Gavin McKenna is officially in the National Hockey League.

After signing his entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the 2026 No. 1 overall pick will look to make an immediate impact in hockey’s biggest market.

While we don’t know for sure whether or not McKenna will make the opening night roster, it’s a confident assumption that we will see No. 92 with a Maple Leaf on his chest come the first game of the season.

Here are some games that caught our eye from Toronto’s 2026-27 schedule, where Penn Staters will eagerly watch their program’s top alum take the ice in his rookie season.

The Debut

The time has come, and an Original Six matchup awaits.

Tuesday, September 29: Montreal Canadiens

McKenna’s highly anticipated NHL debut could come against Toronto’s greatest rival, and the most storied franchise in hockey history.

The Leafs open the season at home in front of what is sure to be a raucous Scotiabank Arena. McKenna will be tested early, tasked with going against 22-year-old defenseman Lane Hutson, a former Boston University star and 2025 Calder Trophy winner. Hutson is coming off a 78-point season with a plus/minus of 36.

The question will also be answered in the season opener regarding McKenna’s linemates, as fans will find out whether Toronto will slot the rookie onto Auston Matthews’ wing right off the bat.

Exciting Matchups

The NHL is oozing with up-and-coming talent, and McKenna will have the opportunity to prove himself against the league’s best. Here are must-watch games against some of the most electric players and teams.

Wednesday, September 30: New York Islanders

McKenna will have his hands full with talented young defensemen in the first two days of his NHL career.

Matthew Schaefer is the reigning Calder Trophy winner for the Isles and one of the game’s rapidly rising stars. Like McKenna, Schaefer is part of the No. 1 overall club after being the first player selected in the 2025 NHL Draft.

Since then, the Hamilton, Ontario, native tied Brian Leetch’s rookie defenseman goal record at 23 and broke Phil Housley’s record for most points by an 18-year-old defenseman, tallying 59. McKenna and Schaefer have previously played together on Team Canada in junior international tournaments.

These two teams’ fanbases have had some beef over the past decade, fueled by drama regarding John Tavares’ free agency decision back in 2018, but McKenna won’t have to deal with any lingering animosity from the feud until Monday, November 23, when the Leafs play at UBS Arena.

Saturday, October 10: Colorado Avalanche

Continuing with the theme of talented defensemen, no active blueliner is quite as decorated and talented as Colorado’s Cale Makar.

As the fourth overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, Makar has gone on to accrue a Calder Trophy, two Norris Trophies, a Conn Smythe Trophy, and a Stanley Cup. Makar also won the Hobey Baker Award in 2019 with UMass, an award for which McKenna was a finalist this past season.

Monday, October 19: San Jose Sharks

McKenna will take on perhaps the most exciting young team in the league when the Leafs play the Sharks in mid-October. This matchup will feature two potential future phenoms: McKenna and Macklin Celebrini.

Celebrini, the 2024 No. 1 overall pick, had a breakout 2025-26 campaign, scoring an impressive 45 goals in his sophomore NHL season and adding 70 assists. Celebrini was named Team Canada’s captain at the 2026 IIHF Men’s World Championship, and one can figure he and McKenna will be teammates, and potentially linemates, on the international stage in the not-too-distant future.

This game will also give fans a chance to watch the No. 1 versus No. 2 overall picks in this year’s draft go at it, with defenseman Ivar Stenberg representing McKenna’s draft-class counterpart.

Tuesday, November 17: Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks were McKenna’s favorite team growing up, and he had a solid chance to be drafted to his beloved club before Toronto jumped up four spots to win the lottery. The Wizard of Whitehorse idolized Patrick Kane as a child and frequently references Showtime as someone he still admires to this day. In fact, the three-time Stanley Cup champion was one of the roughly 60 people who texted McKenna on draft night to congratulate him.

Forward Connor Bedard will also be on the opposing bench to McKenna, the first overall pick in 2023. Like McKenna, Bedard was one of the highest-rated prospects of the modern era and entered the league with immense attention and a media spotlight.

Bedard won the Calder Trophy in his rookie season and recently signed a five-year, $75 million contract extension with an AAV of $15 million.

Saturday, March 6: Florida Panthers

This Atlantic Division matchup may not have the rising-star appeal as some of the other games listed above, but it will be significant for another reason. March 6 will mark the first time future Hall of Fame goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky will return to Sunrise, Florida, where he played with the Panthers for seven seasons.

Over that span, Bob helped the Cats win back-to-back Stanley Cups, becoming an instant hero for the organization in the process. Bobrovsky signed with the Maple Leafs less than a week after McKenna was drafted, and is the reason the rookie was forced to choose a jersey number other than 72.

Florida is also the most physical team in the league and recently added to this reputation with the signing of Brady Tkachuk. McKenna may get a “welcome to the NHL” moment when he gets to face the Bash Brothers in Toronto in early December.

Pennsylvania ‘Homecomings’

While McKenna grew up in Whitehorse, Yukon, at least a piece of his heart now resides in the Keystone State. Here are the dates when he will debut in the state’s two major cities.

Saturday, November 28: Pittsburgh Penguins

Watch out, yinzers.

McKenna makes his PPG Paints Arena debut on Thanksgiving weekend when the Pens take on the Leafs. This game could easily fall under the “exciting matchups” category, as it will be McKenna’s first matchup with Sidney Crosby, one of the greatest to ever do it, who has too many accolades for me to list here.

Many Penguins fans had preseason hopes of landing McKenna to serve as Sid the Kid’s successor, but a surprising season that resulted in a playoff appearance for the black and gold took the Penn Stater out of the equation. McKenna will also be in the Steel City on Thursday, February 25.

Thursday, January 7: Philadelphia Flyers

The Orange and the Black will get their first taste of McKenna in January, but it won’t be the first time Porter Martone has seen No. 72 No. 92 on the other side of the red line.

Martone took a similar path to McKenna by playing in the NCAA for one season, with Michigan State. He took the NHL by storm in the latter half of the 2025-26 season by helping propel the Flyers into a playoff spot and on to the second round. While this matchup will be played at a higher level of hockey, it won’t come close to the spectacle that was McKenna versus Martone in Beaver Stadium.

Not Too Far From Happy Valley

Living in or around State College and looking to catch McKenna live in some Eastern Conference action?

Here are a few other destinations that are reasonable road trips from Central Pennsylvania. It’s also worth noting that Toronto is a 5.5-hour trek from Happy Valley, so folks who love the open road have the option of seeing McKenna play all season long.

At The Buffalo Sabres

The KeyBank Center in Buffalo is just under a four-hour drive from Hockey Valley. Catch McKenna playing in the city he was drafted in on Saturday, February 27, and Thursday, March 25.

At The Washington Capitals

McKenna versus Alex Ovechkin is another one of those must-see matchups, as the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer will go against a player who will hope to tally a few hundred of his own. The Maple Leafs will play in the nation’s capital, a 3.5-hour road trip from State College, on Monday, January 4.

At The New Jersey Devils

Also 3.5 hours away from Penn State is Newark, New Jersey, home of the Prudential Center and the New Jersey Devils. McKenna will take on the Devils and American hero Jack Hughes on Thursday, December 17 and Saturday, March 20.

At The New York Rangers

Looking to catch a game at the World’s Most Famous Arena?

The Leafs will take the ice at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, March 18, and for the season finale on Saturday, April 10. Midtown Manhattan is roughly 3.75 hours away from Penn State by car.

Game To Keep An Eye On

Some games, naturally, lack initial appeal following the NHL schedule release. But as the season progresses, storylines develop. Here’s one game that Nittany Lion fans may want to keep an eye on.

Thursday, February 18: Nashville Predators

While it’s incredibly difficult to predict when organizations will decide to call up prospects from their AHL affiliates, former Penn State forward Aiden Fink has become an increasingly notable name in Smashville.

After recording 10 points in six games with the Milwaukee Admirals, Fink could help ignite a youth movement on Broadway at some point in 2026-27. We must pray to all things blue-and-white that a Fink-McKenna matchup is in our future.