Gavin McKenna has long been touted as the undisputed best prospect in the 2026 draft class, and despite some concerns arising during his draft year, he still feels like the most likely choice for the Toronto Maple Leafs at first overall.
Ivar Stenberg and possibly even Chase Reid, among others, make solid cases for themselves, but nobody possesses the same skill set as McKenna, and that’s why he continues to draw lofty NHL player comparisons as he prepares to enter the league.
Prospect analyst Steven Ellis recently spoke about it, referring to McKenna as physically on par with Patrick Kane and Nikita Kucherov when they were this age.
“If I was making the decision, I’m betting high on the skill, and I’m betting on Gavin McKenna… One guy that he’s been compared to a lot is Patrick Kane and Nikita Kucherov, and we saw how obviously they’ve been able to have good NHL careers. Well, from a physical standpoint, Gavin McKenna’s basically on par with those guys,”
The 18-year-old McKenna racked up 51 points (15 goals, 36 assists) in 35 games for the Penn State Nittany Lions this season despite a slow start to the year.
Kane and Kucherov have, of course, gone on to become two of the best wingers of all time — remarkably productive Hart Trophy winners and multiple-time Stanley Cup champions.
It won’t be easy for McKenna to exceed or even match the careers of Kane or Kucherov, but his abilities are undeniable, and with the league moving more toward skill and speed than ever, he could be set up to have tremendous success.
Toronto can play it safe with the first-overall pick if it wants, though that just might mean passing on a player with the potential to become one of the best and most productive players in hockey for the next 10 to 15 years.
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