TORONTO – Gavin McKenna has experienced scoring slumps in the past.
This one felt different.
The No. 1 overall pick at the 2026 NHL draft was held at bay through his first three games for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The spotlight playing for an Original Six franchise in hockey’s biggest media market is intense — and McKenna found himself under that glare after an uneven start to his professional career.
The 18-year-old winger shook off that weight Tuesday.
McKenna scored his first professional goal after adding an assist for his first point as the Maple Leafs roared back from a 3-0 deficit early in the second period to down the Nashville Predators 5-4 in overtime.
“Big monkey off the back,” said the Whitehorse product. “That one felt good. That’s a goal I’ll obviously remember forever.”
McKenna opened his goal-scoring account at 14:31 of the second period in his fourth NHL game after taking a pass from Auston Matthews and ripping a shot upstairs on Predators netminder Juuse Saros to cut the Maple Leafs’ deficit to 4-3.
“A goal-scorer’s goal,” Toronto head coach Jim Hiller said. “By trade he’s a playmaker, but that was a goal-scorer’s goal. Got his feet around it on the strong side, and he had some zip on it.”
“It was an important moment,” Hiller added. “He came up big in an important moment.”
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McKenna then dropped to one knee in celebration before getting mobbed by his teammates.
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“A bullet, top shelf,” said Maple Leafs winger William Nylander, who finished with a goal and two assists. “I’d be very happy if I scored that one.”
McKenna said his goose egg felt a lot longer than just three contests.
“Every single game I’ve been trying to get better,” he said. “I thought (Tuesday) was my best one. I think I’m taking steps in the right direction. Hopefully there’s a few more to come.”
McKenna, who tore up the Canadian Hockey League before spending 2025-26 in the NCAA, entered play averaging 14 minutes 32 seconds of ice time with three shots on target and a minus-3 rating.
Along with his first two NHL points Tuesday, he finished with four shots on target and a plus-1 in 14:45 of ice time.
“I’ve dealt with it throughout the years,” McKenna said of fan and media attention. “Coming here, it’s a little bit more … just doing (my) best to try to block it out. It’s a privilege to have those people always watching you and wanting to see you succeed.
“It’s a pretty special thing.”
Selected No. 1 at the 2016 draft, Matthews is one of the few people on the planet to have walked in McKenna’s shoes.
“It’s a lot of new,” Toronto’s captain said after scoring the OT clincher and adding three assists in regulation. “You’re constantly navigating, but he has such an elite mindset and skill set and a good head on his shoulders. All the guys on the team just really enjoy being around him.
“When you go a few games and you haven’t found the score sheet, it’s tough and it can weigh on you, but he just kept sticking with it.”
Named the game’s first star, McKenna also bagged the primary assist on a goal from John Tavares — his landlord this season and the No. 1 pick in 2009 — to get Toronto going at 3-1 in the second.
“I’ve learned so much from those two,” McKenna said of Tavares and Matthews. “They’ve helped me a lot. Just being around those guys, learning from them, seeing how they carry themselves every single day on and off the ice, is just implemented into me.”
Matthews, who had McKenna over at his house on Sunday, said there’s been a buzz in the Scotiabank Arena crowd every time McKenna is near the action.
“The hype and the expectations around him, you can tell when the puck’s on his stick,” he said. “Everybody’s on the edge of their seat because they know something could happen.”
McKenna, whose goal puck will be heading to his trophy case in Whitehorse, briefly checked his phone after the game and saw a message from his parents.
“They’re super proud,” he said. “For them to be watching at home, I’m sure it was a special moment … wouldn’t be here without them.”
Matthews, meanwhile, expects the floodgates to open for his young teammate as Toronto now hits the road for three games.
“I think you’re going to see him go on a bit of a tear here … that weight’s lifted off your shoulders,” he said. “You can just go focus and go play.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2026.
Note to readers:This story has been updated to correct McKenna’s first assist coming on a goal from John Tavares. A previous version stated the assist came on a goal from William Nylander.
© 2026 The Canadian Press