Maple Leafs select Gavin McKenna with first pick in 2026 NHL Draft
from Sportsnet,
The Toronto Maple Leafs selected the slick Whitehorse-born winger with the No. 1 pick at 2026 NHL draft Friday night. The pick was announced by Canadian pop icon and Maple Leafs fan Justin Bieber.
McKenna is coming off a freshman season at Penn State where he put up 15 goals and 36 assists for 51 points across 35 NCAA games following a pair of dominant campaigns with the Western Hockey League's Medicine Hat Tigers.
The 18-year-old joins an Original Six franchise coming off a disastrous 2025-26 that started with Stanley Cup aspirations before spiralling down the drain in spectacular fashion.
Toronto, which has a new head coach and general manager following a 28th-place finish, then got a terrific bounce when it won the draft lottery despite entering with odds of just 8.5 per cent.
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