Toronto Maple Leafs select Gavin McKenna to open NHL draft - ESPN

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Toronto Maple Leafs selected Penn State winger Gavin McKenna with the first pick of the NHL Entry Draft on Friday night.

McKenna, 18, was widely projected to go No. 1 overall to the Maple Leafs on the strength of a junior hockey and collegiate career that showcased his elite scoring and playmaking capabilities. The Whitehorse, Yukon, native debuted with the Western Hockey League's Medicine Hat Tigers in 2022 and played there until 2025, collecting 79 goals and 165 points in 133 games.

That same year, the NCAA changed its rules on eligibility for skaters who had previously suited up in the Canadian major junior leagues, including the WHL, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. As a result, McKenna was one of the first players to take advantage by joining the Nittany Lions for the 2025-26 season.

That shift to face bigger, tougher competition further highlighted McKenna's all-around game. He was an elite talent for Penn State with 15 goals and 51 points in 35 games that made him a practically unanimous choice to be taken first here.

McKenna's defensive game will have to catch up with his dynamic offensive abilities, but the Maple Leafs should still offer him ample opportunity to step right into the NHL this fall and boost its attack up front with his creativity and impressive release.

«I'm so grateful,» McKenna said donning the Toronto jersey on the ESPN broadcast. «I have no words.»

Toronto held the top selection in Friday's event after winning the draft lottery on May 5. It was exactly 10 years ago — also in Buffalo — that the Maple Leafs last held that No. 1 choice, and used it to select now-captain Auston Matthews. Toronto missed the postseason in 2025-26 for the first time