The Toronto Maple Leafs told Gavin McKenna at the NHL Scouting Combine that he will be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
That’s according to NHL reporter Shawn Hutcheon, who took to social media on Tuesday to reveal what he heard from a source who was at the combine. According to Hutcheon’s source, the Maple Leafs straight-up told McKenna they would select him No. 1 overall on June 26.
“A source close to the situation, who was part of the NHL Combine, tells me Toronto told Gavin McKenna during their interview with the player that they intend on drafting him with the first overall pick,” Hutcheon wrote on X.
Gavin McKenna is a No-Brainer No. 1 Pick
While there are tons of great prospects in this year’s NHL draft, McKenna is a no-brainer selection for the Maple Leafs with the top pick.
He has been touted as one of the top hockey prospects for several years now, and after a successful season at Penn State University in the NCAA, where he was playing against bigger, older players, it’s clear he is ready for the big show and the bright lights in Toronto.
The Whitehorse, Yukon native was recently given his flowers by new Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka, who had nothing but positive things to say about the 18-year-old prospect.
âGavin is a really nice young man. Really quality family. Spent some quality time with them, got to know them. Heâs a small-town kid. Itâs a remote area of the world. Very peaceful, but beautiful. Within that, I think thereâs some real resolve around who he is, and what his career means to him and his family, and I find it impressive,â Chayka said.
Chayka also said that the Maple Leafs will be taking the best player available, which surely was in reference to McKenna. So while the Leafs’ GM didn’t outright announce the pick during his media availability at the NHL Scouting Combine, it was clear that McKenna was who he was hinting at.
Maple Leafs Need a New Coach
Since the Maple Leafs apparently already know who they are taking with the No. 1 overall pick, they now need to really focus on who will be the team’s next head coach.
The Maple Leafs interviewed 55 head-coaching candidates, so Chayka truly cast a wide net in his search to find the right bench boss for the team going forward.
After completing the first round of job interviews, the Maple Leafs are reportedly onto their second round of in-person interviews with the final five candidates.
While we don’t know for sure who the five candidates are, former San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars forward Joe Pavelski is said to be one of them, as is former New York Islanders and Colorado Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy.
We’ll ultimately find out soon who the Maple Leafs hire, as they will want to have someone in place by the draft so they can be on stage with McKenna when the Maple Leafs take the young star with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
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