How good is Gavin McKenna? Enough to change everything for Maple Leafs with 1st pick

Gavin McKenna has been viewed as the most likely No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft for multiple years now.

Only on Tuesday night did the hockey world find out who'd get to make that pick: the Toronto Maple Leafs.

It's not a guarantee they pick McKenna -- they could choose Swedish winger Ivar Sternberg -- but it sure seems like McKenna would be the favorite here.

The Canadian kid to go to Toronto to be the savior? Sounds just about perfect.

Not all first overall picks are created equal, though. The good news for the Leafs is that McKenna's talent is about as good as it gets in this slot.

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How good is Gavin McKenna?

McKenna is one of the top NHL Draft prospects in recent memory.

He was so good at the junior level that it was a shocking, unprecedented decision for him to go play a year in the NCAA ranks at Penn State. And then after taking a little while to get rolling there, McKenna proved he was one of the best players in the country even as a teenager playing against guys a few years older than him, at least.

McKenna has also shone at the various age-group levels internationally for Canada. There's nothing this winger can't do.

"What hasn’t already been said about Gavin McKenna?" wrote Frank Zawrazky for The Sporting News after the lottery on Tuesday. "He’s the clear-cut first overall selection. McKenna has elite hockey IQ and the silky hands to turn his ideas into tangible offense. His pass-first game could elevate the other two forwards on his unit. Yes, he needs a bit of defensive help, but that can be worked on throughout his development. I’m excited to see what he can do on a line with Auston Matthews or John Tavares. A pure playmaker like McKenna with an elite goal scorer like Matthews."

At the end of the day, the Maple Leafs probably won't second guess this too much.

McKenna has been the obvious choice here for years. Now that Toronto gets to make it, it's hard to think of better fortune falling into their lap.

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