Gavin McKenna entered the NHL as the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft and definitely carrying major expectations into his first season with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
After opening his career without a point in the first three games of the season, McKenna said Tuesday morning that the media attention around his slow start likely marked his “welcome to the NHL” moment.
“I mean, I think just how hard (the NHL) is,” McKenna said. “You know, you come in, you believe in yourself — I still believe in myself, but you know, especially in the Toronto media, putting up zero points in three games, you hear about it. So maybe that’s my ‘welcome to the NHL’ moment.”
Later on Tuesday, with the Leafs facing the Nashville Predators, McKenna broke through. The 18-year-old scored his first NHL goal and provided his first assist as Toronto rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Predators 5-4 in overtime.
McKenna assisted on John Tavares’ second-period goal before scoring his own at 14:31 of the period. Leafs captain Auston Matthews found the rookie above the right face-off circle, and McKenna beat Juuse Saros with a shot over the blocker to cut Nashville’s lead to 4-3.
“A big monkey off the back, that one felt good,” McKenna said. “That’s a goal I’ll obviously remember forever.”
Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
McKenna acknowledged that his first three games felt longer than they were as he adjusted to the NHL and the scrutiny surrounding him.
“Yeah, I’d say it felt longer,” McKenna said. “But I think just every single game I’ve been trying to get better, and I thought obviously tonight was my best one.”
Toronto improved to 2-2-0 and now heads out on a road trip starting with a matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday at 10 p.m. ET.
