Sport 1 min read

Maple Leafs select Gavin McKenna with first pick in 2026 NHL Draft

Gavin McKenna was selected by the Maple Leafs with the first pick in the 2026 NHL Draft on Friday.

McKenna, 18, is coming off an impressive freshman season at Penn State, where he scored 15 goals and 51 points in 35 games.

Before jumping to the NCAA, the Whitehorse native starred for the Medicine Hat Tigers in the WHL for three seasons. In 2024-25, he had 41 goals and 129 points in just 56 games as the Tigers won the league championship.

He has also twice played for Canada at the world junior championship.

McKenna is the third player taken first overall by the Maple Leafs after Auston Matthews (2016) and Wendel Clark (1985). The Maple Leafs won the right to draft McKenna after moving up from the fifth pick in the NHL Draft lottery.

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