Toronto Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka will make the No. 1 selection in Friday night’s NHL draft, where Penn State forward Gavin McKenna is regarded as the top prospect. With the franchise in transition after a last-place finish in the Atlantic Divisi
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The lights are on in the same downtown arena where Toronto once struck gold. selecting Auston Matthews with the first pick in the 2016 draft. On Friday night, general manager John Chayka and the Toronto Maple Leafs are back on the clock with the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft, now aiming to restock youth after a season that ended in transition.
Chayka is newly hired. and the draft gives him the next chance to help reshape one of hockey’s marquee franchises. The Maple Leafs are suddenly in flux following a last-place finish in the Atlantic Division. Since taking the job. Chayka has already made moves meant to set a new direction: he hired a new coach in Jim Hiller. and last week he acquired defenseman Darren Raddysh in a sign-and-trade deal with Tampa Bay.
Now the question becomes whether the No. 1 pick can quickly inject the kind of talent that changes the trajectory. The player most expected to be available is Penn State forward Gavin McKenna. regarded as the top prospect heading into the draft. McKenna is a prolific play-making right winger from Whitehorse, Yukon.
If Toronto keeps its spot, the next part of the top comes into focus as well. Among the other top prospects are Sweden left winger Ivar Stenberg. center Caleb Malhotra. and a group of defensemen that includes Alberts Smits of Latvia. North Dakota’s Keaton Verhoeff. and Chase Reid. the top-ranked U.S.-born prospect.
The draft order at the top—barring trades—has San Jose slated for No. 2, followed by Vancouver, Buffalo, and the New York Rangers.
What’s clear from Toronto’s situation is the stakes of timing: Chayka’s early roster changes and coaching hire have already signaled a rebuild mindset. and the No. 1 selection is the next step in trying to turn that plan into something concrete on the ice. In Buffalo, with the franchise’s future potentially hinging on one choice, the clock is already running.
NHL draft Toronto Maple Leafs John Chayka Jim Hiller Darren Raddysh Gavin McKenna Auston Matthews Buffalo Penn State No. 1 pick