WHAT HE'S DONE
It was quite the roller coaster for McKenna. He scored his second goal and played a season-high 17:08 in a 5-4 loss at the Utah Mammoth on Oct. 13 that gave him five points (two goals, three assists) during a four-game point streak. But that ended two days later when he played a season-low 6:36 and didn't have a shift after 10:20 of the second period during a 5-4 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Coach Jim Hiller said after the game that three Maple Leafs penalties during the final 5:25 of the second kept McKenna on the bench and then the coach said he lost track of McKenna during the third. Hiller said at a certain point he realized McKenna had sat so long, "I said, I'm not going put him out there now. I've been sitting him there for 30 minutes. It's not fair to him."
The two spoke Friday and McKenna said Hiller told him, "It had nothing to do with my play, which is obviously nice to know." Hiller showed how much trust he has in McKenna the next game, playing him a new season-high 17:56, including 8:18 during the third period, in a 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders. McKenna didn't have a point. but his four shots on goal matched his season best. His five points (two goals, three assists) in nine games are tied for sixth among NHL rookies and his 17 shots on goal are tied for fourth.
WHAT'S AHEAD THIS WEEK
McKenna and the Maple Leafs start a run of four games in six nights with a back to back against the San Jose Sharks to close a three-game homestand on Monday (7:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN+, NBCSCA). It will be McKenna's first game against one of his offseason training partners, Sharks captain Macklin Celebrini. They visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; CBJHN, CBJNHL, SNP, SNO, SN360), then return home to face the New York Rangers on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; TSN4, MSG). And then comes the start of a four-game swing through Western Canada beginning at the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SNO, SNW, SNP).
MOST INTRIGUING MATCHUP
McKenna vs. Stenberg
It's also the first game between the first two picks of the 2026 NHL Draft when McKenna plays Sharks forward Ivar Stenberg. The 19-year-old forward scored his first NHL goal in San Jose's 6-3 loss to the Boston Bruins on Oct. 13, sneaking behind the Bruins penalty kill for a backdoor tap-in goal on the power play and later setting up Celebrini for a power-play goal. The recent history of initial No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups has favored the No. 1 pick. Last season, No. 1 Matthew Schaefer and the Islanders defeated No. 2 Michael Misa and the Sharks 4-3 on Oct. 21, 2025, with Schaefer getting a goal and an assist and Misa an assist. The first game between the top two picks in the 2024 NHL Draft saw No. 1 pick Celebrini and the Sharks defeat No. 2 Artyom Levshunov and the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 on March 13, 2025, with Celebrini getting an assist. And in the first game between the top two picks of the 2023 NHL Draft, No. 1 Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks won 1-0 against No. 2 Leo Carlsson and the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 7, 2023, with Bedard getting an assist.
MOST ANTICIPATED GAME
Saturday vs. Edmonton Oilers
McKenna's first NHL trip to Western Canada begins with his first game against NHL scoring leader Connor McDavid and the Oilers. McDavid grew up a Maple Leafs fan in the Toronto suburb of Richmond Hill, Ontario, and as a fellow No. 1 NHL Draft pick (2015), he understands better than most the pressure McKenna will face as the season goes on. "It seems like he's a good kid," McDavid said. "He'll have his hands full in Toronto, but he seems like he's prepared for it. He'll have a good support system there too with Auston Matthews. He'll have a lot of support around him, so he should be fine."
EDGE STATS OF THE WEEK
McKenna's skating speed remains one of the top elements of his game. His top speed of 23.34 mph during the third period against the Vegas Golden Knights on Oct. 8 is the 10th fastest recorded top speed of any NHL forward this season, and his 21 speed bursts of 20-22 mph ranks in the 89th percentile of forwards. McKenna had his hardest shot of the season against the Islanders on Saturday with a 77.36 mph attempt at 18:16 of the second period, his second shot that clocked in at 75 mph or faster this season. For all McKenna NHL EDGE stats, click here.
THEY SAID IT
"I think you can just tell, I don't think anything really shakes him. He's got confidence in his game, he knows what he can do out there and he's going to make plays, and I thought he showed that tonight." -- Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews on McKenna's season-high ice time Saturday, one game after his season low.
NHL.com staff writer Derek Van Diest contributed to this report
