Gavin McKenna heard the loudest cheer of the night before he even touched a puck, and that is the whole story in one sound. The No. 1 overall pick in June’s draft got announced in the starting lineup at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday, Leafs Nation lost its mind, and an 18-year-old from Whitehorse suddenly understood what this market does to its chosen ones.
“It was super cool,” McKenna said. “Yeah, to know I got this fan base behind me, it feels good. I think when you hear that, you get almost chills.”
Toronto lost 4-1 to Montreal. The scoreboard is the least interesting part. The kid logged 20 minutes and 39 seconds, fourth among Leafs forwards, rode the second line with John Tavares and William Nylander, took three shots, drew a holding call, took a hooking penalty on nerves, and still earned a late 6-on-5 look when the game was tilting away. That ice time is the franchise talking out loud. This is a team that finished last in the Atlantic, won the lottery, and just put its future on the ice with the veterans who still have to carry the present.
Samuel Montembeault felt the shift from the other crease. “You could tell when he had the puck, because the crowd would get so excited,” the Canadiens goalie told TSN. “He’s a special player and it was fun to play against him.” When the opposing starter is narrating the buzz, the building already knows.
The Ice Time Is the Real Headline
Jim Hiller did not ease the rookie in with a ceremonial shift and a pat on the helmet. He put McKenna out there like a guy he expects to keep. Second power-play unit. Late 6-on-5. Full trust on a night with almost no offense from either side.
“In a game where I didn’t think there was a lot of offence from either team, he was in on three or four chances, so you’ll take that every day,” Hiller said. “So, yeah, I thought he was good. Good start for him.”
That is the standard I am grading on. Not the empty scoresheet. Not the turnovers he already owns. The chances. The trust. McKenna himself saw the film the same way: “I felt pretty good. I thought I created a bit, but also had a couple turnovers, which I think kind of just happens with nerves.” An 18-year-old who can name the nerves without hiding behind them is already ahead of half the rookies who blow into this league thinking the highlight package is the job.
The pedigree is loud enough without padding. Penn State freshman season: 51 points in 35 games. World Juniors bronze with Canada and 14 points in seven games. WHL wrecking ball before that. Size is listed at 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds, which means every NHL night will ask the same question Hiller already answered with minutes: can the skill survive the traffic? Saturday said yes enough times to keep the conversation honest.
Hiller’s One Note Cuts Through the Noise
The coach gave the kid the only note that matters this early. Stay closer to the puck. Surround it. Make plays from possession instead of waiting for the perfect feed.
“If I say one thing to him, just to be a little bit closer to the puck,” Hiller said. “A little bit closer. We want him to have the puck and sometimes in the NHL you’ve got to just get right there and surround it and then make plays out of that rather than, you know, waiting and seeing if somebody can get it to you.”
That is the leap from college star to NHL difference-maker in one sentence. McKenna already self-evaluates hard enough that Hiller refuses to pile on. Good. The next test lands Wednesday against Ottawa, the last tune-up before the real season opens September 29. One more look at the same details: proximity, pace, whether the chills from the crowd turn into actual calm under pressure.
Matthews came back the same night looking like a guy who spent the summer refusing to stay broken. First game action since the grade-3 MCL tear and quad contusion in March, six shots, a primary assist, a 35 km/h rush that he only hit twice all of last season when the production cratered. Darren Raddysh called him flying. Hiller called the skating real. The captain’s legs and the lottery pick’s hands in the same building on the same night is the exact picture this franchise has been selling since the ping-pong balls fell their way.
McKenna called the whole night something he will remember forever, and he meant the people around him as much as the cheer. “Being out there with the guys, you know, the talent in this room, very lucky to be able to step on that ice for my first time with guys like [Auston] Matthews, [Matthew] Knies, JT, Willie, all those guys.” Living with the Tavares family, riding to the rink together, joking about who drives next after a loss. That is the soft landing every top pick dreams about and almost none actually get.
I am not handing him the Calder or the first line tomorrow. I am saying the buzz was earned, the minutes were deliberate, and the only note on the board is the one that turns good starts into permanent jobs. Leafs Nation already decided it is all in. The kid felt the chills. Now he has to stay close enough to the puck that the building never has to quiet down.
