TORONTO — They can all warn a teenager how difficult the National Hockey League is — with its accelerated pace, full-grown adult bodychecks, traffic-jam neutral zones and burning spotlight — but until he lives it, gets humbled by it, then gets reminded about it, he doesn’t really know.
"How hard it is. Like, you come in, you believe in yourself — and I still believe in myself. But, yeah, especially in the Toronto media, with putting up zero points in three games, I think you hear about it," Gavin McKenna said Tuesday, after participating in an optional morning skate.
"So, maybe that’s my welcome to the NHL."
Unless you’re living under a rock, you likely caught wind that the 18-year-old Next One in Toronto is the first No. 1 draft pick to post doughnuts on the scoresheet since Alexis Lafreniere, who needed seven games to splash the sheet in 2021.
“It’s obviously not where you want to be. But at the end of the day, I’ve been on many streaks where I’ve put up no points. Had a tough start to college last year, and started to figure things out there,” McKenna said.
“Learning from last year and learning from these first few games is going to be key. And just sticking with it, being confident, I know it's going to come.”
How McKenna deals with online criticism and the mainstream pointing out his production dips is a topic of conversation behind closed doors. Mats Sundin and McKenna’s teammates have all addressed the “noise” with him.
“It’s difficult because they spend a lot of time on their phones. So, if you’re trying to avoid it, you still probably bump into some of the stuff. What you need to do is just really stay focused in the moment, stay on the present,” coach Jim Hiller said.
“I’m sure that’s an evolution for all players. Probably some are better at that than others. But I think over time you probably improve in that area, just like any other area of being a professional.”
McKenna has been dissecting each game with landlord-slash-linemate John Tavares and poring over video of his shifts in one-on-one sessions with associate coach Daniel Alfredsson.
The dialogue is positive, and the resources are unique.
“He’s got people around him who’ve kind of been through being a high pick,” said Morgan Rielly, who enjoys playing with McKenna on PP2.
“He’s been awesome, and he’s playing great. Just the skill and poise that he displays, and his ability to just move the puck with confidence and firm.
“And on the power play when he’s on the half-wall there, that’s an area of his game where he excels.”
Billed a perimeter playmaker, a brilliant one, the kid’s great challenge is driving his 164-pound frame to the middle — and identifying when he should.
“It’s a tough league, and there’s not a whole lot of time and space. So, when you get those chances to find the middle of the ice — they don’t come very often — you got to make sure you’re there and you’re ready when you get that chance,” McKenna explained.
“In juniors and college, you can kind of get away with trying to make moves at the blue line and stuff like that and not getting the puck deep. But here, you only get so many chances a game. So, if you don't make that play, then the puck's probably back in your own end, and you're playing in the D-zone, and then you're off the ice. So, you got to be smart with your decisions.”
Top-secret goalie plan
When the Maple Leafs opened workload conversations with their expensive, excellent and aging free-agent prize, Sergei Bobrovsky stressed the importance of setting his reunited backup, Anthony Stolarz, up for success as well.
Numbers were crunched. The calendar was analyzed. And goalie coach Curtis Sanford mapped out a starters’ schedule for a good chunk of the season (health-willing, of course).
Hiller declined to reveal how deep into the future the goalies know their start dates, but balancing the workload of a spry 38-year-old and an injury-plagued 32-year-old has been a priority.
In other words, Stolarz — superb in Wednesday’s 2-1 win over the Islanders — won’t have to twiddle his thumbs until the next back-to-back.
He stayed off the ice for morning skate, letting EBUG Brandon Bonello handle shots, and will start Tuesday.
“You don’t want to burn anybody out,” Hiller noted.
Too early for a must-win?
With 80 games to go after Tuesday’s tilt, it would be silly to tag Toronto’s match against the Nashville Predators as a must-win. And yet, the 1-2 Maple Leafs begin Week 2 in seventh place in what promises to be a hotly contested Atlantic Division.
Their first road trip, which begins with a flight to Vegas Wednesday, features the reigning Western Conference champions (Golden Knights), the reigning Presidents’ Trophy champions (Avalanche) and one of the NHL’s most exciting squads on the rise (Mammoth).
A loss against the low-expectations Preds (1-1), who finished 23rd last season, would equal a 1-3 opening homestand and spell instant adversity.
“It’s a unique way to open the year at home here for as long as we’ve been here,” Rielly said. “So, it’s important that we end the right way.”
That means another solid showing by Stolarz, strong special teams and a breakthrough from a second line under early fire.
“There’s no question,” Hiller said. “When you get on the plane tomorrow, you’d like to come off a win.”
Maple Leafs projected lineup Tuesday vs. Nashville:
Marchenko – Matthews – Roslovic
McKenna – Tavares – Nylander
Cowan – Paul – Sissons
Duhaime – Blueger – Groulx
McCabe – Tanev
Rielly – Raddysh
Ekman-Larsson – Stecher
Stolarz starts
Bobrovsky
6:07