BUFFALO – Mega prospect Gavin McKenna, the presumptive No. 1 overall pick at the upcoming NHL Draft and a proud native of Whitehorse, Yukon, is likely headed to Toronto, where he should develop into one of the Maple Leafs’ cornerstones.
Whitehorse, which has population of about 35,000, is a bit smaller than the Toronto metro area, which has a population of around 6.5 million people.
“I think Toronto’s a little different than from where I’m from,” McKenna said Friday during media availability at the NHL Scouting Combine in LECOM Harborcenter.
You think?
The idea of playing under the searing spotlight in a booming hockey metropolis clearly intrigues McKenna, who recently completed his freshman year at Penn State following three seasons in the junior Western Hockey League.
He left Whitehorse, which is about 3,300 miles from Toronto, about six years ago to face better competition in Kelowna, British Columbia. As a phenom – he earned a reported $700,000 to leave the Medicine Hat Tigers and join the Nittany Lions – he has become accustomed to attention.
“I’ve kinda figured out how to live away from home,” he said. “And, yeah, being a small-town kid, moving to a big city would be pretty cool. I’ve got to make sure I’m being smart and stuff. But it would be cool.”
The 6-foot, 171-pound McKenna is expected to jump into the NHL next season, so after the draft on June 26 at KeyBank Center, he could be back in Buffalo by the fall playing for the Sabres’ Atlantic Division rival.
After tearing up the WHL – the ultra-talented winger scored a whopping 41 goals and 129 points for Medicine Hat in 2024-25 – he tested himself against more mature competition in the NCAA this season.
McKenna and defenseman Keaton Verhoeff, who also spoke during the availability, both said NIL money had nothing to do with their decision to move to college hockey. Verhoeff joined the University of North Dakota following two seasons in the WHL.
“At the end of the day, we’re both confident in our abilities to be making money in the future, so I think we both wanted what’s best for our careers, and money’s just a side piece,” McKenna said. “We both know that we’re going to be getting money in the future, so it didn’t really play a factor.”
Not surprisingly, McKenna needed time to adjust to the rigors of college hockey.
“In college, the guys are bigger and stronger and faster and stuff,” he said. “And the game in itself, I think, is just a little different than junior. It’s more straightforward hockey. So found out early on that things weren’t just going to happen easy.”
After he returned from representing Team Canada at the World Junior Championship, McKenna said he found his confidence “and kind of figured out the game a little bit more.”
“(I) started working harder off the ice and on the ice, and getting to the dirty areas a little bit more,” he said. “And I think that’s why I started producing more.”
McKenna scored 15 goals and a team-high 51 points in 36 games for Penn State. Now, he’s likely ready for the NHL.
