Maple Leafs rookie Gavin McKenna revealed the reasoning behind his refusal to skate during Toronto's optional practice ahead of the 2026-27 season opener.
Tuesday night was a night to remember for McKenna as he was taking part in his first regular season NHL game, and the first overall pick had a full house to watch. Though his initial rookie lap came with a bit of a hiccup, it was still a great moment for both McKenna and the Maple Leafs.
But he also only took the ice that evening, eschewing the morning's optional practice for a chance to rest and prepare for his debut.
Jim Hiller had no issues with the situation, and who better to know his body than McKenna himself?
McKenna admits that he just wanted to be as fresh as possible for his NHL debut
Well while it's atypical especially for a rookie, McKenna explained the reasoning behind it and it's not too surprising as to why he sat out. McKenna merely wanted to make sure he was completely focused and didn't want to wear himself out any more than he needed to:
Usually I (do) morning skates. 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.
I'm not sure many fans thought that McKenna was trying to showboat or be bigger than his hype by going against the grain - it was optional after all. Plus, going into a back-to-back and needing to endure the rigours of that literally in his first two games; rest is best.
McKenna isn't trying to be bigger than he is
McKenna for all intents and purposes understands the spotlight is going to be firmly on him and that comes with expectations. But he was honest, and you can't really fault him for not wanting to participate - only two extras did overall.
You can't point to everyone else and give them a free pass and keep McKenna on the hook for missing practice. It was better for him to mentally prepare than it is for him to skate around for an hour - he had a lot more skating ahead of him.
It's a back-to-back to start the year, and everyone is going to be tired beforehand and certainly after, so the best thing to do is to make sure the entire team is at its best - practice or not.
McKenna needed to focus on the game ahead of him and not ensure that he played goody-two-shoes and do everything possible with and for the team - he's already going to do it in-game.
Maybe he was just looking forward to that rookie lap and wanted to save his energy.
Should the Maple Leafs be forcing Gavin McKenna to participate in more practices?
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