Quick Answer
The Toronto Maple Leafs picked Penn State left wing Gavin McKenna first overall in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft on Friday, June 26, 2026 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.
Canadian pop star and lifelong Leafs fan Justin Bieber walked onstage in a Maple Leafs draft jersey to officially announce the pick. McKenna, 18, is the consensus generational prospect of his class after a 129 point CHL Player of the Year season with the WHL Medicine Hat Tigers and a Big Ten scoring title at Penn State.
How Toronto Landed the No. 1 Pick
Toronto entered the 2026 Draft Lottery with roughly an 8.5 percent chance at the top selection, having missed the playoffs only by tiebreaker after a long injury list. The lottery balls bounced their way, jumping them ahead of San Jose and Vancouver. According to NHL.com, the Leafs locked in McKenna long before draft night, with general manager Brad Treliving telling reporters the call was about "a player who can change a franchise for decades to come."
Selecting first overall is uncharted territory for the modern Maple Leafs. The franchise had not held the No. 1 pick since the original 1985 draft, when Wendel Clark went off the board. That weight of history is part of why the team leaned into a celebrity announcement instead of a standard front office reveal.
Why Justin Bieber Announced the Pick
The Maple Leafs invited Bieber to deliver the selection as part of the league's push to mix pop culture into draft night. Per NHL.com's recap, Bieber arrived at the podium in a custom blue and white draft jersey and told the crowd, "I have been a Leafs fan since I was just a little boy." The Buffalo crowd, made up largely of Sabres faithful, greeted him with a mix of cheers and good natured boos, a moment that went viral within minutes.
The pop star handed the jersey to McKenna himself, who had been seated with his family in the front row.
Who Is Gavin McKenna?
McKenna was born December 20, 2007 in Whitehorse, Yukon, and is a member of the Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin First Nation. His path to the NHL is unusual on two fronts. He grew up in a territory with no major junior pipeline of its own, and he then broke from the traditional WHL-to-NHL track by spending his draft season at Penn State in the NCAA instead of returning to Medicine Hat.
The numbers backed up the bet on his pro readiness. He won the CHL Player of the Year award with 129 points for the Tigers, then captured the Big Ten scoring title at Penn State with 51 points in 35 games, beating older defenders consistently in transition.
First Round Picks at a Glance
- 1. Toronto Maple Leafs: Gavin McKenna, LW, Penn State (NCAA)
- 2. San Jose Sharks: Ivar Stenberg, LW, Frölunda HC (SHL)
- 3. Vancouver Canucks: Caleb Malhotra, C, Brantford Bulldogs (OHL), joining the franchise where his father Manny once played
- 4. Buffalo Sabres: Daxon Rudolph, D, Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
- 5. New York Rangers: Alberts Šmits, D, EHC Red Bull München (DEL)
- 6. Calgary Flames: Carson Carels, D, Prince George Cougars (WHL)
- 7. Seattle Kraken: Chase Reid, D, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
Picks 1 through 3 confirmed by NHL.com's official draft tracker. Picks 4 through 7 reflect the order as reported by The Athletic's live blog during round one.
What McKenna Means for the Maple Leafs
The Leafs already have Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Matthew Knies under contract long term. Adding a McKenna ceiling forward to that core is the kind of asset acquisition normally only available to rebuilding teams. Most projections do not have him jumping straight to the NHL roster in October, with another NCAA season at Penn State the likely path, but the franchise now owns a controllable elite forward window that extends well into the 2030s.
Captain Matthews welcomed McKenna with a pre-recorded video message played in the arena after the pick was announced.
When the Rest of the Draft Continues
Rounds 2 through 7 of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft run on Saturday, June 27. The action streams live on ESPN+ and the TSN App in North America, with linear coverage on NHL Network and Sportsnet. The draft wraps up later in the day, after which trade season historically opens up around the league.
Bottom Line
Gavin McKenna goes first overall to the Maple Leafs, announced by Justin Bieber, and the Leafs walk away with the headline prospect of the 2026 class. For Toronto fans it is a once in a generation chance to add an elite forward to an already deep top six. For McKenna, a kid from Whitehorse, it is the kind of moment that rewrites what is possible for hockey players from Canada's far north.
