McKenna has ‘pretty cool’ time making preseason debut with Maple Leafs

TORONTO -- Gavin McKenna was standing on the blue line for the pregame introductions on Saturday in his preseason debut for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Montreal Canadiens.

When he heard public address announcer Mike Ross call out, "From Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory, number 92, Gavin McKenna,” the loudest cheer for any player from the crowd at Scotiabank Arena followed.

That’s when the gravity of the moment hit him.

“That starting lineup call was pretty cool,” McKenna said. “Just everything, being out there with the guys, the talent in this room, very lucky to be able to step out there on that ice for my first time with guys like Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies, J.T. (John Tavares), Willy (Nylander). I’ll remember this day forever.”

While a 4-1 loss was not the outcome he had hoped for, McKenna was effective with three shots in 20:39 of ice time.

“I felt pretty good, I thought I created a bit but also had a couple turnovers which I think kind of just happens with nerves but like I said, I think it was a good start and a lot to build on,” McKenna said.

2026-27 NHL Preseason Stats

After taking a hooking penalty on his third shift at 4:44 of the first period that Toronto killed off, McKenna carried the puck with confidence on several occasions and showed signs of the offensive creativity that led him to being the No. 1 pick by Toronto 85 days ago at the 2026 NHL Draft on June 26.

At 5:32 of the second period, he held on to the puck on a 2-on-1 with Nylander and shot from the right face-off dot.

Near the end of a power play at 10:42 of the second period, he showed his quickness stepping past a defender from high in the zone to take a shot from the bottom of the right face-off circle.

“I thought it was good,” Toronto coach Jim Hiller said. “In a game where I didn’t think there was a lot of offense from either team, he was in on three or four chances so you’ll take that every day. I thought he was good, good start for him.

“I would just tell him not to overthink it. Clearly he’s a pretty good self-evaluator and he will put that pressure on himself so I’m not going to do that to him this early. We will just see how he adjusts himself for the next game. He’s probably identified the area I would too. I won’t talk too much about it.”

McKenna skated predominantly at left wing on a line with Tavares at center and Nylander at right wing at even strength and played 3:27 on the second power play unit with Bo Groulx, Knies, Tinus Luc Koblar and Emil Andrae.

Late in the third period with the Maple Leafs having pulled goalie Anthony Stolarz for a 6-on-5 advantage trailing 2-1, McKenna was sent out by Hiller as well, though Toronto was unable to tie the game.

“From the start with him putting me on the second line, it was super comforting,” McKenna said. “It feels good knowing he has confidence in me and putting me out there, that feels good. Whenever you get a chance to be out there with those guys and knowing the coach wants you out there in the last few minutes to hopefully tie the game, it feels good.”

Driving to the game with Tavares, McKenna said he was not as nervous as he expected but is glad to have his first NHL game day behind him.

“It was good to get a feel for what a gameday routine feels like,” McKenna said. “It was obviously a lot of fun and a lot of excitement in the room with me stepping out on the ice with those guys for warmups was pretty special.”

Matthews, the Maple Leafs captain, said he could see the talent McKenna possesses and expects him to keep improving.

“He was good, you can just tell,” Matthews said. “It’s not easy to jump into your first game after a very short two practices and then right into a preseason game in the NHL. I think he’s got a great head on his shoulders, he’s going to continue to get better as camp goes on and gets more comfortable and adjusts to this pace of play. But he had moments out there where you can tell just how skilled and how talented he is and what he can do.”

Hiller said he felt McKenna, at times, could have been more aggressive getting to loose pucks but that he expects him to improve in that area quickly as he adjusts to the pace at the NHL level.

“The one thing I’d say to him is to be a little closer to the puck, a little bit closer,” the coach said. “We want him to have the puck and sometimes in the NHL, you have to get right there and surround it and then make plays out of that rather than waiting to see if someone can get it to you. He’ll figure out that part of the game pretty easily.”

The 18-year old admitted hearing his name announced in the starting lineup gave him chills but he could not identify just one moment where he thought how cool it was that he is finally living out his dream of playing in the NHL.

“I think the whole time I’ve been here I’ve been thinking (this is pretty cool),” he said.