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One way or another, Gavin McKenna's time is going to arrive on Friday night.
That's when the NHL Draft begins, with the Toronto Maple Leafs set to be on the clock with the No. 1 overall pick.
Will they take McKenna? It's still not a given, although most seem to think that's what will happen.
McKenna has been viewed as the top player in his draft class for a few years now. He has starred both for the Medicine Hat Tigers in the WHL and the Penn State Nittany Lions in the NCAA.
Now, the week is here, and McKenna is likely hoping, as a Canadian winger, that he gets to go to Toronto.
The rankings put together by Canadian outlet TSN were put out as a final edition this week, and they do give McKenna the edge, barely, over Sweden's Ivar Stenberg.
"What began as a runaway contest has ended in a photo finish," wrote Steve Dryden of TSN. "Gavin McKenna is the winner - albeit by the slimmest of margins - in the race for No. 1 in TSN’s 2026 Final NHL Draft Ranking. McKenna, Canada’s trailblazing major junior/collegiate superstar, prevailed over Ivar Stenberg, Sweden’s teen sensation, in a showdown of 5-foot-11 left wingers."
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The TSN article also quotes its scouting director.
“However close it may be, Gavin McKenna deserves No. 1 billing this year,” TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button said in that article. “He has that ‘it’ factor you want in a No. 1 draft pick.”
It's a particularly fascinating "photo finish" because McKenna and Stenberg play the same position. They'll be able to be compared for the next decade to see if the Maple Leafs got this right.
But there's still time for Toronto to make a different call. No one will know for sure until Friday night.
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