Gavin McKenna’s Prospect Stock Takes Surprising Turn Ahead of Rookie Season – The Hockey Writers – Toronto Maple Leafs

There are plenty of reasons to take issue with Corey Pronman’s latest ranking. In his Athletic column, “Ranking the best NHL players and prospects under 23: Macklin Celebrini is No. 1,” Pronman ranks some players in spots that are sure to generate debate, as is usually the case with any list like this. But for Toronto Maple Leafs fans, one ranking in particular stands out. Gavin McKenna is ranked surprisingly low.

Considering he was the first overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and is widely viewed as one of the most talented young players in hockey, that he comes in at No. 18 is both surprising and potentially good news.

Why is McKenna Ranked So Low?

Let’s first be clear: coming in at No. 18 isn’t terrible. The players who are ahead of him include Macklin Celebrini, Connor Bedard, Matthew Schaefer, Juraj Slafkovsky and others. That’s a strong list of solid and elite talent. Maple Leafs fans shouldn’t expect McKenna to rank higher than any of those players, especially given he’s not played a single NHL game.

That said, McKenna ranked lower than Porter Martone (10 NHL points), Cole Hutson (14 NHL games), Chase Reid, Alberts Smits, and Keaton Verhoeff. Those latter two players were drafted in McKenna’s draft class and lower on the board. Two of those players are defensemen, and it’s well known that it takes defensemen longer to establish themselves as NHL talents than forwards. In that light, McKenna’s ranking seems surprising.

Ironically, Pronman doesn’t say anything overly negative about McKenna. He writes:

“McKenna possesses off-the-charts puck skills, vision and overall offensive creativity. He’s a strong skater who can generate a ton of chances with pace. He’s a pass-first player who projects to run a power play at a high level due to his elite playmaking ability. He’s not overly physical and can be pushed to the outside too much, but despite his frustrating tendencies, coaches still tend to play him a ton at every level. He projects as a top-line winger who can run a PP1.”

source – ‘Ranking the best NHL players and prospects under 23: Macklin Celebrini is No. 1’ – Corey Pronman – The Athletic – 08-19-2026

This Is Actually Not a Bad Thing

That No. 18 ranking may seem harsh now, but it also gives McKenna a pretty clear opportunity: have a strong rookie season and quickly prove he belongs much higher on the list.

It’s unclear if players read lists like these. We can assume they often do. If McKenna — or anyone else who was perceived to be snubbed — takes it personally, that’s the kind of thing that will only fuel him. Competitive talents like McKenna grab anything they can to use as motivation.

Sure, it’s strange that a player so coveted at the draft wouldn’t rank as one of the best prospects or players at the age of 23 or under. However, McKenna has five seasons to improve his ranking. Does anyone really doubt he’ll do so?

Give a player like McKenna that kind of time and that big a learning curve to rank on a list like this, and it might not take long for him to put himself in the top five. He could easily prove he’s more impactful than the rest of his draft class and move up the charts, even if everyone in the top 10 is still on the list next season.