Gavin McKenna would be 'pumped' if drafted 1st overall by Maple Leafs

Gavin McKenna saw the video evidence quickly.

The Maple Leafs beat the odds last month to win the NHL's draft lottery and secure the first overall pick.

The Buffalo Sabres, this year's event hosts, opened their second-round playoff series with the Montreal Canadiens one day after the ping-pong balls fell in Toronto's favour.

An excited Maple Leafs fan, meanwhile, had already secured a blue-and-white McKenna jersey with his familiar No. 72 splashed across the back, and was cruising around KeyBank Centre before a pair of Atlantic Division rivals battled on the ice.

The 18-year-old winger from Whitehorse is hoping those crisp threads don't go to waste.

"It doesn't really feel real, but it's pretty cool," McKenna said of potentially hearing his name called first Friday shortly after 7 p.m. ET inside the same rink where the Maple Leafs took Auston Matthews with the top selection a decade ago. "Toronto is such a big fan base and passionate fan base. If I do get drafted there, I'd be pumped.

"It was pretty cool to see [the jersey]."

No. 1, in short, has been on his mind.

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"I've thought about it," McKenna said Thursday. "Wherever I get picked, I'm excited. It's the NHL draft. I get to experience it with my family and go through it with them."

The top-ranked North American skater, according to NHL Central Scouting, has been in the eye of the 2026 draft storm since bursting onto the Western Hockey League scene at age 14 with a four-assist debut for the Medicine Hat Tigers back in 2022.

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McKenna went on to put up 97 points (34 goals, 63