Gavin McKenna is experiencing firsthand the pressure of being a first overall pick -- one who still hasn't scored an NHL point.
The Maple Leafs forward -- selected first off the board in last June's NHL entry draft -- is looking to hit the scoresheet as Toronto heads into its fourth game of the season Tuesday against Nashville. Failing to register offensively so far -- with three shots on net and a minus-3 rating -- hasn't gone unnoticed by anyone, and McKenna is hearing critical feedback already just a week into his rookie year.
It hasn't exactly been that "welcome to the NHL moment" he'd been hoping for.
"Especially in the Toronto media, putting up zero points in three games, I think you hear about it," McKenna said following the Leafs' optional morning skate Tuesday. "So maybe that's my welcome to the league [thing]. And then I think just [realizing how] hard it is. You come in; you believe in yourself [to produce]. And I still believe in myself ... but it's obviously not where you want to be."
McKenna will have another chance to prove he's no offensive slouch when Toronto takes on the Predators, with McKenna projected to stay on the Leafs' second line with John Tavares and William Nylander. Tavares -- a first overall pick himself by the New York Islanders in 2009 -- has taken McKenna under his wing on and off the ice, inviting the 18-year-old to live with him and his family. McKenna said Tavares has been a valuable sounding board in navigating this opening stretch of his NHL career.
"After every game, we go home and we chat and run through the game," McKenna said. "He's been awesome. He's helped me. With playing on a line [too], we get to talk a lot. When he points things out that we can both work on, I think it helps me a lot. And when he says something, you focus on it, and you realize how smart a player he is. And he's obviously been through it, so he's someone you want to listen to. I trust him a lot."
This isn't the first slow start McKenna has gone through in recent years. He transitioned from the Western Hockey League to the NCAA level last year, for his one and only season at Penn State, and it took time there too for McKenna to get rolling. Once he did, the winger was unstoppable and finished the year with 15 goals and 51 points in 35 games as the Big 10 Freshman of the Year.
McKenna sounds confident he can overcome the new challenges of pro hockey with, eventually, similarly strong results.
"At the end of the day, I've been on many streaks where I've put up no points," he said. "I had a tough start to college last year and then started to figure things out there. I think just honestly learning from last year and learning from these first few games, I think that is going to be key. Sticking with it, being confident. I know it's going to come, so just keep working and have confidence."
It's McKenna's creativity with the puck -- and how he's used that to become a consistent offensive threat in the past -- that set him apart when Toronto was deciding on a top pick last spring. Like many first-year players before him, McKenna is adapting to what bigger, faster competition means and how few windows of opportunity there are to actually make a positive impact during his shifts.
"It's a tough league, and there's not a whole lot of time and space [and] those chances to find the middle of the ice don't come very often," McKenna said. "You've got to make sure you're there and you're ready when you get that chance. And just being simple. I think in juniors and in college, you can get away with trying to make moves at the blue line and not getting the puck deep. But here, you only get so many chances [in] a game and if you don't make that play, then the puck's probably back in your own end, and you're playing in the D zone, and then you're off the ice. So, you got to be smart with your decisions."
McKenna is a true student of the game and has been putting in extra time with Leafs assistant coach Daniel Alfredsson in the video room to zero in on where he can make improvements. When there are extra developmental sessions for McKenna to take advantage of -- like participating in Tuesday's optional on-ice work -- he's in on that as well.
What Toronto's coach Jim Hiller advises for McKenna is to keep his work ethic high -- and screen time low. Anything to avoid letting the outside noise get in any further.
"What you need to do is really stay focused in the moment and stay in the present," Hiller said. "I'm sure that's an evolution for all players. Probably some are better at that than others. But over time, you probably improve in that area, just like any other area of being a professional. We know what we see [from him], and we've looked at it over and over and over again and thought about it. Sometimes it's important to get the player's perspective and see what they see. Hopefully, it lines up with what you see. If it doesn't, then it starts a really good conversation. Usually, it's a two-way street. I know [Alfredsson] has been doing some work with him that way."