The Toronto Maple Leafs selected forward Gavin McKenna with the No. 1 overall pick of the NHL Draft on Friday, a decision that was widely expected for weeks.

McKenna was the consensus top player in this year’s class and is coming off of an impressive 2025-26 campaign in which he scored 15 goals while dishing out 36 assists at Penn State.

Now, he will join a Maple Leafs squad that is absolutely starving for success.

While Toronto made nine straight playoff appearances between 2016-17 and 2024-25, it has not won a Stanley Cup since 1967. It has not been to a Stanley Cup Final since then, either.

The Maple Leafs still have a lot of work to do as a whole, but McKenna is viewed as a potential cornerstone who could help lead the club back to the promised land.

But the 18-year-old has some explaining to do.

During a recent appearance on the Toronto Blue Jays broadcast, a photo surfaced of McKenna holding a lake trout he caught while fishing … while donning a New York Yankees hat.

Given the fierce rivalry the Blue Jays have formed with the Yankees, Toronto fans certainly didn’t approve of the choice of headgear, and McKenna has revealed it won’t be happening again.

“You won’t be seeing me in any more Yankees hats,” McKenna said.

The Maple Leafs went 32-36-14 this past season, finishing in last place in the Atlantic Division.

Meanwhile, after going to the World Series last year, the Blue Jays have been a big disappointment in 2026, owning a 39-43 mark with the All-Star break approaching.

We’ll see if McKenna can help bring hockey back to prominence in Toronto.