the Maple Leafs' last first-overall pick in 2016, had a different situation than McKenna when he first arrived in Toronto. Other recent first-round picks like Nylander, Morgan Rielly, Nazem Kadri, and Mitch Marner were growing together with average veteran players like Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk.
Now, with a veteran roster that includes stars like Matthews and Nylander, plus Tavares, Rielly, and Matthew Knies, as well as newcomers Darren Raddysh and Sergei Bobrovsky, the mandate is to win. While an individual accolade like winning the Calder Trophy, something Shaefer and Bedard accomplished, would be nice, supporting the veteran players on a playoff team is McKenna's most important objective.
Bedard, Schaefer, Celebrini, Slafkovsky, and Power all had a grace period from their organization and fans before team success was expected. McKenna does not have such a luxury. If the Leafs miss the playoffs, but McKenna has a strong rookie season, it gives the organization hope for a future with the Whitehorse resident leading the way. If the Maple Leafs miss the postseason, McKenna struggles while others in his draft class shine, questions will arise, and potentially huge franchise changes may occur.
McKenna isn't just quietly entering the NHL. As a first overall pick of a storied franchise like the Maple Leafs, he is stepping directly into a hockey crucible. While previous first overall selections were granted the luxury of time to stumble and grow, McKenna's rookie campaign is bound to a "win-now" mandate.
How Jim Hiller and the Leafs' coaching staff deploy him, and how he handles the suffocating glare of a market that demands immediate results, will make for high-stakes theater. As next season begins, all eyes will be on Toronto to see if the draft's crown jewel can turn his unprecedented pressure into an unforgettable arrival, making his journey one of the most fascinating storylines of the Maple Leafs' upcoming season.
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