An 18-year-old from Whitehorse is making history. Gavin McKenna was selected first overall in the NHL draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, CBC News reported, a moment that instantly turned the young forward into one of the most talked-about names in Canadian hockey.
The pick was made official in dramatic fashion. Canada's biggest pop star, Justin Bieber, welcomed the country's next hockey star to the stage at the draft, held in Buffalo, with the words, Mr. McKenna, we would like to draft you to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
For McKenna, the moment surpassed even his childhood dreams. This isn't what I imagined when I was a young kid, he said, so it's so much better, capturing the disbelief and joy of going number one to one of the sport's most storied franchises.
He arrives with a reputation as an elite talent. The forward has been breaking scoring records at Penn State University in the NCAA, and is widely considered a rising star, an elite playmaker known for his passing and described by those around him as a player with plenty of skill and swagger.
The expectations attached to the pick are enormous. The Leafs are hoping McKenna can be the key ingredient to help end the team's 59-year championship drought, which is the longest in NHL history, a burden that has weighed on the franchise and its supporters for decades.
Few teams carry the kind of spotlight that comes with Toronto. The Maple Leafs have a massive reach and a deeply loyal fan base, and large groups of those supporters made the trip to follow the draft, watching the selection unfold alongside McKenna's hometown fans back in Whitehorse.
Now the hard part begins. After breaking through at the college level, the 18-year-old turns his attention to the professional game, carrying the hopes of a long-suffering fan base that believes he could finally help change the team's fortunes.