Gavin McKenna’s offseason work is turning into a pretty public show, and one of the more interesting faces in the mix is a former Maple Leaf.
The 2026 first-overall pick has been spending plenty of time on the ice with the Kavio Hockey group, an advanced training setup that leans on cognitive speed and other cutting-edge tools to try to give players an edge. Because Kavio is based in British Columbia, the Yukon native has been spending a lot of time down south from home.
McKenna has also been skating alongside some notable current NHL talent, including Macklin Celebrini. But another name in those sessions stands out for a different reason: Alex Kerfoot.
Gavin McKenna doing some 2v1 training with Alex Kerfoot
🎥: kaivohockey_ | TikTok pic.twitter.com/xnFLPCiOUO
- TheLeafsNation (@TLNdc) July 20, 2026
The drill itself is almost beside the point. What matters is that McKenna is getting time with a player who actually wore a Maple Leafs sweater, which at least gives him one more Toronto perspective to pull from. If he wants a read on what life around the Leafs looks like, Kerfoot probably offers a more useful one than someone like Mats Sundin.
Kerfoot came to Toronto in one of Kyle Dubas’ biggest moves, the trade that sent Nazem Kadri to the Colorado Avalanche. In Toronto, he settled in as a dependable third-line centre.
He had his critics, sure, but the production was steady enough: 40 points per 82 games in a depth role, with strong underlying numbers. He wasn’t flashy, but he filled the job he was built for.
The 31-year-old forward moved on in free agency after Brad Treliving, hired just a month before the 2023 free agency period, opted not to bring him back. Kerfoot then spent the last three seasons with the Arizona Coyotes, which became the Utah Mammoth, and posted numbers similar to what he had in Toronto. Most recently, he signed a two-year contract with a $3.5-million AAV with the Nashville Predators.
So while McKenna keeps building the hype around his own future, he’s sharing the ice with a player who knows exactly what it means to be a useful NHL piece in Toronto.
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The impact is starting to show in the way he is being used with the clubs young talent, including top prospect Gavin McKenna. Sundin is offering more than a welcome-back presence from the alumni suite, and his guidance is aimed at the everyday habits that matter once a player arrives in the NHL. He is also in a position to speak from experience about the pressures that come with being a highly touted young player in Toronto, which gives this hire a layer of credibility the Leafs have rarely been able to manufacture. [Read more 🡒]