This NHL team is making it known that Gavin McKenna is its priority draft pick

Penn State men's hockey forward Gavin McKenna awaits his next stop in his career. In a few weeks, the 2026 NHL Draft will send McKenna off to the NHL as it's unlikely for him to return to the Nittany Lions for his sophomore season in 2026-27.

McKenna is basically a shoe-in for No. 1 overall, though he faces some competition with the other players projected to go in the top five.

The Toronto Maple Leafs aren't in need of a left-winger, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't benefit from adding a generational talent on their roster. Especially in the top picks of the draft, it's not always about positional needs, specifically nitty-gritty positional needs like a left-handed or right-handed forward.

If Toronto doesn't pick him up, though, McKenna can fall to the San Jose Shark at No. 2 or the Vancouver Canucks at No. 3. It's extremely unlikely that the forward falls farther down to No. 4 or No. 5. Between the Leafs, Sharks, and Canucks, McKenna's name is essentially guaranteed to be called. His talent is too valuable to pass up.

Behind McKenna, the top five prospects is rounded out by right-winger Ivar Stenberg, defenseman Chase Reid, center Caleb Malhotra, and defenseman Alberts Smits. Stenberg and McKenna are listed as Tier 1 prospects, per Scott Wheeler's draft prospect ranking.

Now, though specific positional needs aren't necessarily as important off the bat in the draft, San Jose needs a defenseman. Reid is right there for the taking. In addition to his defensive abilities, he also has an elite offensive mind at the blue line. The forward talent is tempting, but the Sharks would be silly to go with McKenna or Stenberg when there's Reid or even Smits available.

That knocks out San Jose at No. 2. McKenna's place in the draft really depends on how specific Toronto wants to get at No. 1. If he doesn't go first overall, Vancouver's bound to take him. Same thing with Stenberg. If the Maple Leafs go with the Nittany Lion, the Canucks will pick up the Swedish forward.

"It could happen. It could go Stenberg, defenseman, McKenna. Those things are within the realm of possibility, [but] I would just be very surprised," Cam Robinson said.

Since this is a possibility, the Canucks have to maintain and build their relationship with the Penn Stater. On Thursday, it was reported that Vancouver had dinner with McKenna. Robinson noted that it's not uncommon for teams to get to know players, whether they have a chance of drafting them or not, but taking them out to dinner is a different story.

"Often times teams will talk to players that they don't really have a realistic chance of drafting just to get a book on them. Just to have that five, six years down the road if you're looking at acquiring that player," Robinson said. "So, it makes sense why [McKenna is] sitting down with nine or 10 teams, but to go out for dinner with them, maybe that's a tell . . . that they think something weird or wild could happen. Maybe they're knocking on the doors. Can we move up?"

Moving up when knowing either McKenna or Stenberg will still be available is a bit questionable. Of course with McKenna being a generational talent, he's a player any team would love to have. But is it realistic that the Maple Leafs will pass that up if they want him? Not really. There isn't much Vancouver can trade to get McKenna in this situation. Now if Toronto wants a right-winger in Stenberg, then the Canucks don't even have to worry about McKenna not being available at No. 3.

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