Gavin McKenna, the Toronto Maple Leafs' new first-overall pick, is training this summer alongside Macklin Celebrini in Vancouver.
TheLeafsNation shared the clip earlier this week, with footage credited to Instagram user collectsbatman showing the two skating together.
McKenna joins Toronto as the first-overall pick, one of nine new additions the Maple Leafs brought in during a busy offseason.
Celebrini gives him a serious training partner to work with. The 20-year-old center just finished one of the best rookie seasons in recent memory with San Jose.
Celebrini posted 45 goals and 70 assists for 115 points over 82 games this past season, adding a plus-8 rating along the way as well.
He also chipped in eight power-play goals, proof his offense translates in every situation a coach could ask for, even without much playoff support around him.
Celebrini's monster rookie season sets the bar high
Watching a rookie season that strong up close, even informally, is exactly the kind of exposure a young prospect benefits from before his own career starts.
San Jose finished last season 39-35-8 for 86 points and 22nd overall, missing the playoffs despite Celebrini's individual production.
Toronto, for its part, missed the playoffs entirely too, finishing 32-36-14 for 78 points and 28th overall, part of why the McKenna pick carries so much weight.
Both organizations are betting heavily on these two young players to change that outlook over the next several seasons.
Neither player's official NHL debut season starts for months yet, but the offseason grind is already visible in Vancouver.
The clip shows the two working through puck-handling drills side by side, clearly comfortable pushing each other's pace on the ice.
-
Whether this kind of offseason partnership actually shows up on the ice in October is impossible to know from a single summer workout video.
Will Gavin McKenna have a bigger rookie season than Macklin Celebrini did?
Also read on Markerzone.com:
Patrick Kane could be headed to a Canadian team, new report says
