The 2026 NHL Draft is here, and the Toronto Maple Leafs—after winning the 2026 Draft Lottery—are positioned to select forward Gavin McKenna, the current consensus first overall pick. Former NHL goaltender Kevin Weekes compared McKenna to a blend of Nikita Kuch
The 2026 NHL Draft has arrived, and for the Toronto Maple Leafs it arrives with a familiar kind of pressure: control of the first selection, courtesy of winning the 2026 Draft Lottery. In that spot, the current consensus is clear—forward Gavin McKenna.
Before anyone’s name is officially called. McKenna has already been pulled into NHL conversation the way top prospects often are: through big-name comparisons. Former NHL goaltender and current Insider Kevin Weekes. speaking on a panel on ESPN ahead of the beginning of the Draft. compared McKenna to multiple high-level talents in the NHL. including Nikita Kucherov. Patrick Kane. and Mitch Marner.
“All of that to say. in watching McKenna the last couple years. what I see from him are shades of a [Nikita] Kucherov. shades of a Mitch Marner. shades of [a] Patrick Kane. all great players and all going to be Hall of Famers. ” Weekes said via The NHL on ESPN on X. “And being a winger, who can generate like an elite center.”.
That pitch—high-end offensive ceiling dressed up in modern versatility—is exactly what McKenna’s numbers have been aiming at. For Penn State this season in the NCAA, McKenna scored 15 goals and added 36 assists in 35 games.
He didn’t just post production in the college game. Later, he represented Canada in the World Junior Championships, scoring four goals and adding 10 assists in seven games.
A scouting report framing is now starting to sound like a checklist for an NHL team trying to bet on impact quickly. “According to his scouting report. he has immediate potential to be a top forward in the NHL.” The language around his profile is expansive about how his game might translate as he matures. including a projection that the Penn State freshman could rise into a top role.
“The Penn St. freshman projects to be a top-15 NHL winger upon maturation,” wrote Aleksander Djordjevic via Puck Pedia. “When his confidence was there, he put himself above the rest of his draft peers and NCAA competition. Elite four-way mobility, creativity, and sense, pro ready one-touch release, and internal compete – McKenna is a complete offensive package. Will need to be insulated defensively to fully shine at the next level. Franchise changing piece if everything aligns.”.
Taken together. the Leafs’ first-overall position and the way McKenna is being described point to the same question: how close is “complete offensive package” to the kind of two-way-ready difference-maker that actually forces a contender’s hand?. The Draft is about futures, but it rarely feels like it until the player is finally on the clock.
Right now, Toronto doesn’t have to wait to start picturing it. The Maple Leafs won the 2026 Draft Lottery, and the consensus first overall pick is forward Gavin McKenna—already drawing Kucherov, Marner, and Kane-style expectations before he’s even formally selected.
NHL Draft 2026 Toronto Maple Leafs Gavin McKenna Mitch Marner Patrick Kane Nikita Kucherov Kevin Weekes Penn State Nittany Lions World Junior Championships NHL prospects Draft Lottery