Gavin McKenna faces work ethic criticism after missing another optional Leafs skills session

Gavin McKenna skipped out on an optional skills session as the rookie is getting some criticism for his continued absences during Toronto's optional practices.

All the hype around Gavin McKenna has settled down a little bit and right now, he isn't exactly lighting things up. Still pointless, McKenna has statistically been one of the worst players so far this season for Toronto, and his line has been by far the most dominated of the bunch.

He is only three games in and still an 18-year-old so we can't immediately call for his head. But we can start to get worried that things aren't turning around soon, and if last game was any indication - he's not really getting many opportunities.

So perhaps some extra time on the ice would be beneficial for the rookie, and given that he has a slew of legendary talent to draw from both on the ice and in the front office, he can't go wrong.

McKenna misses his third straight optional skate

That is, if he actually starts showing up.

McKenna was not seen on the ice for Toronto's optional skills session on Sunday, and while again it's optional, this is now the third time this season that the rookie has bypassed an optional practice.

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That would be fine and dandy if was contributing already, but he hasn't. It's not a good look for McKenna that he's not taking the extra time to work on things.

His leap to the NHL has not been as quick as some had hoped, and some extra reps on the ice can't hurt. He already worked exclusively with Daniel Alfredsson at practice ahead of the game vs. Ottawa, so double dipping would only be a good thing.

And also, not to target him on being a rookie, but he isn't a 10-year vet. The more time he takes to get comfortable, the easier things will become and it's curious to know how his teammates feel about him continuing to miss practices.

McKenna needs to follow the captain's example

You know who was on the ice for the optional skate? Auston Matthews. Not only that, but he was joined by his entire line of Kirill Marchenko and Jack Roslovic, meanwhile both Nick Paul and Easton Cowan showed up as well.

It shows a lot of leadership from Matthews to show up when he didn't need to, and despite him putting in a better season than McKenna - he feels he needs to improve on things. Heck, you even had Chris Tanev making an appearance, when he certainly could use the extra time off.

However, there is one important bit of information that shouldn't be overlooked which is that McKenna's family is headed back to the Yukon, so if this was their last day in the city it's very likely he would spend time with them than practice.

But if that wasn't the case and it was simply the case that McKenna didn't want to practice or felt he didn't need to - then we might start having some issues in Toronto regarding their 2026 first overall pick.

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