The Toronto Maple Leafs had a night to forget on Wednesday, October 28, after losing 5-4 to the Seattle Kraken.
Frankly, it was a particularly unusual game: the Leafs appeared to have the tools and ability to get back into it, but ultimately fell short because of a few costly mistakes.
There was harsh criticism, particularly of goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, but also of other players, including William Nylander.
Nevertheless, the game offered a few positives. Gavin McKenna led the standout performances, recording his first three-point night since joining Toronto.
After this historic night for the 18-year-old, Nick Alberga and former Toronto player Jay Rosehill discussed his performance on Thursday, October 29, on Daily Faceoff’s “The Leafs Morning Take.”
Both had nothing but praise for McKenna. Rosehill even went a step further, saying that McKenna has everything it takes to become a major impact player for the organization in the years to come.
Jay Rosehill: Gavin McKenna ‘Has a Bright Future’ With Maple Leafs
Rosehill said, “Overwhelmingly positive, this kid’s got a bright future. He’s going to be a major impact player for this organization.”
“His entrance into the league has gone as seamlessly as I think anyone could have asked. But there are things that he’s probably going to be addressing and videos that he’s going to be watching to make him better and continue to grow as a player. So we’ll look for that.”
Rosehill also criticized the standards used to point out McKenna’s areas for improvement and mistakes, arguing that people are failing to consider that he is an 18-year-old player in his first NHL season.
He said, “The one thing I don’t like is how, you know, he’s on that first line. Everyone’s talking about how short his leash is. How short is his leash? Where if you iso camed Willy (Nylander) yesterday or iso camed even Austin (Matthews), there’s tons of opportunities where it’s like, that was a little bit of a soft play.”
“God, ‘you got to be a little stronger on the puck there,’ recognize the situation a little better than that. But if it’s Gavin McKenna, the 18-year-old, it’s like, ‘oh, he’s got a lot to learn.’ It’s like, guys, you can’t hold him to a higher standard than everybody else.”
Maple Leafs Get Blunt Gavin McKenna Prediction: ‘Major Impact’