The Toronto Maple Leafs’ meeting with the San Jose Sharks tonight comes with a little extra shine, because it also puts Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg on the same ice for the first time in their NHL careers.
It’s the first matchup this season between Toronto and San Jose, but the bigger storyline is the one attached to the top of the 2026 NHL Draft. McKenna went first overall to the Maple Leafs, while Stenberg was taken second overall by the Sharks. That kind of draft pairing tends to follow players around, and this one already has the feel of something that could linger for years.
McKenna arrives with the weight that comes with being the No. 1 pick, especially in Toronto. The Leafs clearly see him as a player who can grow into one of the most important pieces of their roster for the long haul, and nights like this are the kind that come with that territory.
Stenberg has a different kind of spotlight, but no less pressure. He went second to San Jose, and the Sharks have built around a strong young core. He’ll be trying to make his mark too, with the same goal McKenna has: prove he can be a franchise-level difference-maker.
The added buzz around this game picked up after Stenberg spoke about his draft process and his meetings with Toronto. In a recent conversation with Curtis Pashelka of Bay Area News Group, he said, “I was pretty sure I would not go first overall,” He also addressed what he sensed from the Maple Leafs in the lead-up to the draft.
"“I had met with (the Maple Leafs) during the year, but I don’t know,” Stenberg said. “They wanted another guy, and I accept that.
But I’m super happy I’m with the Sharks. You kind of feel when a team wants you or not, or how interested they are.
You get a feeling, and I think that feeling was pretty (accurate)”"
That doesn’t settle anything now, and it certainly doesn’t tell anyone how their careers will unfold. But it does give this first meeting a little more edge than a normal early-season game.
For now, this is just the beginning. McKenna will carry the first-overall label every time he steps on the ice, and Stenberg will have the second-overall tag right behind him. And because of that, every time they line up against each other, the comparison will be impossible to avoid.
In Other News...
Leafs Fans Have A New Draft What-If To Debate
The 2026 draft already gave Maple Leafs fans plenty to chew on when Toronto went first overall with Gavin McKenna, a selection that immediately shaped the way the class will be remembered in this market. San Jose followed by taking Ivar Stenberg second, and with both players off to promising starts, the contrast has only made the Leafs decision feel bigger in hindsight than it did on draft night.
Stenberg has been turning heads with the Sharks, which naturally invites the sort of alternate-history debate Toronto fans never seem to tire of. The part that keeps the conversation alive is how he now views his own draft process with the Leafs, a detail that adds another layer to the what-if scenario without changing the fact that Toronto still landed the player it clearly wanted at the top of the board. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Suddenly Face More Urgency In Dylan Larkin Situation
The Maple Leafs continue to search for ways to shore up the blue line, but one name appears to be staying off the table: Easton Cowan. Toronto is reportedly reluctant to include the promising prospect in any major deal for defensive help, a sign the organization still sees him as a key piece of its future even as it explores upgrades around the roster.
There is also some immediate uncertainty up front, with William Nylander missing the morning skate because of an illness and now listed as a game-time decision for the matchup with San Jose. Around the league, the trade market is beginning to stir again, with Montreal exploring a possible Rickard Rakell deal and Pittsburgh open to moving veteran players, developments that could add urgency for Detroit as it weighs what comes next with captain Dylan Larkin. [Read more 🡒]
Leafs Blue Line Problem Just Became Harder To Solve
The Maple Leafs have been hunting for help on the blue line, but the search is running into a familiar NHL problem: the kind of defenseman they need is hard to find and even harder to pry loose. With an aging defensive core and a clear need to steady things long term, Toronto has been weighing whether the answer has to come through the trade market or whether the fix will come more gradually through the development pipeline.
Darren Dregers latest read on the situation only sharpens the challenge for the Leafs, who are trying to identify a real difference-maker rather than just another body for the back end. If the market does not offer that kind of player right now, Toronto may have to lean more heavily on younger defenders and the draft to rebuild the group over time, which leaves the front office with a much less immediate path to solving one of its biggest roster questions. [Read more 🡒]