BUFFALO, N.Y. — A lot of people in Gavin McKenna’s high-profile position will claim they tune out the noise. But when the volume got turned up — and not in a fun way — around the guy people have long assumed would be the top pick at the 2026 NHL Draft, McKenna not only noticed, but openly admits he took it to heart.
McKenna arrived at the NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo this week largely back in the catbird’s seat when it comes to expectations around the No. 1 selection. If the Toronto Maple Leafs don’t take the dynamic left winger in the top spot, it will register as a significant surprise. That said, McKenna saw his status as No. 1 — which felt cemented at the start of this hockey season in the fall — slip before Christmas as he adapted less than seamlessly to NCAA hockey at Penn State from the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League. As such, other names began surfacing as possibly being the best player available in 2026, while McKenna’s game was questioned.
“For me, when you see yourself at the top since a young age, then you start to see the things in the media that you’re falling down [draft rankings], having a bad start to the year, you get pretty fired up,” McKenna said after finishing the fitness testing on Saturday morning. “When I started seeing those things, I got sick and tired [of it] and just kind of used it as fuel. I started working harder off the ice and on the ice. When I started doing that, I just became more confident. When you’re putting in the time and effort, you start to feel good about yourself. I think that’s what helped me.”
McKenna, who’s carried a high profile for years leading up to this draft and has already played in two World Junior Championships with Canada, knows the doubters aren’t going anywhere. Just because he turned in a much better second half to the season, critics can always find something to pick at.
And he’s prepared to keep clapping back with his play.
“I mean, I don’t think it’s ever going to go away,” he said of the less-than-favourable commentary. “Some people will always [think] what they think of me and some of it might not be good, so I don’t think it’ll ever go away. But [learning how to respond this year is] something that I’ll carry with me forever. I learned hard work is a key to confidence. I think seeing all that [negative] stuff, it’s good to remember how key hard work is and that’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my career.”
Lord help the Leafs if they don’t take this kid, because the chip on his shoulder will be the size of the Yukon Territory he comes from should he fall to No. 2. Odds are, though, when new Buds GM John Chayka — who recently made the voyage up to McKenna’s native Whitehorse to meet with the young man and his family — takes centre stage at the draft on June 26, he’ll be calling McKenna’s name.
“If that was the case, I’d be pretty pumped,” McKenna said. “As a Canadian kid, going to a Canadian market would be pretty special.”
Another thing that makes the whole thing unique in McKenna’s view is the state of the team picking first. Being at the top of the draft tends to be an indication a franchise is down on its luck. And while the Leafs — like McKenna himself — certainly took some heat for their down performance during the past season, you get the sense the kid who could be the next big Bud believes Toronto — likely with McKenna in its midst — will be right back on its feet next year.
“Obviously, the situation the Leafs are in right now, it’s pretty crazy that they got the first-overall pick,” he said of the squad that finished fifth from the bottom in the NHL and hit on an 8.5 per cent chance of winning the NHL Draft Lottery in May after nine straight years in the playoffs. “[It is] a team that’s probably going to be fighting for the playoffs next year. I’d be fortunate to go there.”
While McKenna may have bristled at some of the early critiques of his game this season, he certainly acknowledges the jump from major junior hockey in Medicine Hat — where he spent two-plus seasons — to the NCAA represented a tough adjustment. Early in the year, the points weren’t coming as naturally as they had for basically the entire hockey life of a guy who idolized puck wizard Patrick Kane as a kid and built a boatload of hype based his incredible offensive abilities. It’s a big leap, though, to compete against larger players who are often two or three years your senior.
“In college, the guys are bigger, stronger, faster and the game itself is just a little different than junior, it’s more straightforward hockey,” McKenna said. “I found out early on that nothing is going happen easily. I think once I got to world juniors I kind of got my confidence back and figure out the game a bit more, started working harder off the ice and on the ice and getting in the dirty areas a bit more and that’s why I started producing more. You kind of learn how to play in that environment and obviously, that’s going to carry through to the NHL. To get that experience, figuring out how to play [against bigger competition] has helped me a lot. That’s part of the reason I went to college.”
McKenna’s campaign came to an end a little earlier than he and his Penn State teammates would have preferred, as the squad was bounced in late March before April’s Frozen Four. McKenna, however, didn’t put his feet up just because the games were over. “As soon as my season was done, I didn’t really take a break, I wanted to prepare for the Combine,” he said. “I was training hard in Kelowna [with fellow prospects Liam and Markus Ruck and Mathis Preston].”
Part of the reason McKenna — listed at five-foot-11 and 170 pounds coming into the Combine — wanted to show well is because he knows his size is the one consistent ding people throw at him.
“I wanted to prepare hard for this,” McKenna said. “My frame is not the biggest, so I wanted to show I could compete out there and can work hard off the ice.”
While McKenna certainly spends a lot of time these days in an all-business state of mind, it’s not as though he’s had any trouble soaking this entire experience in. After all, this is a young man who spent his earliest hockey days playing on outdoor rinks in Whitehorse — far away from any NHL burghs — and follows in the footsteps of Ottawa Senators centre Dylan Cozens as the only Yukoners to attend the Combine.
“It’s something I’m very grateful for and something I’ll never take for granted,” McKenna said of the buzz and excitement that comes with seeing his NHL dream get one major step closer to reality.
Once there, he’s certainly better equipped to handle whatever comes his way.
