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The Official 2026 Off-Season Thread: Revenge of the Nerds

I think most of that McKenna talk was in December when he was basically PPG in college while Stenberg was putting up Willy+ numbers. Not as many saying that now after McKenna went off and Stenberg literally stopped producing, though it does still happen. Like that guy saying Stenberg should go #1 because of +/-. I don't see many putting any of the D above McKenna tho.
 
But yeah if Carels is actually Makar or Schaeffer, then no matter how good McKenna is, he's obviously the guy. No winger is as valuable as a D like that.
 
WellPlayed said:
The word "perimeter" seems to come up a lot in scouting reports on McKenna, which is concerning. Still, can't pass up that talent.
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I've seen him a bunch in the WHL. I think he will be a great player.

Just judging on when I've seen him live at only 16.
He played the marner spot on the PP. His 5 on 5 goals came from having a good shot not from being in close. But he does have snot so I'm sure he can go to the net just he never really had to. I am curious if that is why he improved in his second half in college.

I will caution that 8 of his second half points came in one game. On the flip side his team seemed pretty bad so he didn't have much to work with.
 
we need a pp merchant. special teams often decide playoff series, we just need some power plays to go our way
 
zeke said:
I think he's awesome but have some real concerns. Question marks on production, on skills (both speed and size), and on intangibles.

I don’t know near enough but if one of those dmen satisfy the tools+production areas better then i could see it being a better option still.
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www.tsn.ca

Pronman on if McKenna is the right pick at first overall, how NHL-ready McKenna is and if Stenberg can surpass McKenna

The Athletic NHL prospects writer Corey Pronman joins First Up to chat about if Gavin McKenna is the right choice at first overall, why he might lean towards Chase Reid as the top prospect and more.
www.tsn.ca www.tsn.ca
 
LeafGm said:
Sure. But is anyone saying there is a Makar or Schaefer in this draft? Or a defenseman with comparable talent to McKenna?

If that is being claimed, I haven’t seen it yet. The only guy that seems to be getting any talk at all as potentially better than McKenna is Stenberg.
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iirc (canceled my athletic sub) pronman had Reid and McKenna in the top tier together
 
Fully expect now, with the Leafs holding the #1 pick, all the uncertainty bullshit to become amplified. Remember the Laine > Matthews narrative that flooded the zone last time?
 
Volcanologist said:
www.tsn.ca

Pronman on if McKenna is the right pick at first overall, how NHL-ready McKenna is and if Stenberg can surpass McKenna

The Athletic NHL prospects writer Corey Pronman joins First Up to chat about if Gavin McKenna is the right choice at first overall, why he might lean towards Chase Reid as the top prospect and more.
www.tsn.ca www.tsn.ca
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Reid and McKenna are the only 2 in this draft that can be stars according to Pronman.

Feel like we're relying on the eye test bit a lot on Reid. I'm not discounting it, because I've seen him skate and it looks sexy as fuck. But his numbers aren't exactly eye popping.
 
You’re probably not looking at any of these dmen to contribute at all next season yeah? Not that it’s a deciding factor im just asking
 
zeke said:
There's been plenty of talk that mckenna isn't a surefire #1.

And there was nobody saying schaefer and makar were the schaefer or makar of their drafts, else they would have been surefire #1s.
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I think Wendy could fleece Dorian by trading down.
 
Feyd said:
Fully expect now, with the Leafs holding the #1 pick, all the uncertainty bullshit to become amplified. Remember the Laine > Matthews narrative that flooded the zone last time?
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Ahh, all the think pieces on how Laine was the superlative goal-scorer and Mario Lemieux-esque talent, while Matthews was more of a boring two-way center without Laine’s high-end skills.
 
hockeylover said:
You’re probably not looking at any of these dmen to contribute at all next season yeah? Not that it’s a deciding factor im just asking
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Pronman says only Gavin and Stenberg are NHL ready. But Stenberg is unsexy and is likely gonna be more of a 60-80 guy at his peak whereas McKenna can be 90+.
 
worm said:
iirc (canceled my athletic sub) pronman had Reid and McKenna in the top tier together
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Pronman was also one of the most vocal Laine > Matthews guys in the lead-up to the 2016 draft.

Not familiar with his work since, but it does make me highly suspicious of him as a guy who likes to be a galaxy-brained contrarian when there’s a consensus first overall.
 
LeafGm said:
Pronman was also one of the most vocal Laine > Matthews guys in the lead-up to the 2016 draft.

Not familiar with his work since, but it does make me highly suspicious of him as a guy who likes to be a galaxy-brained contrarian when there’s a consensus first overall.
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He seems to he a typical hack now. Values the wrong things. He was better before.
 
Yeah so from what I've seen, only Pronman has a D in contention for #1. And it's the guy with the numbers that don't really justify it. And he says it's the only D that has a chance to be a #1.

And everyone else has McKenna-Stenberg as 1-2, though the Stenberg hype died down significantly since December. It's not McDavid-level consensus, but it's pretty firm that McKenna is the #1 prospect this year from what I've seen. Going with a lower upside guy like Stenberg would make Presto sad.
 
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