Toronto Maple Leafs rookie Gavin McKenna's preseason debut was a bit of a mixed bag, although there are certainly positives for the team to hang its hat on.
Gavin McKenna played his first-ever game in a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey tonight as he got to play on a line with the likes of John Tavares and William Nylander.
In the end, the Maple Leafs lost by a score of 2-1 as the Leafs' A team could not get any offense going against the Montreal Canadiens. Darren Raddysh scored a goal for Auston Matthews, but that was about it. As for McKenna, there were some pretty obvious growing pains.
Gavin McKenna deals with a few struggles
In the first period, McKenna had a perfect scoring chance, but hesitated too long with the puck and didn't get a shot off. It was the kind of hesitancy you would expect from a young rookie is still trying to figure things out.
Not long after this, McKenna made another error as he ended up taking a penalty. Once again, it was an example of McKenna making mistakes in his first showing as a Maple Leaf.
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Thankfully, it wasn't all bad for the young star. There were numerous instances in which McKenna showed the league what could be on the horizon.
The positives
According to Michael Amato of Sportsnet, there were numerous instances in which McKenna drew penalties. This is all thanks to his shiftiness and his speed. The Leafs need a player with this skill, and now, they have one.
Think another area where Gavin McKenna can help the Maple Leafs is drawing penalties with his shiftiness and elusiveness. Leafs ranked 29th in penalties drawn last season.
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While things weren't super smooth for the young rookie, he is still showing that he has the talent and the tools to be a success. You can't evaluate a first overall pick off one meaningless game. However, that doesn't also mean McKenna is a perfect player. He still has a lot to work on, and it will be up to the Leafs to develop that talent.
Do you believe Gavin McKenna is going to be good for the Leafs this season?
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