Toronto Maple Leafs rookie forward Gavin McKenna shared his reaction to being benched by Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller.
During the Maple Leafs’ 5-4 OT loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, Hiller inexplicably benched McKenna for the entirety of the third period and overtime in a head-scratching move that led to plenty of criticism from fans and talking heads in Toronto, who questioned the decision to bench the No. 1 overall pick.
For his part, Hiller said after the game that he essentially forgot to put McKenna back on the ice, a questionable thing for any NHL head coach to admit.
So, how did McKenna respond to being benched?
Gavin McKenna Responds to Benching From Jim Hiller
Speaking to reporters ahead of Toronto’s game on Saturday against the New York Islanders, McKenna shared his reaction to being benched by Hiller.
“Yeah, obviously you want to play, but we had a good talk. We have a good relationship together, me and Jim, so he said it had nothing to do with my play, which is obviously nice to know. It doesn’t really take away from your confidence at all, so I appreciated him reaching out. I trust him, I trust the team, I trust what they want to do, and I’m willing to play any role this team wants,” McKenna said.
When asked what his mindset was while seeing the game play on with him sitting on the bench watching, McKenna admitted it was frustrating for that to happen, though he did his best to take it in stride.
“Obviously, with the penalties, I know I’m not going to go out there and kill any penalties. And yeah, at the end of the second, you think that maybe you’d get a shift. But it didn’t come, and then you sit for a while and get a little bit cold. Obviously, you’re hoping for a shift, but when it doesn’t come, I think you start to realize that you’re going to be watching a little bit,” McKenna said.
“For me, honestly, sitting there watching, I tried to learn as much as I could. I think whenever you get a team like this, and you got players like Auston (Matthews), John (Tavares), Willy (Nylander), all those vets, I think you can learn a lot just by watching.”
McKenna also told reporters that this was the first time in his entire hockey career that he can remember being benched by a coach.
Gavin McKenna Favored to Win Calder Memorial Trophy
Despite this odd benching by Hiller, McKenna is having a very solid rookie season so far, as the 18-year-old winger has played in eight games so far, scoring two goals and five points, which is second among NHL rookies behind Anton Frondell of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Right now, McKenna is the favorite to win the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year, which makes sense given his strong start to the season and his pedigree as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
With this bizarre benching by Hiller now behind him, McKenna will be looking to move on and play an even more important role with his landlord, Maple Leafs veteran center John Tavares, currently out week-to-week with an injury, with McKenna replacing him on the team’s first power-play unit for now.
Gavin McKenna Reacts to Benching by Maple Leafs HC Jim Hiller