McKenna, family enjoy ‘special moment’ with No. 1 pick’s first NHL goal for Maple Leafs

TORONTO -- Willy and Krystal McKenna were not at Scotiabank Arena to see their son Gavin score his first NHL goal Tuesday. After watching him go pointless in his first three games as a Toronto Maple Leaf, they returned home to Whitehorse, Yukon, about 2,500 miles northwest of Toronto, where they watched the dramatic 5-4 overtime victory against the Nashville Predators on TV.

That didn’t make the moment of a lifetime any less special for the Maple Leafs forward and his parents.

When the 18-year-old snapped a rocket into the top corner past Predators goalie Juuse Saros at 14:31 of the second period, the capacity crowd erupted into the type of deafening roar Gavin will never forget.

But when it comes to heartfelt celebrations, nothing could compare to the one at the family home three time zones away.

“It was so great to see!” a euphoric Willy told NHL.com.

The McKennas weren’t the only ones who felt that way.

From his teammates, to the coaching staff, to the management team led by general manager John Chayka and Toronto legend Mats Sundin, to the countless number of Maple Leafs fans from coast to coast, the sight of the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft producing such a milestone moment in his fledgling career produced smiles all around.

His special evening would continue once the final horn sounded. 

As he skated around the ice after being named the game’s first star — another first in his young career — the capacity crowd of 18,792 rose as one to salute him. Then came a TSN interview outside the dressing room where he told a nationwide audience what this night meant.

Once inside the dressing room, one of the first things he did was check his phone for messages from his family. Reading their text, he said, was priceless.

“They’re super proud,” a beaming McKenna said. “Obviously you want them to be here. But for them to be watching at home, well, I’m sure it was a special moment for them at home.

“I wouldn’t be here without them. They mean the world to me. I love them.”

The moral of this story: You can take the kid out of Whitehorse but you can’t take Whitehorse out of the kid.

That’s where the historic puck is heading, for Willy, Krystal and the rest of his family and friends to see.

“It’s going home and going in my trophy case for sure,” he said.

Through his entire postgame press conference, McKenna was grinning from ear to ear. Part of it came from pure, raw joy. Another part admittedly came from relief.

In one respect, McKenna was fortunate in that he was drafted to a team already filled with skilled players like Auston Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares, whereas most No. 1 picks go to struggling franchises bereft of top-end talent.

On the other hand, coming to play in Canada’s largest city, a hockey fishbowl where the pressure and expectations are a daily occurrence, aren’t the easiest things for a teenager to deal with, let alone seasoned veterans.

To that end, he faced no shortage of questions about going pointless in his first three NHL games heading into the matchup against the Predators. One local well-known sports commentator went as far as to say he should already be sent down to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.

Really? After three games? In reality, such a suggestion is far too premature. Let’s preach a bit of patience here. Not everyone can be Matthews, who scored four times in his NHL debut in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 12, 2016.

That’s why McKenna’s performance Tuesday, which also included his first NHL assist, helped clam up such outlandish speculation related to demoting him to the minors.

“It’s a big monkey off the back,” he said afterward. “That one felt good. Yeah, that’s a goal I’ll remember forever.”

A monkey off the back after just three games?

“I’d say it felt longer,” he said. “But I think every single game I’ve been trying to get better and better. And I thought obviously tonight was my best one. So I think I’m taking steps in the right direction.”

Matthews, who had four points in the game (one goal, three assists), certainly thinks he is.

“When you go a few games and you haven’t found the scoresheet, it’s tough,” the Maple Leafs captain said when asked what it would be like to be in McKenna’s shoes. “It can weigh on you. But at the same time, keep sticking with it.

“Obviously he found it tonight. And I think he’s going to go on a tear here now because that weight’s kind of lifted off your shoulders, and you just kind of focus and go play.”

While on the subject of Matthews (2016) and McKenna (2026): According to NHL Stats, they were part of a game Tuesday which featured only the fourth time in League history that four No. 1 picks scored in the same game, Tavares (2009) and Stamkos (2008), who had two goals, being the others.

Stamkos, a native of Markham, just north of Toronto, pointed out that he went the first seven games of his career without a point. The difference, he said, “was that I was in Tampa, where no one knew who I was.”

Toronto, he said, is a different animal.

“When you come to a place like this, it’s a pressure cooker, right,” the 36-year-old said after the Predators’ morning skate. “I walked into our hotel last night and the TV was on in the hotel, and it was all Maple Leafs. There’s not many cities you walk into and it’s like that.

“That’s just the way it is here.”

At the same time, Stamkos said McKenna has a great support system in the Maple Leafs locker room.

“You have Tavares and you have Matthews, two guys who are first overall picks in this league,” he said.

Both have already taken the kid under their wings.

“I’ve learned so much from those two,” McKenna said. “They’ve been very special to me, and they’ve helped me a lot.”

In the case of Tavares, he’s welcomed McKenna into his home to live with his family. As for Matthews, the rookie said he had a “sleepover” at the captain’s house Sunday, one that featured eating sandwiches, watching football, then going to bed.

Before his audience with the media was done, McKenna went out of his way to thank the fan base, noting that he “loved” them and acknowledging that Toronto is a “special place to play.”

With that, he left. Time to connect with Willy and Krystal in Whitehorse.

Home, after all, is where the heart is.

And soon, for that matter, where his milestone puck will be too.