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06/27 00:01 CDT Maple Leafs select Penn State forward Gavin McKenna with the
No. 1 pick in NHL draft
Maple Leafs select Penn State forward Gavin McKenna with the No. 1 pick in NHL
draft
By JOHN WAWROW
AP Hockey Writer
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) --- Gavin McKenna's nerves finally eased when lifetime Maple
Leafs fan and international pop icon Justin Bieber took the NHL draft stage to
announce who Toronto was selecting No. 1.
"He was looking at me and I kind of was thinking, maybe," McKenna said with a
laugh. "Crazy. Just crazy what's going on right now."
With most of Yukon watching and a loud presence of Maple Leafs fans in the
stands, Toronto chose the Penn State left winger, validating longstanding
projections of McKenna being his age group's top prospect. The 18-year-old from
Yukon's capital of Whitehorse has been a prolific scorer on both sides of the
U.S.-Canada border.
And if Bieber's appearance and taking the stage to the artist's song "Yukon"
wasn't enough, McKenna was welcomed to the Maple Leafs with a video message
from Toronto captain Auston Matthews.
"Obviously he's on the first line. I'm going to have to prove myself to be able
to play with a player like that. But that's my goal," McKenna said about
Matthews, who was chosen No. 1 by Toronto in the 2016 draft, which also
happened to be held in Buffalo. "My game's obviously a playmaker, he's a
shooter, so I think we could complement each other pretty well."
McKenna represents a major plank in in a rebuilding process for a team in
transition under new general manager John Chayka. Toronto finished last in the
Atlantic Division last season and missed the playoffs for the first time since
Matthews' arrival.
Canucks select coach's son, Caleb Malhotra The draft featured dueling cheers --- and boos --- between large contingents of Maple Leafs and Sabres fans, several surprises, nine trades and a poignant father-son moment when Vancouver selected center Caleb Malhotra with the No. 3 pick, joining a team coached by dad Manny Malhotra. "I hugged him right after, and we were happy," said Caleb, who is from British Columbia and finished second among OHL rookies with 84 points with Brantford last season. "It's the best feeling in the world. I've never felt anything like this. And that embrace was so comforting, and I'm so glad he's here with me as dad." Malhotra said his dad was not aware of the Canucks' draft plans. And he now has bragging rights on his father in being selected four spots higher, after Manny went No. 7 to the New York Rangers in 1998.
Run on defensemen After forwards went with the first three picks, including Sweden's Ivar Stenberg second to San Jose, the expected run on defensemen began with five selected over the next six picks, and 10 overall. Buffalo selected Prince Albert blue-liner Daxon Rudolph at No. 4, followed by Latvia's Alberts Smits going fifth to the Rangers. Chase Reid, who is from Michigan, went seventh to Seattle as the first American-born player selected. Smits split last season playing professionally in Finland and Germany, while also representing Latvia at the Milan Cortina Olympics. He became the highest drafted Latvian.
Trades and more trades This was a much more active first round with picks traded for NHL players than the previous couple of years. The Rangers got Pavel Dorofeyev from Vegas for picks 26 and 92, and a 2028 first-rounder. Boston acquired JJ Peterka from Utah for a pair of first-rounders. And St. Louis traded two of its picks to Anaheim for Mason McTavish. The selections featured an international flavor with 10 Canadians, a first-round-record seven Swedes and seven Americans chosen. The first round ended with Ottawa selecting forward Jaxon Cover, who was born in Miami, raised on Grand Cayman where he played roller hockey, and developed his hockey skills in Toronto. And Bieber wasn't the only music star to make a pick, with country music's Luke Bryan on hand to announce Nashville's selection of Wyatt Cullen before performing a concert a few blocks away. Rudolph was wowed watching his good friend McKenna being welcomed to the stage. "To see him be selected first and with Justin Bieber and everything, it was amazing," Rudolph said. "I just remember talking to my mom and saying. ?Wow, this is so cool,' as I'm sitting there on the couch waiting to be picked."
McKenna accustomed to the spotlight McKenna is accustomed to the spotlight. He combined for 79 goals and 244 points in 133 games with Medicine Hat in the WHL. As a freshman at Penn State, he finished with 51 points, tied for fourth in the nation, last season. He became just the fifth NCAA player to go first, and third in six years, since Michigan defenseman Owen Power went No. 1 to Buffalo in 2021. McKenna also became the fifth Yukon-born player to be selected in the draft, and first to go No. 1. He now heads to a metropolis that is nearly 100 times larger than Whitehorse's population of about 39,000. This was the NHL's second straight decentralized draft, with teams making selections from their respective headquarters.
Decentralized draft Part II Lacking in the new format is each draft pick joining his new team's front office on stage. Last year, the NHL attempted to rectify that by having teams welcome their prospects by video conference call on stage at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The interviews were widely panned for being awkward and glitchy, and contributing to the draft lasting nearly 4 1/2 hours. This year the NHL had the top prospects seated with their families in what resembled a lounge area, featuring plush couches, directly in front of the stage. After being selected, each player was interviewed on a couch on stage, with the backdrop representing the team in a first round that took about four hours to complete. ___ AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno and AP freelance writer Denis Gorman contributed to this report. ___ AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
Canucks select coach's son, Caleb Malhotra The draft featured dueling cheers --- and boos --- between large contingents of Maple Leafs and Sabres fans, several surprises, nine trades and a poignant father-son moment when Vancouver selected center Caleb Malhotra with the No. 3 pick, joining a team coached by dad Manny Malhotra. "I hugged him right after, and we were happy," said Caleb, who is from British Columbia and finished second among OHL rookies with 84 points with Brantford last season. "It's the best feeling in the world. I've never felt anything like this. And that embrace was so comforting, and I'm so glad he's here with me as dad." Malhotra said his dad was not aware of the Canucks' draft plans. And he now has bragging rights on his father in being selected four spots higher, after Manny went No. 7 to the New York Rangers in 1998.
Run on defensemen After forwards went with the first three picks, including Sweden's Ivar Stenberg second to San Jose, the expected run on defensemen began with five selected over the next six picks, and 10 overall. Buffalo selected Prince Albert blue-liner Daxon Rudolph at No. 4, followed by Latvia's Alberts Smits going fifth to the Rangers. Chase Reid, who is from Michigan, went seventh to Seattle as the first American-born player selected. Smits split last season playing professionally in Finland and Germany, while also representing Latvia at the Milan Cortina Olympics. He became the highest drafted Latvian.
Trades and more trades This was a much more active first round with picks traded for NHL players than the previous couple of years. The Rangers got Pavel Dorofeyev from Vegas for picks 26 and 92, and a 2028 first-rounder. Boston acquired JJ Peterka from Utah for a pair of first-rounders. And St. Louis traded two of its picks to Anaheim for Mason McTavish. The selections featured an international flavor with 10 Canadians, a first-round-record seven Swedes and seven Americans chosen. The first round ended with Ottawa selecting forward Jaxon Cover, who was born in Miami, raised on Grand Cayman where he played roller hockey, and developed his hockey skills in Toronto. And Bieber wasn't the only music star to make a pick, with country music's Luke Bryan on hand to announce Nashville's selection of Wyatt Cullen before performing a concert a few blocks away. Rudolph was wowed watching his good friend McKenna being welcomed to the stage. "To see him be selected first and with Justin Bieber and everything, it was amazing," Rudolph said. "I just remember talking to my mom and saying. ?Wow, this is so cool,' as I'm sitting there on the couch waiting to be picked."
McKenna accustomed to the spotlight McKenna is accustomed to the spotlight. He combined for 79 goals and 244 points in 133 games with Medicine Hat in the WHL. As a freshman at Penn State, he finished with 51 points, tied for fourth in the nation, last season. He became just the fifth NCAA player to go first, and third in six years, since Michigan defenseman Owen Power went No. 1 to Buffalo in 2021. McKenna also became the fifth Yukon-born player to be selected in the draft, and first to go No. 1. He now heads to a metropolis that is nearly 100 times larger than Whitehorse's population of about 39,000. This was the NHL's second straight decentralized draft, with teams making selections from their respective headquarters.
Decentralized draft Part II Lacking in the new format is each draft pick joining his new team's front office on stage. Last year, the NHL attempted to rectify that by having teams welcome their prospects by video conference call on stage at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The interviews were widely panned for being awkward and glitchy, and contributing to the draft lasting nearly 4 1/2 hours. This year the NHL had the top prospects seated with their families in what resembled a lounge area, featuring plush couches, directly in front of the stage. After being selected, each player was interviewed on a couch on stage, with the backdrop representing the team in a first round that took about four hours to complete. ___ AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno and AP freelance writer Denis Gorman contributed to this report. ___ AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
