Matthew Knies knows a little bit about what Gavin McKenna's about to face as the 2026-27 NHL season is getting set to kick off.
Though not a No. 1 overall pick, as he was taken 57th overall in 2021, Knies understands what it's like to be the hot, exciting prospect suiting up for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and what that entails.
"I think it's a big market to step into and it might be a little bit big at times, a little bit overwhelming, but I think he's handled everything really maturely," Knies said Wednesday on the JD Bunkis podcast, talking about his new teammate McKenna.
Knies has seemed impressed with McKenna during his brief time getting to know the teenager, and believes that, as tough a hockey market as Toronto can be, the rookie will be able to handle anything that comes his way.
"I think he's gonna be able to do a lot of it on his own with how skilled and how mature he is as a person," Knies said. "I don't think there's going to be a need to help him as much, but if there ever comes a time I hope that he speaks up and asks questions."
The addition of McKenna has Knies feeling good about the Maple Leafs' chances this season after just a 78-point campaign last season that landed the team dead last in the Atlantic Division.
Knies said that he and the team may have relied on their past success to forecast what was going to happen too much. A mistake he's striving not to allow happen again.
"I feel like we had a really good team last year and I feel like we just kind of felt like it was going to happen that we were gonna make the playoffs, and I think I took my health for granted, a little bit," said Knies, who was dealing with a knee injury that he played through last season. "I felt like I was complacent a little bit where 'I'm healthy, I'm strong,' and I feel like there's always more you can do to keep yourself even more healthy, stronger. ...
"So, yeah, just don't take every season for granted. We had such a good team last season on paper and there were good spurts there where we were in a good spot in the Atlantic and we just kind of took the season for granted and let it just kind of blow away."
With McKenna in the fold and his knee issues seemingly behind him, Knies is optimistic that the 2026-27 season will go as well as he hoped last season would've.
"I think we have a good group," he said. "I think there's a lot of unselfish guys in our group. A lot of players that are going to fill roles this year. I think that's an exciting part of it. Just how many different types of players we have, and that's going to make us a really great team."
Toronto begins pre-season play Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT on Sportsnet ONE and Sportsnet+.
