Dave Litman
There has been plenty of debate in some quarters about whether the Toronto Maple Leafs might either trade their No. 1 overall pick in this month’s draft, or decide to go with someone other than the consensus top pick Gavin McKenna. Swedish winger Ivar Stenberg has often been mentioned in the conversation as a potential top-of-the-draft-class name as well.
But according to a report from Shawn Hutcheon, the Leafs have already told McKenna personally that they’ll be drafting him with the No. 1 selection.
Hutcheon said that the Leafs reportedly told McKenna during their interview with him last week at the NHL Draft Combine that they “intend on drafting him with the first overall pick.”
Leafs GM John Chayka visited McKenna in his hometown of Whitehorse in the Yukon recently. “We had a good conversation and we got a good feel for each other,” said McKenna after the visit.
The 18-year-old star winger has already registered his excitement at the potential of being selected by the Leafs.
“It would mean the world, it would be a dream come true… If I get drafted to Toronto, I’d be very honored.”
McKenna told he’ll be No. 1 pick by Leafs, calls it ‘pretty special’
In another interview, McKenna said, “Being a Canadian kid, going to a Canadian market would be pretty special. The situation the Leafs are in right now is pretty crazy that they got the first overall pick. Their team is probably going to be fighting for the playoffs next year, so I’d be pretty fortunate to go there.”
The Leafs were a stunning winner of the NHL’s Draft Lottery last month, coming in with the sixth-best odds. And coming off one of their worst and most chaotic seasons in recent memory, it was a shocking turn of events for the franchise.
Toronto finished last place in the Atlantic Division (after winning it the year before) with a 32-26-14 record. The 78 points was a 30-point drop from the 108 they racked up in 2024-25.
McKenna has been highly touted as a can’t-miss prospect for several years now, and his time is about to come. It sounds like it’ll be coming in Toronto.
