Toronto Maple Leafs rookie Gavin McKenna (second right) soaked in the pre-game hype ahead of his NHL debut on Tuesday against the Montreal Canadiens.Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press
A few days before his NHL debut, Gavin McKenna had a dream about his first game, saying “I think it was a good game.”
The reality was slightly different, as this year’s first overall draft pick was held off the scoresheet Tuesday as the Toronto Maple Leafs opened the 2026-27 season with a 3-2 home loss to their long-time rival, the Montreal Canadiens.
“Um, not great,” McKenna replied when asked to sum up his debut performance. “I don’t know. I had a couple turnovers. Yeah, I don’t know. I think I’m glad we’re playing again tomorrow, so I can bounce back and regroup.”
Head coach Jim Hiller, who saw his team take an early 1-0 lead when William Nylander scored after just 48 seconds before giving up three consecutive goals to pick up the loss, agreed with McKenna’s assessment of his debut.
“I thought he was all right, but he’ll probably want to be better,” he said.
Unlike a lot of rookies making their NHL debuts, McKenna opted against taking part in the morning skate, which saw just 10 Maple Leaf skaters using the opportunity to stretch their legs.
One of those participants was defenceman Chris Tanev, who was limited to just 11 games last season in an injury-hit campaign.
“He’s got some swag, and he’s very confident, very good player,” he said when asked about McKenna and his decision to skip the optional workout.
Cathal Kelly: It’s a new season and the Maple Leafs have their fans fooled once again
Hiller took his young star’s decision as a sign of maturity.
“It’s optional if you think you need it to get ready to play tonight,” the new bench boss said. “And when I heard he didn’t go out, it didn’t surprise me. He just has that way. He knows who he is. He knows what he has to do.”
Those responsibilities included the honour of getting the ice to himself – save for goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky – later in the day as the rest of his teammates stayed back for a few seconds at the start of warm-ups.
A helmetless McKenna skated out at Scotiabank Arena, enjoying the spotlight momentarily as fans – some wearing his old Penn State or Yukon jerseys – cheered their newest hero. Another fan held up a sign calling him the Whitehorse Wizard, a nod to his Yukon hometown.
With 14 family members in the stands, McKenna had more than his fair share of familiar support around the rink. Sportsnet’s cameras picked up his mother, Krystal, taking in the warm-ups and saying, “What the hell? My son is in the NHL.”
McKenna's arrival at the pro level has been greatly anticipated by hockey fans for years. Fans in the stands wore jerseys from McKenna's journey to the NHL, including his days playing in the Yukon and last year at Penn State.Chris Tanouye/Getty Images
Though he didn’t grace his NHL debut with a point, he didn’t look out of a place in a Leafs team that was largely – save for the energetic Kirill Marchenko and William Nylander - trying to shake off the rust in a disjointed performance.
He managed 15:19 of ice time playing on the second line with William Nylander and John Tavares. He also got ice time on the team’s second power-play unit. Fans had to wait until 63 seconds into the second period to witness his first shot on goal, a wrist shot from right in front that Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes saved comfortably.
He showcased his skating speed – with captain Auston Matthews narrowly missing him on a long pass from the defensive zone at the end of the first period – as well as his creativity. At one point in the second period, he tried to get around Mike Matheson by attempting to play the puck through the defenceman’s legs, but the veteran was wise to the move and blocked the attempt.
Late on in the third period, Hiller decided to shuffle his lines, dropping McKenna to the third unit in place of Easton Cowan.
But growing pains are to be expected, according to Tavares.
“I think he showed from preseason game one to two the progress he made, and I think that’s part of the journey when you start, especially when you’re 18 years old,” he said. “Just game to game how much you’re going to learn. So, excited about his ability to adapt.”
The expectations of greatness were everywhere ahead of the opening faceoff. From McKenna’s lead billing in a Rogers Communications commercial alongside actor Michael Cera that played on the jumbotron ahead of warm-ups, to the team store, where an entire wall was dedicated solely to jerseys bearing McKenna’s name and his No. 92, his arrival has in many ways heralded a new era in the long history of the Maple Leafs.
No NHL games on free Canadian TV? This group thinks there should be a law against that
Just the second player from the Yukon to play in the NHL this century – and fourth ever – McKenna has been heralded as Toronto’s next superstar ever since Justin Bieber called out his name at the NHL entry draft in Buffalo back in June.
Playing on a team with two other former first overall picks in Matthews and Tavares – who has welcomed McKenna into his home – McKenna has a lot to live up to. Though it was always unrealistic to match Matthews’s four-goal debut outing in Ottawa 10 years ago, it would also likely have been a push to match Tavares’s three-point haul in his first NHL game back in 2009.
Instead, at 18 years and 283 days, he became the youngest Leaf debutant since Drake Berehowsky on Oct. 4, 1990. And despite the loss, the memories of the day will last him a lifetime.
“I mean, everything,” McKenna said when asked about the best parts of the day. “It’s pretty hard to forget a day like this. Yeah, coming out here, getting to have that rookie lap, seeing my family on the glass in warm-ups, hearing your name called and player intros - it’s all pretty special.”
Chris Tanouye/Getty Images