McKenna built to handle pressure of playing in Toronto
The Toronto Maple Leafs got exactly the break they needed on Tuesday night when the ping pong balls bounced their way in the NHL draft lottery providing them with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 draft in June.
The presumptive No. 1 overall pick is Penn State forward Gavin McKenna, who made the leap to the NCAA ranks after torching the WHL in 2024-25 and really found his game at a new level as the season went along.
With the expectations and pressure that come along with being a first overall pick in the NHL’s biggest market, could McKenna rise to the occasion and deliver on his sky-high potential if the Leafs choose to take him?
On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton were joined by Daily Faceoff prospect analyst Steven Ellis to discuss why McKenna’s lengthy tenure in the limelight and stint at Penn State prepared him for what would be coming if he goes first overall.
Tyler Yaremchuk: What about the pressure that comes with going to the Toronto Maple Leafs? I don’t think it’s a non-factor or something that’s just an old center of the hockey universe type of question. We even talked before about just from our company, the amount of bodies we’re going to be sending to the combine now to watch Gavin McKenna, and like we are certainly not alone as a media entity. There are going to be more eyeballs there, Aand at his first practice, there’s going to be cameras everywhere. Like, how do you think McKenna’s personality fits what he’s about to step into here?
Steven Ellis: As someone who lives close to Buffalo and lives close to Toronto, I can tell you, the draft combine’s going to be a zoo, a lot more than the last couple of years, which hasn’t been too crazy… I think if anybody’s going to be able to kind of handle the spotlight, it is somebody who’s been in the spotlight for five years. Like, I always point out that a prospect first kind of becomes part of the mainstream when they show up on HFBoards, and the first post about him on HFBoards was like July of 2021. Bedard wasn’t drafted. Celebrini wasn’t drafted. His name was showing up there around the same time those guys, their names started to appear. And I think being able to handle that pressure, I think is something that’s really allowed him to stay calm and relaxed. And yeah, I know the off-ice issue from that one event, probably not ideal for anybody, but in general, everything I’ve talked to scouts, like they say, like this guy is very mature, handles questions very well. Pressure doesn’t seem to get to him, but he does thrive in the big moments, and I feel like that’s something where like, one of his best games of the year was actually the day he got arrested, which was when he went out and played that outdoor game and he was outstanding… multi-point game. He was great, and with 70,000 people there, he seemed to thrive. So I feel like he’s going to be fine compared to somebody who might have played in a small market town, hasn’t had to deal with the excitement of playing in an NCAA barn where the crowds are nuts, and then also be in the spotlight like he is. I feel like he’s ready for this.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…