Gavin McKenna’s decision not to take the optional morning skate before his NHL debut drew plenty of attention, but the Maple Leafs rookie says there was nothing flashy behind it.
Ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens, the 18-year-old passed on the pregame skate, a choice that stood out because it came before the biggest night of his career so far. The reaction inside the room was more approving than critical. Chris Tanev said McKenna’s “got some swag” for skipping it, and Jim Hiller said, “I actually thought it was great,” noting that the morning skate is really for players who feel they need a little extra prep.
McKenna, though, made it clear the move had nothing to do with trying to make a statement.
“Yeah, usually I (do) morning skates,” he said. “But with a back-to-back, it was my first game, I wanted to be rested.
So yeah, it wasn't a swagger thing. It was just trying to keep my body fresh.”
That back-to-back stretch gave McKenna his first taste of consecutive NHL games right away, with Toronto falling to the Canadiens on opening night before beating the New York Islanders on Wednesday for its first win of the season. The Maple Leafs’ next game comes Saturday against the Ottawa Senators.
McKenna said the adjustment to the NHL schedule has already started to hit physically, but not in a way that has caught him off guard.
“Yeah, it felt not too bad,” he said of the back-to-back. “Legs might have got a bit heavy after the first game, but yeah, in college you play a few back-to-back, so used to it.
But yeah, at the NHL, it's a different breed. So recovery has been a big thing for me this summer and going into this year.
And I think living with (Tavares) and just seeing these guys, how they treat their bodies every single day, I think it rubs off on me, and it's helped.”
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