Everything that stood out from Day 1 of Maple Leafs training camp

Toronto's first day of camp started on Thursday, and HockeyPatrol is here to break down and highlight everything from the team's opening practice.

We are finally getting closer and closer to the NHL season opening up, and the Maple Leafs held their first day of camp on Thursday as they prepare themselves for a bounce-back 2026-27 season. A summer of changes has led to a lot of anticipation, and this is the first time we get to see these new faces take the ice.

With the preseason games starting this Saturday, it's going to be an accelerated camp where decisions will need to be made a lot sooner than previous years, so let's take a look at what the first day of camp brought the Maple Leafs and their fans on Thursday.

Gavin McKenna finally gets his linemates

Arguably the biggest story coming out of camp is where exactly Gavin McKenna was going to line up. There were a lot of talks about him alongside Auston Matthews, but instead, Jim Hiller gave him a little bit of familiarity as he skated on a line with his housemate John Tavares as well as William Nylander:

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While McKenna didn't get a real chance to skate with the puck in the clip above, the combination of his playmaking and creativity mixed with Nylander's lethal shot and Tavares' overall offensive wizardry, it could be a dangerous trio.

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Oh, and he also had a gorgeous individual effort as well, scoring on Sergei Bobrovsky with a wicked shot in close:

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McKenna also has unwavering confidence in his linemates as he mentioned that with Tavares and Nylander, the scoring may come easier than he thought:

Pucks will find me with those kind of players.

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While obviously these lines are subject to change at a moment's notice, this at least gives us our first confirmed line that Hiller wants to work with. It feels like while he wants to give McKenna as much time to shine, he also wants to give him a little bit of protection and ease him into that prominent playmaking role.

Auston Matthews finds two familiar faces on the first line

Switching gears from a potential future captain of the team to the current one. Matthews has a lot of expectations surrounding his season, and knowing that he is coming into camp at 100% and hungry to get back at it, he could find his old form.

He's also going to have some familiarity too, as he was seen lining up with Matthew Knies on his left wing, and old friend and USNTDP teammate Jack Roslovic on his right.

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That at least gives Matthews some comfort in knowing who he has beside him, and it's more about getting that early chemistry before the season opens. And for those worried if his leg injury was any concern? His battle with Troy Stecher in the corner should ease those concerns:

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He also had a bit of a face-off duel with newcomer Nick Paul, though it seems like the latter may have won the exchange when all was said and done:

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Toronto's first look at their new goaltending tandem

The Maple Leafs also got their first look at Sergei Bobrovsky in net, and while he's still waiting on some Toronto-themed gear, that hasn't stopped him from being active right away:

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He was also seen chatting it up with newly signed EBUG Brendan Bonello, and surely had some friendly advice for the young goalie, and is going to be a great mentor for any of the Leafs players given his experience and past accomplishments.

We didn't see too much of Stolarz in net though, which is the more pressing concern though in the coming days we are going to have a better idea of his health and whether injuries are going to factor in early on though he did look sharp on a William Nylander shot.

Time will tell how things will play out in Toronto but the early eye test gives fans a lot of hope and excitement that everything will be coming together a lot sooner than anticipated. But it's just the first day, so let's tread with cautious excitement.

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