Gavin McKenna recent moves are making serious noise across the NHL

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Jonathan Ouimet
May 26, 2026  (10:25 PM)

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Photo credit: Nick Wosika-Imagn Images

The Toronto Maple Leafs have the first overall pick. Now they have a real debate about who to take with it.

Gavin McKenna opted out of Team Canada at the IIHF World Championship to focus on the draft combine and additional strength training.

Anton Stenberg used the tournament to do the opposite. He played. He produced. He climbed.

PuckEmpire put the question on Twitter Monday. Was McKenna's call to skip the Worlds the silly decision that cost him an easy lead on Stenberg?

Chris McCluskey pushed back almost immediately. There's nothing silly about a top prospect protecting consensus No.1 status when the downside outweighs the upside.

Both takes land. That's why the conversation matters.

McKenna's NCAA season earned him Hobey Baker finalist consideration. The 2026 World Junior Championship saw him post 2 points per game, which somehow got framed as underwhelming.

Bank that consensus ranking. Train for the combine. Avoid a third straight tournament where every point gets scrutinized harder than the last. That's the McKenna camp's logic in a sentence.

The flip side is Stenberg. He played. He produced. He gave scouts another data point heading into draft week. The gap closed in real time.

Toronto sits with the choice. Brad Treliving inherited a 32-36-14 roster that needs everything. The first-overall pick is the cleanest path to a franchise piece he's had since taking the job.

McKenna would still be the safer pick. The body of work is consistent. The skill set translates. The combine will likely confirm what scouts already suspect.

Honestly, this is one of those debates that only matters if the Leafs actually waver. And they probably won't. The first-overall pick rarely deviates from consensus this late in the process.

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The Chayka front office is also working through a head-coach search after the off-season firing. Whoever lands behind the Toronto bench inherits an unfinished rebuild and a fresh pipeline piece.

The combine starts soon. The body work shows up there. The interviews matter just as much. McKenna's call to skip the Worlds gets re-evaluated in those rooms first.

Stenberg has put pressure on the entire conversation. The question is whether anyone actually picks up on it before the cards turn at the draft.

Previously

Brady Tkachuk is reportedly off to a Western team and the return is going to shake the league

Things just got significantly worse for Stan Bowman and Edmonton after latest update

A familiar Canucks nightmare is suddenly returning and fans are panicking

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1 HOUR AGO   |   138 ANSWERS Gavin McKenna recent moves are making serious noise across the NHL Should the Toronto Maple Leafs draft Gavin McKenna first overall ?

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