New NHL Mock Draft 2026 Starring Gavin McKenna Revealed by Expert with 8 Days to Go Until 1st Round

The Toronto Maple Leafs selected Penn State left wing Gavin McKenna first overall in the latest NHL mock draft from Corey Pronman of The Athletic.

"This feels mostly like a foregone conclusion," Pronman wrote. "I think Toronto has done a lot of work on Ivar Stenberg, Chase Reid and Caleb Malhotra, but every source in the league believes McKenna is the Maple Leafs' guy."

The 5'11", 170-pound McKenna played one season with the Nittany Lions, posting 15 goals and 36 assists for 51 points in 35 games.

McKenna is the Leafs' pick anywhere you look, at this point (e.g. NHL.com, ESPN.com, The Hockey News).

Hannah Stuart notably had McKenna headed to Toronto as well in the latest Bleacher Report mock draft.

"It's difficult to narrow down exactly why McKenna is so special in a brief blurb, but there is no better place to start than his processing," Stuart wrote in part.

"His vision, his intelligence, and the way he is able to put all of those into action through his puck-handling and playmaking abilities are going to serve the Leafs well for a long time."

It's also been reported, per Shawn Hutcheon, that the Maple Leafs informed McKenna that he's the pick.

As for the rest of the top 10, here's a look at how Pronman has it set up right now.

Team	Player
1. Toronto Maple Leafs	Penn State LW Gavin McKenna
2. San Jose Sharks	Frölunda LW Ivar Stenberg
3. Vancouver Canucks	Brantford C Caleb Malhotra
4. Chicago Blackhawks	Sault Ste. Marie D Chase Reid
5. New York Rangers	Prince George D Carson Carels
6. Calgary Flames	Djurgården C Viggo Björck
7. Seattle Kraken	North Dakota D Keaton Verhoeff
8. Winnipeg Jets	Jukurit D Alberts Šmits
9. Florida Panthers	Prince Albert D Jaxon Rudolph
10. Nashville Predators	HV71 D Malte Gustafsson

This year's NHL draft will begin on Friday, June 26 from the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.