Gavin McKenna's sudden weight loss drawing concerns from Maple Leafs fans

Gavin McKenna comes into his first preseason game 10 pounds under his listed combine weight, which is starting to concern some around Leafs Nation.

The hype surrounding McKenna isn't lost on anyone at all, and Saturday night will be the first time he gets to take the ice for a game as a member of the Maple Leafs, taking on the Montreal Canadiens at home in their first preseason game of 2026-27.

McKenna isn't exactly the biggest guy on the ice, but he'll no doubt have the spotlight firmly upon him and won't be too hard to spot especially with his #92 jersey flowing in his stride though there is something that is a tad bit concerning about the rookie phenom.

Gavin McKenna comes into his first game 10 pounds under his listed weight

When McKenna came into the league and was weighed in at the NHL Draft Combine, he came in at a fairly light but still respectable 174 pounds. That is certainly a more feathery player, but at only 18 he still; has lots of time to add size.

Though keen eyed fans have noticed that when the Maple Leafs posted their lineup for their game against Montreal, McKenna ended up coming in 10 pounds under his listed weight - at only 164 pounds:

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Another fan believes that it could have been an issue of McKenna overstating his true weight for the draft, so to give himself a bit of a leg up optics-wise:

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Now while there is nothing to immediately concern ourselves or believe that there is something underlying with McKenna's health, it is a little startling to see him listed so lightly compared to some of the other behemoths in the lineup. For comparison, the next lightest player in the 'A' squad is Sergei Bobrovsky at 187 pounds, with the majority of players weighing over 200 pounds.

Why a lighter McKenna can still be effective

Size isn't everything in hockey despite it holding its advantages, so too does being smaller. Look at other players who have thrived without being bigger:

- Cole Caufield (5-foot-7, 166 pounds)
- Brad Marchand (5-foot-9, 181 pounds)
- Alex Debrincat (5-foot-7, 165 pounds)

All of those players are incredible playmakers, goal-scorers and overall important assets to their team despite not being big. McKenna's idol Patrick Kane was never a big guy, and Nikita Kucherov has torched the league for years under 180 pounds.

As we've seen in the past with Toronto, their size has often been a detriment. McKenna's lighter frame may look concerning on the surface, but he has more than enough precedence to thrive just as he is.

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Toronto Maple Leafs unveil both lineups for split-squad preseason games against the Canadiens