Gavin McKenna entered the NHL season with all the hype in the world, but his frame is already becoming part of the conversation.
The 18-year-old showed up at the Draft Combine at 174 pounds, which was light but still workable. By the time training camp rolled around, he was down to 164.
That puts him in a rough neighborhood physically, especially when he’s lined up against players who can outweigh him by as much as 100 pounds. For a rookie trying to establish himself, that gap matters.
McKenna is now the second-lightest player in the NHL, sitting just two pounds above Lane Hutson. Names like Hutson, Nikita Kucherov, and Nikolaj Ehlers are also on that list, but they’ve already spent years learning how to make a smaller body work in a league built on contact. McKenna is still figuring that part out.
He hasn’t been tossed around every shift, but the difference is showing. He’s been easier to knock off the puck, and he hasn’t consistently been able to turn his quick hands and shifty movement into real separation.
That doesn’t mean the answer is packing on 20 pounds and changing who he is. The bigger issue is how he uses the weight he already has. On the wing, he’s going to have a harder time holding off pressure, so a more central route through the ice could help him get cleaner looks and more time to create.
McKenna has made his ambition clear: he wants to be the NHL’s best rookie. But that kind of season doesn’t happen if the puck keeps slipping away. Putting him with someone who can help control the pace and make zone exits easier would give him a better runway.
Ivar Stenberg is already making that path tougher. He’s shown he can be a real factor for a San Jose Sharks team that is loaded with talent. If McKenna wants to separate himself in the rookie race, he’ll need to start using his size in smarter ways.
There’s also the matter of learning from the template right in front of him. Maybe he could try emulating how his idol uses his smaller size and stature, even as he nears 40 years old:
McKenna doesn’t need to bulk up overnight. That will come in time. What he needs now is a better way to turn his current build into more scoring chances, instead of getting stripped after the first bump.
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Knies agent, Matt Frederico, made clear he was frustrated with the way things were handled, arguing that the player needed clarity about whether Toronto actually saw him as part of its plans. The contract extension Knies signed did not include trade protection, which gave the Maple Leafs the flexibility to make the move and left an ugly question hanging over the franchises approach to one of its younger pieces. [Read more 🡒]