Gavin McKenna, the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, commented on potentially playing with Auston Matthews.
After the Maple Leafs won the NHL Draft Lottery in May, it was fairly obvious they would take McKenna with the top choice, since he was the highest-rated prospect on the draft board.
On Friday in Buffalo, the team made it official when they sent lifelong Maple Leafs fan Justin Bieber to the stage to call McKenna’s name and officially reveal the team chose him with the No. 1 overall pick.
Next, McKenna heads to Toronto in September for the start of training camp, as new Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller figures out what line to put him on.
Could he play on the first line with Matthews, the Maple Leafs’ captain?
Gavin McKenna on Auston Matthews
Speaking to reporters in Buffalo after he was taken with the top pick in the draft, McKenna was asked what his thoughts were on Matthews, and this is what he said.
“Gavin McKenna on Auston Matthews: ‘My captain… He’s on the first line. I’ll have to prove myself to play with a player like that, but that’s my goal…. My game is a playmaker. He’s a shooter. I think we could complement each other pretty well,'” wrote Maple Leafs reporter Luke Fox on X.
Matthews had a down year last season as he dealt with a major knee injury at the end of the year, plus former Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube did not always deploy him in a scoring role, which is what he is known for.
With McKenna potentially on Matthews’ wing, the Maple Leafs’ captain could be in store for a massive bounce-back season. As for McKenna, it’s not every day that a top pick gets to play with a true NHL superstar like Matthews, as most top picks are drafted to bad teams that lack top-end talent.
But after the Maple Leafs had an utter failure of a season this past year, missing out on the playoffs for the first time in a decade, they got truly lucky when the ping-pong balls bounced their way, and they won the lottery, allowing them to select McKenna and hopefully turn this franchise around.
Maple Leafs Have Options With Gavin McKenna
While the prevailing thought is that McKenna will ride shotgun on Matthews’ left wing to open the season, it’s also possible he plays with former team captain John Tavares on the team’s second line, as well.
Either way, McKenna is going to be in good hands because both Matthews and Tavares are former first-overall draft picks who know exactly what it’s like to handle the pressure of being the top choice in the NHL Entry Draft.
Matthews, in particular, knows what the pressure cooker of playing in Toronto is like, since he was drafted by the Maple Leafs No. 1 overall, so he knows the market well. McKenna, then, would be wise to follow in his footsteps in his rookie season.
Gavin McKenna Comments on Playing With Auston Matthews