BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Toronto Maple Leafs selected Penn State winger Gavin McKenna with the first pick of the NHL draft on Friday night.
McKenna, 18, was widely projected to go No. 1 to the Maple Leafs on the strength of a junior hockey and collegiate career that showcased his elite scoring and playmaking capabilities. The Whitehorse, Yukon, native debuted with the Western Hockey League's Medicine Hat Tigers in 2022 and played there until 2025, collecting 79 goals and 165 points in 133 games.
That same year, the NCAA changed its rules on eligibility for skaters who had previously suited up in the Canadian major junior leagues, including the WHL, Ontario Hockey League and Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. As a result, McKenna was one of the first players to take advantage by joining the Nittany Lions for the 2025-26 season.
That shift to face bigger, tougher competition further highlighted McKenna's all-around game. He was an elite talent for Penn State with 15 goals and 51 points in 35 games that made him a practically unanimous choice to be taken first.
McKenna's defensive game will have to catch up with his dynamic offensive abilities, but the Maple Leafs should still offer him ample opportunity to step right into the NHL this fall and boost their attack with his creativity and impressive release.
"I'm so grateful," McKenna said donning the Toronto jersey on the ESPN broadcast. "I have no words."
Toronto held the top selection in Friday's event after winning the draft lottery on May 5. It was 10 years ago -- also in Buffalo -- that the Maple Leafs last held that No. 1 choice and used it to select now-captain Auston Matthews. Toronto missed the postseason in 2025-26 for the first time since drafting Matthews, and that put it in contention for the No. 1 pick.
"He's a special player," McKenna said of Matthews. "It'd mean the world to play with him."
McKenna comes into the mix with Toronto at a point of transition on multiple fronts. This is general manager John Chayka's, and senior advisor Mats Sundin's, first draft for the Maple Leafs after being hired in May. Also, Toronto just formally introduced its new coach, Jim Hiller, on Thursday. Chayka and Hiller replaced Brad Treliving and Craig Berube, respectively, after both were fired in the spring.
Before the draft, Toronto landed pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Darren Raddysh in a sign-and-trade with Tampa Bay. Chayka inked him to an eight-year, $68 million extension to be a top-pairing defender.
The Maple Leafs also moved starting goaltender Joseph Woll and defenseman Simon Benoit to Philadelphia for a package that included goaltender Samuel Ersson, a pending restricted free agent whose rights they subsequently flipped to Ottawa on Friday afternoon.