The Maple Leafs held a media availability at the Harborcenter in Buffalo on Friday.
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Picking first overall isn’t just about picking the right player.
“It’s about getting the right person and, in a market like this, I don’t think you can miss on that,” said Leafs general manager John Chayka.
“We want to make sure we get the person right first and foremost.”
That’s why Chayka decided to travel to Whitehorse and meet with Penn State left winger Gavin McKenna and his family before the combine even began.
“He’s a small-town kid,” Chayka noted. “It’s a remote area of the world. Very peaceful, but beautiful and within that I think there’s some real resolve around who he is and what his career means to him and his family. I find [it] impressive.”
“It was awesome,” McKenna said of Chayka’s visit to Whitehorse. “It was good to meet with him and get a feel for him and it was nice for him to meet my family. I know they were super excited and it was an honour, obviously.”
Whether he played in the Western Hockey League with the Medicine Hat Tigers or in the NCAA with the Nittany Lions, McKenna drew motivation from his family and a desire to make them proud. He’s inspired by his indigenous roots. McKenna’s grandfather, Joe Mason, is a survivor of the Canadian Indian residential school system.
With a limited player pool and competition in Yukon territory, McKenna moved away from home at age 12 in order to pursue his hockey dream. McKenna’s unique path resonated with Chayka.
“I don’t think he had a skating coach until he was 13,” Chayka noted. “He didn’t have a skills coach until he was 13. Not sure he touched a weight until that time. Obviously the brain and the talent is evident. Just the instincts and his raw ability I think are interesting.
“And the quality of the family, the quality of the people, how much family means to him. His roots, how important it is for him to give back to his community that’s given him so much. I think those are all really interesting things.”
After a slow start in the NCAA relative to the high expectations, McKenna surged in the second half after finishing second in scoring at the World Juniors where he helped Canada win a bronze medal.
“He drags guys into the fight,” observed Toronto’s director of amateur scouting Mark Leach. “Not only in games, but also in practice. He makes them get there early, makes them stay later, and those are special people. When you bring people into the fight like that, it’s just something about you. He’s got that ability to do that.”
The Leafs are coming off a disastrous campaign that saw them sag to fifth last in the entire league, but McKenna is already sounding eager to drag them back into the NHL’s playoff fight.
“Obviously the situation the Leafs are in right now, it’s pretty crazy they got the first overall pick,” the 18-year-old said. “They’re a team who’s probably going to be fighting for the playoffs next year so I’d be pretty fortunate to go there.”
McKenna has been in the spotlight for years. He received exceptional status to play in the WHL at age 15 and then made the decision to jump to the NCAA in his draft year. McKenna also agreed to be featured in a documentary about his draft season.
“Going to a Canadian market would be pretty special,” he said.
McKenna downplayed the idea that moving to Toronto would be a big adjustment.
“Being a small-town kid moving to a big city would be pretty cool,” he said. “I’d have to make sure I’m being smart (smile) and stuff but it would be cool.”
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While McKenna is the favourite to go first overall, Chayka revealed the team is considering five or six candidates for the top pick.
“There’s a nice mix of different players and different styles and a few different positions,” the 36-year-old executive said. “It’s a good year. It’s nice for it to be hard. There’s a tier there that we think very highly of and are all probably, you know, potentially worthy of being the first overall pick, but we’ll have to get one.”
Frolunda left winger Ivar Stenberg, who helped Sweden win gold at the World Juniors and just played at the men’s Worlds, is in the mix.
“Highly skilled, highly creative, mature, and he plays at a high pace,” Leach observed. “He really just goes about his business like a pro.”
“I like playing with pressure,” Stenberg said. “I think I always play good in those pressuring games.”
Chayka has leaned on senior executive advisor Mats Sundin for background on Stenberg, but appreciated the chance to get to know him better this week.
“We were able to interview him here, spend some more time with him,” Chayka said. “He’s a smart, competitive player. Had an amazing Worlds. Really high-quality person, high-quality player. Yeah, really fond of him.”
Several highly-touted defencemen are likely under consideration including Chase Reid, who is heading to Michigan State after a stand-out season with the Soo Greyhounds.
“His skating is special,” said Leach. “He is mobile and covers a lot of ice out there. He has good vision. He has good potential.”
“My skating separates me in a tremendous way to be able to play a big role and big minutes as well,” Reid said.
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Will the Leafs consider trading the first overall pick?
“I would say the probability is we take the pick just realistically,” Chayka said. “We have had discussions. We continue to have discussions. Obviously everything is for sale at the right price, but to date there’s nothing compelling that we’re seriously considering, but there’s still time.”
Considering how the Leafs are talking about the chance to pick first overall, any offer would have to be a doozy.
“I’ve been in the business 32 years and this is the first time ever,” Leach said of being entrusted with the top pick. “Highest pick I had was four a few years ago. It’s unique, it’s special. I don’t want it every year but it’s very unique.”
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The Leafs have only picked first overall twice previously in 1985 and 2016.
“It’s a lot of fun,” said Chayka. “It’s not every day you get a chance to make the first overall selection and to do it in a market like Toronto with the tradition and the history and the expectation of excellence makes it really unique. All the scouts and the front office and player development are kind of approaching it like ‘How lucky are we to have this opportunity?’ It’s a privilege but it’s also a responsibility. I’ve been very focused on the process and making sure we have a diligent approach and going through everything again and again and making sure we get it right.”
Toronto last won the draft lottery in 2016 when the Leafs selected franchise centre Auston Matthews first overall. The team qualified for the playoffs in the first nine seasons with Matthews but won just two series before missing the postseason altogether in 2025-26.
During his end-of-season media availability, Matthews indicated he needed to see the direction of the team before knowing what his future holds.
“We’ve had several conversations with him and his representatives and what I saw was a happy captain, someone who’s got a lot of pride to be the captain of the Maple Leafs,” Chayka said. “Someone who wants to win in Toronto, which aligns with how we’re thinking about it.”
Matthews has two years remaining on his current contract.
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In order to get back to the playoffs and into Stanley Cup contention, the Leafs will need to hire the right head coach. The position has been vacant since the firing of Craig Berube on May 13.
“We’re not focused on some artificial timeline,” Chayka stressed. “We’re really focused on conviction. I think it’s been a long time since there’s been kind of a full search for this organization and I think it’s important for us to take our time and get it right. You know, this is the next leader of the Toronto Maple Leafs.”
The Leafs either heard from or spoke to around 55 people as part of the first round of the search. Of those interactions, Chayka characterized 20 as being more in-depth conversations with a Zoom call or an in-person meeting.
“We’ve gone through a very thorough process,” he said. “Now we’re starting to get into this next layer of this. No timeline, no time constraints. When it’s right we’ll make that decision, but we’re going to be patient and get it right.”
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Chayka was speaking with the media for the first time since the team revealed forward Max Domi would be out indefinitely after complications arose from an off-season surgery.
“Max is a tough situation,” Chayka acknowledged. “Obviously he’s a special person and loves the Leafs and we love him. He had a procedure, it didn’t go the way we had hoped. He played through some injuries. That part seems to be genetics, I guess, to play through things and [he’s a] tough kid. Ultimately we’ll get to training camp and assess him from there. He’s making great progress every day, which is the main thing.”
How is Domi holding up?
“There’s no bad days for Max,” Chayka said. “You know, a special person. Obviously he dealt with diabetes his whole life as well or since [he was] a young kid and overcomes the odds kind of thing. He embodies being a Toronto Maple Leaf and cares and wants to be here for the good times. We’re going to support him like all our players and make sure he’s in a good spot.”
