Major twist at NHL draft involving Gavin McKenna and Stenberg
Frank Seravalli's first 2026 mock draft just dropped, and he's pairing the Toronto Maple Leafs with Ivar Stenberg over Gavin McKenna at first overall.
That's the headline that landed Wednesday morning, and it's already lighting up Leafs Nation.
Toronto closed out a brutal 32-36-14 season, finished 28th in the league with 78 points, and bled goals all year. They allowed 299 against. They lost their last seven straight.
A 2-7-1 mark over the final 10 was the cherry on top. Then the lottery balls fell their way at 8.5 percent odds.
So here comes Seravalli, projecting Ivar Stenberg as the pick. A Frolunda product. A 200-foot winger pitched as a thicker, more physical Mitch Marner replacement.
The frame in the mock is that Stenberg slots beside Auston Matthews, plays the top power play, and kills penalties from day one. That's a heavy assignment for an 18-year-old.
Why McKenna sliding to Vancouver could haunt Craig Berube
Passing on Gavin McKenna is the part that'll keep Toronto fans up at night. McKenna is the dynamic, electric one. Stenberg is the projectable two-way piece.
You don't pass on top-end skill in this market unless you're certain. And Toronto under Craig Berube just gave up the most goals of any team in the Atlantic Division.
Matthews himself had a rough year by his standards. 27 goals and 53 points in 60 games. A minus-4 rating. The locker room needed offense, not just structure.
Where does this leave John Tavares and William Nylander? Tavares went minus-28. Nylander put up 79 points but finished minus-14. The bottom six was a sieve.
Now let's be honest about what Seravalli is selling. He's saying the Leafs need a Barkov-type, not a Connor Bedard-type. Defensible. Also debatable.
Vancouver, sitting at 25-49-8 with a -100 goal differential, would probably mug somebody to land McKenna at three. Adam Foote's group is starving for a face of the franchise.
Toronto won three head-to-head meetings against the Canucks and Rangers this season but dropped both games to San Jose. Small consolation when you're picking first.
The real test comes in June. Whoever's running this draft table is staking the next decade on whether Stenberg's two-way ceiling actually beats McKenna's pure offensive upside.
If Toronto walks to the podium and reads a name other than McKenna, the second-guessing starts before the kid puts the jersey on. That's the cost of picking first in this market.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 7, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Jordan Staal | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Shayne Gostisbehere | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Jordan Martinook | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Jalen Chatfield | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Trevor Zegras | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Emil Andrae | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Porter Martone | - | 1 | 1 | |
| K'Andre Miller | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Denver Barkey | - | - | - | |
| Jackson Blake | - | - | - | |
| Alex Bump | - | - | - | |
| William Carrier | - | - | - | |
| Sean Couturier | - | - | - | |
| Jamie Drysdale | - | - | - | |
| Christian Dvorak | - | - | - | |
| Tyson Foerster | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||