Gavin McKenna finally laced up in Maple Leafs blue this week. The kid who went No. 1 overall in the 2026 NHL Draft stepped onto the ice at development camp wearing No. 92, and honestly? It looked pretty natural.
“When you’re out there, it’s pretty easy to be dialed in,” McKenna told reporters after the skate. “It’s the game I’ve played my entire life. So when I’m out there, I’m having fun, I feel comfortable and confident.”
He didn’t stop there. Off the ice, the 18-year-old winger said he’s just trying to hang with his new teammates and soak up the city. That’s the kind of low-key quote that plays well in a market that eats its young if they seem entitled.
How a goaltender forced McKenna into No. 92
The number itself has a backstory. McKenna wore 72 at Penn State and during his time with the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers. But the Leafs signed goalie Sergei Bobrovsky as a free agent this summer, and Bobrovsky has basically lived in 72 his whole career. So McKenna had to pivot.
Toronto can’t retire 72 because Bobrovsky’s wearing it, and Nos. 9 and 27 are already hanging from the rafters. So McKenna landed on 92. Before committing, he reached out to former Leaf Jeff O’Neill, who was one of three players to wear that number before. Classy move from a kid who’s already thinking about unspoken locker room rules.
He also switched equipment companies, moving from CCM to Bauer Hockey. That puts him in a stable with guys like Cale Makar, David Pastrnak and Jack Hughes. Not bad company for an 18-year-old who hasn’t played a single NHL shift.
The hype is real but so is the rebuild
McKenna signed a three-year entry-level contract earlier this month after a freshman season at Penn State where he tied for fifth in the NCAA with 51 points and cracked the top 10 for the Hobey Baker Award. Before that, he won CHL Player of the Year in the WHL. The résumé is loud.
The Leafs missed the playoffs last season for the first time in a decade, which is how they ended up with the No. 1 pick. GM John Chayka is running a full rebuild, and McKenna is the centerpiece. Whether he cracks the roster out of training camp this fall is still an open question, but the organization hasn’t had a prospect generate this much buzz in years.
Development camp continues this week. McKenna will keep skating, keep meeting guys, and keep getting used to a number he never planned on wearing. So far, he looks like he belongs.
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