The Pressure Shows Up Early
Toronto Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka made the trip north to Whitehorse last week, crossing into the Yukon to spend time with draft prospect Gavin McKenna and his family before the NHL combine even began.
"He's a small-town kid," Chayka said of the visit. "It's a remote area of the world. Very peaceful, but beautiful and within that I think there's some real resolve around who he is and what his career means to him and his family. I find that impressive."
The matchup already has enough history; the job is to keep the reading list shorter than the tension.
McKenna, 18, left home at age 12 to pursue his hockey dream — a significant decision given the limited player pool and competition in Yukon territory. He credits his family, particularly his grandfather Joe Mason, a survivor of the Canadian Indian residential school system, as his primary motivation.
The Leafs hold the first overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, and while McKenna is the favourite to be selected, Chayka revealed the team is considering five or six candidates for the top selection.
"There's a nice mix of different players and different styles and a few different positions," Chayka said. "It's a good year. It's nice for it to be hard. There's a tier there that we think very highly of and are all probably, you know, potentially worthy of being the first overall pick, but we'll have to get one."
The Detail That Tilts It
Other top prospects include Swedish left winger Ivar Stenberg, who helped Sweden win gold at the World Juniors and just played at the men's Worlds, and defenceman Chase Reid, who is heading to Michigan State after a standout season with the Soo Greyhounds.
The Leafs are coming off a campaign that saw them finish fifth last in the league. McKenna, who received exceptional status to play in the WHL at age 15 with the Medicine Hat Tigers before jumping to the NCAA with Penn State, said he's ready for the challenge.
"Obviously the situation the Leafs are in right now, it's pretty crazy they got the first overall pick," McKenna said. "They're a team who's probably going to be fighting for the playoffs next year so I'd be pretty fortunate to go there."
Asked about the prospect of moving from Whitehorse to Toronto, the young forward offered a characteristically understated response: "Being a small-town kid moving to a big city would be pretty cool."