Gavin McKenna to Maple Leafs, Watch Highlights of No. 1 Pick in 2026 NHL Draft

Gavin McKenna is headed to the Toronto Maple Leafs with the franchise's first No. 1 pick since Auston Matthews.

The Leafs selected McKenna with the top pick of the 2026 NHL Draft on Friday in Buffalo. Maple Leafs fan and superstar singer Justin Bieber announced the pick for Toronto.

McKenna will now be tasked with making the jump from college hockey to the NHL in order to help the Leafs recover from missing the playoffs for the first time since drafting Matthews in 2016.

A former CHL phenom turned NCAA star, McKenna entered the draft after recording 51 points (15 goals, 36 assists) in 35 games of his freshman season at Penn State.

Despite posting two assists in his college debut against Arizona State last October, McKenna saw a relatively slow start to his first college season.

While making the adjustment to the NCAA at just 17 years old, McKenna also had to adjust to a variety of new linemates amid injuries including an extended absence from star forward Aiden Fink.

Despite those challenges, McKenna improved both his production and his play away from the puck over the back half of the season.

The forward recorded his first college hat trick in a Jan. 23 game at Wisconsin as part of Penn State's first series sweep over a top-5 opponent.

He set NCAA records with seven assists and eight points in a Feb. 20 win over Ohio State, marking the most points scored in a DI game since 1987.

McKenna also developed as a playmaker down the stretch of the season, posting 21 assists over his final 16 games before Penn State's season ended with a NCAA Tournament loss to Minnesota-Duluth.

The Leafs will now hope the growth McKenna showed both as a producer and playmaker will provide the spark the franchise needs to recover from a 32-36-14 finish to last season.

Toronto's struggles were in part due to the franchise's inability to replace the production of Mitch Marner, who posted 102 points during the 2024-25 season before departing in free agency.

Matthews had a relatively down season in his first campaign without Marner, posting a career-low 27 goals in 60 games.

The Leafs will now hope bringing in another talented winger who could potentially play with Matthews on the top line will help this team bounce back next season under new head coach Jim Hiller.