BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) 鈥� Gavin McKenna鈥檚 nerves finally eased when lifetime Maple Leafs fan and international pop icon Justin Bieber took the stage to announce who Toronto was selecting No. 1.
鈥淗e was looking at me and I kind of was thinking, maybe,鈥� McKenna said with a laugh. 鈥淐razy. Just crazy what鈥檚 going on right now.鈥�
With most of Yukon watching and a loud presence of Maple Leafs fans in the stands, Toronto chose the , validating longstanding projections of McKenna being his age group鈥檚 top prospect. The 18-year-old from Yukon鈥檚 capital of Whitehorse has been a prolific scorer on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border.
And if Bieber鈥檚 appearance and taking the stage to the artist’s song 鈥淵ukon鈥� wasn鈥檛 enough, McKenna was welcomed to the Maple Leafs with a video message from Toronto captain Auston Matthews.
鈥淥bviously he鈥檚 on the first line. I鈥檓 going to have to prove myself to be able to play with a player like that. But that鈥檚 my goal,鈥� McKenna said about Matthews, who was chosen No. 1 by Toronto in the 2016 draft, which also happened to be held in Buffalo. 鈥淢y game鈥檚 obviously a playmaker, he鈥檚 a shooter, so I think we could complement each other pretty well.鈥�
McKenna represents a major plank in in a rebuilding process for a team in transition under . Toronto finished last in the Atlantic Division last season and missed the playoffs for the first time since Matthews鈥� arrival.
Canucks select coach’s son, Caleb Malhotra
The draft featured dueling cheers 鈥� and boos 鈥� between large contingents of Maple Leafs and Sabres fans, several surprises, nine trades and a poignant father-son moment when Vancouver selected center Caleb Malhotra with the No. 3 pick, joining a team coached by .
鈥淚 hugged him right after, and we were happy,鈥� said Caleb, who is from British Columbia and finished second among OHL rookies with 84 points with Brantford last season. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the best feeling in the world. I鈥檝e never felt anything like this. And that embrace was so comforting, and I鈥檓 so glad he鈥檚 here with me as dad.鈥�
Malhotra said his dad was not aware of the Canucks鈥� draft plans. And he now has bragging rights on his father in being selected four spots higher, after Manny went No. 7 to the New York Rangers in 1998.
Run on defensemen
After forwards went with the first three picks, including Sweden鈥檚 Ivar Stenberg second to San Jose, the expected run on defensemen began with five selected over the next six picks, and 10 overall.
Buffalo selected Prince Albert blue-liner Daxon Rudolph at No. 4, followed by Latvia鈥檚 Alberts Smits going fifth to the Rangers. Chase Reid, who is from Michigan, went seventh to Seattle as the first American-born player selected.
Smits split last season playing professionally in Finland and Germany, while also representing Latvia at the Milan Cortina Olympics. He became the highest drafted Latvian.
Trades and more trades
This was a with picks traded for NHL players than the previous couple of years. The Rangers got Pavel Dorofeyev from Vegas for picks 26 and 92, and a 2028 first-rounder. Boston acquired JJ Peterka from Utah for a pair of first-rounders. And St. Louis traded two of its picks to Anaheim for Mason McTavish.
The selections featured an international flavor with 10 Canadians, a first-round-record seven Swedes and seven Americans chosen. The first round ended with Ottawa selecting , who was born in Miami, raised on Grand Cayman where he played roller hockey, and developed his hockey skills in Toronto.
And Bieber wasn’t the only music star to make a pick, with country music’s Luke Bryan on hand to announce Nashville’s selection of Wyatt Cullen before performing a concert a few blocks away.
Rudolph was wowed watching his good friend McKenna being welcomed to the stage.
鈥淭o see him be selected first and with Justin Bieber and everything, it was amazing,鈥� Rudolph said. 鈥淚 just remember talking to my mom and saying. 鈥榃ow, this is so cool,鈥� as I鈥檓 sitting there on the couch waiting to be picked.鈥�
McKenna accustomed to the spotlight
McKenna is accustomed to the spotlight. He combined for 79 goals and 244 points in 133 games with Medicine Hat in the WHL. As a freshman at Penn State, he finished with 51 points, tied for fourth in the nation, last season.
He became just the fifth NCAA player to go first, and third in six years, since Michigan defenseman Owen Power went No. 1 to Buffalo in 2021.
McKenna also became the fifth Yukon-born player to be selected in the draft, and first to go No. 1. He now heads to a metropolis that is nearly 100 times larger than Whitehorse鈥檚 population of about 39,000.
This was the NHL鈥檚 second straight decentralized draft, with teams making selections from their respective headquarters.
Decentralized draft Part II
Lacking in the new format is each draft pick joining his new team鈥檚 front office on stage. Last year, the NHL attempted to rectify that by having teams welcome their prospects by video conference call on stage at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The interviews were widely panned for being awkward and glitchy, and contributing to the draft lasting nearly 4 1/2 hours.
This year the NHL had the top prospects seated with their families in what resembled a lounge area, featuring plush couches, directly in front of the stage. After being selected, each player was interviewed on a couch on stage, with the backdrop representing the team in a first round that took about four hours to complete.
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AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno and AP freelance writer Denis Gorman contributed to this report.
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