Toronto selected Penn State forward Gavin McKenna with the first overall pick in the NHL draft Friday night, making the 18-year-old winger from Whitehorse only the second Indigenous player ever taken at the top of the draft.
Justin Bieber, the Canadian pop icon and longtime Leafs fan, announced the pick on stage alongside Commissioner Gary Bettman. After a brief pause, Bieber looked toward McKenna and declared him a member of the Maple Leafs to roaring approval from Toronto fans who filled the arena in Buffalo.
"The child in me is ecstatic," Bieber said before making the announcement.
McKenna's rise has been swift and dominant. He posted 79 goals and 244 points across 133 games with the WHL's Medicine Hat before jumping to Penn State last summer to test himself against older, more physical competition. He finished his freshman season strong, racking up 32 points in his final 17 games and ending with 51 points to tie for fourth nationally.
The selection represents a cornerstone moment for Toronto's rebuilding effort under new general manager John Chayka. The Leafs bottomed out last season, finishing last in the Atlantic Division and missing the playoffs for the first time since drafting Auston Matthews first overall in 2016, also in Buffalo.
McKenna becomes just the fifth NCAA player ever selected first and the third in six years. He is also only the second Indigenous player in history to be taken first overall in the NHL draft.
Moving from Whitehorse, a city of roughly 39,000 people, to Toronto presents a stark change. McKenna will become the highest-drafted player from Yukon territory. Five Yukon natives have been selected in the draft before him, including Dylan Cozens, who went seventh to Buffalo in 2019.
Chayka traveled to Whitehorse last month to spend time with McKenna and his family. The general manager later revealed his entire staff was unanimous on the choice, signaling the organization's confidence in the left winger's potential to anchor the franchise's forward group for years to come.
Author James Rodriguez: "McKenna's got the skill and the pedigree, but he's about to learn that playing in a Canadian market comes with a different kind of pressure entirely."
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