Top draft pick Gavin McKenna picks up first NHL goal, assist for Toronto against Predators

TORONTO (AP) — No. 1 draft pick Gavin McKenna scored his first NHL goal with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.

McKenna scored on Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros in the second period of his fourth professional game. The 18-year-old took a pass from Auston Matthews, beat Saros with a high shot and then dropped to one knee in celebration at Scotiabank Arena.

McKenna also had an assist on Toronto’s first goal by William Nylander for his first NHL point.

The Maple Leafs missed the playoffs for the first time in a decade last spring, and beat the draft lottery odds by winning the right to select McKenna with the first overall selection in June.

The Yukon native who played college hockey at Penn State was just one of a number of new faces to arrive in Toronto during the off season. The Maple Leafs added goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and defenseman Darren Raddysh before the club acquired winger Kirill Marchenko a day before its regular-season opener.

McKenna, who tore up the Canadian Hockey League before spending 2025-26 in the NCAA, entered play averaging 14 minutes, 32 seconds of ice time with three shots on target and a minus-3 rating through three games.

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