McKenna can be 'foundation' for Maple Leafs, Devellano says

Legendary hockey reporter Stan Fischler writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com. Also known as "The Hockey Maven," Fischler brings his humor and insight to readers each Wednesday. With the 2026 NHL Draft in the rearview mirror, the debate surrounds Gavin McKenna after he was chosen No. 1 by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Can McKenna emerge as an instant star like Matthew Schaefer did for the New York Islanders or Islanders dynasty captain Denis Potvin and what he accomplished 53 years ago?

How good -- or shall we say great -- can Gavin McKenna become? 

"McKenna is the real deal," Jim Devellano said in an email. "Yes, he'll be as good as Denis Potvin was for the Islanders when I scouted for them."

Devellano is senior vice president and alternate governor of the Detroit Red Wings, and he should know. He was an Eastern Canada scout for the expansion New York Islanders, hired in 1972 by general manager Bill Torrey, and chiefly responsible for directing Torrey to select Potvin with the No. 1 pick in the 1973 NHL Draft.

"Like Potvin was for the Islanders, McKenna can be the foundation for the Leafs," Devellano said. "When we picked Denis, Torrey and I felt we had a superstar for the next 15 years, and that's as long as he played on the island."

Devellano, a Hockey Hall of Famer in the Builder category, also discovered future Islanders legends Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy and Clark Gillies, the foundation for the dynasty that won four consecutive Stanley Cup championships from 1980-83.

"McKenna gives the Leafs a superstar to build the team around, the way we did on the island," Devellano said, "Then we added draft picks like Potvin's defense partner, Ken Morrow (fourth round, No. 68, in the 1976 NHL Draft), who played on a team that won 19 straight (Stanley Cup Playoff) series."

When the 1973 draft was held at Montreal's Mount Royal Hotel, Potvin was the unanimous choice to go No. 1. There were no thoughts about a runner-up.

"I had no doubt about being the first pick," Potvin wrote in his 1977 autobiography, "Power on Ice." 

"Ever since I was playing junior hockey, they were saying that I'll be 'The Next Bobby Orr.'"

Potvin retired from the NHL following the 1987-88 season as the League's all-time leader in playoff goals (56), assists (109) and points by a defenseman (165). He won the Calder Trophy in 1973 voted as NHL rookie of the year, the Norris Trophy as best defenseman three times (1976, 1978, 1979) and was Islanders captain during the dynasty. 

(By comparison, Orr played for the Boston Bruins' Stanley Cup-winning teams in 1970 and 1972.)

NHL savants are debating McKenna's potential and how he'll stack up against past No. 1 picks. 

"It's tricky to compare generational talents," said hockey writer Allan Kreda in an email. Kreda covered the Potvin era and authored Morrow's biography, "Ken Morrow: Miracle Gold, Four Stanley Cups, and a Lifetime of Islanders Hockey," published Sept. 30, 2025.

"The major difference between them is that Denis came in with the weight of the young franchise to be carried. Meanwhile, McKenna will be a key piece -- but not the piece -- as long as Toronto has the likes of Auston Matthews around.

"Denis came in with great expectations and lived up to every one of them. McKenna knows what it takes to win at an early age and that will help him in the pressure cooker of Toronto."

Devellano maintained his magical draft touch after he was hired as Red Wings GM in 1982. Detroit finished no higher than fifth in the Norris Division the prior four seasons and the first under Devellano in 1982-83. 

"I began Detroit's rebuild by drafting Steve Yzerman (No. 4) in 1983," wrote Devellano in his autobiography "The Road to Hockeytown: Jimmy Devellano's Forty Years in the NHL."

The existence of The Iron Curtain, which curbed Russia-born stars from easily being signed by NHL teams, never stopped Devellano during the rebuild. He was instrumental in bringing the Russian Five to the Red Wings, taking defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom in the third round (No. 53) of the 1989 NHL Draft, and forward Sergei Fedorov in the fourth round (No. 74). 

Lidstrom would win the Stanley Cup four times (1997-98, 2002, 2008) and the Norris Trophy seven times, including three straight from 2001-03 and 2006-08. Fedorov won the Hart Trophy in 1994 and the Ted Lindsay Award, voted as League MVP and most outstanding player, respectively, and is a three-time Cup champion (1997-98, 2002). Each entered the Hockey Hall of Fame with the Class of 2015.  

"In the 11th round -- and 221st overall -- we took the incomparable Russian defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov," Devellano wrote. "He helped us win our first Stanley Cup in 1997. Unfortunately, his career was cut short by a severe accident."

Jubilation in Toronto over McKenna will no doubt last right up until the season opener. Former Maple Leafs captain Wendel Clark, picked No. 1 in the 1985 NHL Draft, is optimistic about McKenna and his easy media adaptability to the fishbowl that is Toronto.

"It'll actually be easier for McKenna starting here as an 18-year-old than coming here as a 28-year-old," Clark told the "Bottle Rocket with Alena Sycheva" podcast after the draft. "Gavin will be learning everything right from the beginning. There's no better city to play in than Toronto."

An NHL scout via email about McKenna and Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer, the reigning Calder Trophy winner, said, "The expectation is that McKenna will not have the same expectations as Schaefer, who fit in both physically and mentally from Day 1."

The jury will be out until October.

"When the real games begin," Devellano said, "it'll be up to the kid to show what Denis Potvin, Steve Yzerman and Nick Lidstrom did for me."

As always, time will tell.