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Unholy_Goalie.
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June 11, 2026 at 10:42 pm #74555
Dozzer
ParticipantAnother OT game coming up? lol
June 11, 2026 at 8:45 pm #74549Unholy_Goalie
ParticipantJordan Staal is completely playing out of his mind. Eichel has to respond.
June 11, 2026 at 2:29 pm #74536Unholy_Goalie
ParticipantBest player available does include more than points, which is why pretty much everyone has Mckenna/Stenberg as very very close.
If it does then Stenberg is the better overall player, full stop. McKenna brings next to nothing other than scoring and given his size, that could disappear too as the defense gets physical with him and he’s at a high risk of injury than most other players.
projecting how well a player will do in the NHL relies heavily one how they score in junior leagues.
Which is stupid. There are plenty of players who scored a lot of points in junior which became total busts. There are plenty of NHL players, Cup winners, who didn’t score that much in junior who are very valuable players.
If the Leafs want one of the D, they should look at trading for another pick in the top 3-10, not trading down. Also, I very much doubt there is a Schaefer, Makar or Hughes in this draft. they could also be Gudbranson, Larsson, Ryan Murray, Griffin Reinhart, Juolevi
Nah, Reid and Verhoeff are legit top end prospects and there are solid options in the 20s. McKenna could be Lafreniere. Leafs would be just fine trading down if they did their due diligence.
Also the Leafs doing well in the reg season exit in the 1st round included Mitch Marner for 9 consecutive seasons. the second he leaves hes on a team in the finals, its takes more than 1 player. The GM has to build the team.
And Marner is proving this year he wasn’t the problem. One player was the difference between the Leafs being 1st in the division and last in the division. One player was the difference between Vegas losing in the 2nd round and going to the Cup Final. One player that does more than just score points and nothing else is a difference maker.
The rest of the team was filled with guys who play the exact same way as McKenna. The problem was sacks of shit like Nylander and defensively useless cap hit slugs like Tavares who both play soft, one-way hockey. The second Marner leaves, he leads the playoffs in scoring, playing in all situations like a two-way beast despite having Eichel who has 2 goals in 3.5 rounds of playoffs, doing his best impression of Matthews.
I agree, the GM has to build the team but this team needs to be rebuilt from the ground up and McKenna is the wrong type of foundational piece. He doesn’t win them playoff games if they “re-tool” and he doesn’t fit a rebuild either. The Leafs have failed too many times already with that recipe and it’s time they build a different kind of team.
June 11, 2026 at 1:27 pm #74530senstrolltwo
ParticipantBest player available does include more than points, which is why pretty much everyone has Mckenna/Stenberg as very very close.
projecting how well a player will do in the NHL relies heavily one how they score in junior leagues.
If the Leafs want one of the D, they should look at trading for another pick in the top 3-10, not trading down. Also, I very much doubt there is a Schaefer, Makar or Hughes in this draft. they could also be Gudbranson, Larsson, Ryan Murray, Griffin Reinhart, Juolevi
Also the Leafs doing well in the reg season exit in the 1st round included Mitch Marner for 9 consecutive seasons. the second he leaves hes on a team in the finals, its takes more than 1 player. The GM has to build the team.
June 11, 2026 at 1:04 pm #74528Unholy_Goalie
ParticipantIts a nice story and I can see why teams would want to have Mckenna to market, its an easy sell.
Iv consumed all the draft content I can, and Mckenna seems like a real one, from a good family who values the right things. He also comes off as someone who gives a shit and wants to improve, and like you said has a bit if a chip and something to proveif he does end up on the Leafs my guess is he puts up 50-60 points next season, PP time is a big factor for over/under on that.
The concept of “best player available” should include more than just points. Looking at the entire picture based on more than just scoring, Stenberg is the better overall player because he provides most of the same scoring ability but has a better compete level, players better defense and does more than just score points and float.
The vast majority of these scouting reports disproportionately rely on scoring points. The reality is, we’ve seen the leaders in scoring lose in the playoffs. That includes McDavid and MacKinnon in recent years. That’s not to say they aren’t great players but it shows that even the elite scorers lose. If McKenna isn’t scoring points, he’s usually useless and that’s exactly the problem the Leafs have had with players like Nylander for the past decade. Generally, the elite scorers only win when they blow away their competition with generational scoring that they simply can’t be caught. McKenna isn’t generational which means the rest of his game, which is abysmal, is what will determine if he succeeds or fails when it matters.
Then there’s also Reid who could become the Schaefer, Makar or Hughes of this draft. As a RHD, top pair, offensive D, he could easily be more valuable (despite scoring less points) than McKenna on a winning team. Same with Verhoeff as a top pair, big body, two-way RHD. These other players won’t score the most points but they will have the most ice-time, they will play defense, they will kill penalties, they will QB a PP and so on.
Everybody is so hyper focused on the points McKenna COULD score but they forget how the rest of the game is played and how the rest of the game is what matters in the playoffs. McKenna fits the mold of everything that is wrong with the Leafs current structure of: do well in the regular season, exit in the 1st round.
June 11, 2026 at 12:48 pm #74527Unholy_Goalie
Participantit just seems very unlikely they Leafs trade down.
Mckenna is going to go #1, and be a nice playmaker for the Leafs which is something they lost when Marner rode his donkey out of townI’m guessing that will be the case. It’s why the price will be high. Vancouver and Calgary want McKenna for more than his hockey ability. Both want an elite talent, Western Canadian, for marketing purposes. Although the other top prospects have very similar worth, they aren’t local in the eyes of the Western Canadian teams. McKenna will be similar to Marner, but in one difference, he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder, if pushed. Marner never had that. He was all skill with no grit to his game. This is where the two players are different. I think Knies gets dealt before McKenna. With Montreal sniffing around, Chicago might want to take a run at him, but it’ll be costly.
Captchas are bullshit!
No, the big difference is that Marner can play elite level defense. McKenna has zero grit to his game. He avoids contact and is physically weak. The only time he showed any kind of “fight” is in a parking lot bar fight.
June 11, 2026 at 10:07 am #74514senstrolltwo
ParticipantI’m guessing that will be the case. It’s why the price will be high. Vancouver and Calgary want McKenna for more than his hockey ability. Both want an elite talent, Western Canadian, for marketing purposes. Although the other top prospects have very similar worth, they aren’t local in the eyes of the Western Canadian teams. McKenna will be similar to Marner, but in one difference, he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder, if pushed. Marner never had that. He was all skill with no grit to his game. This is where the two players are different. I think Knies gets dealt before McKenna. With Montreal sniffing around, Chicago might want to take a run at him, but it’ll be costly.
Captchas are bullshit!
Its a nice story and I can see why teams would want to have Mckenna to market, its an easy sell.
Iv consumed all the draft content I can, and Mckenna seems like a real one, from a good family who values the right things. He also comes off as someone who gives a shit and wants to improve, and like you said has a bit if a chip and something to proveif he does end up on the Leafs my guess is he puts up 50-60 points next season, PP time is a big factor for over/under on that.
June 11, 2026 at 9:21 am #74506PrinceLH
Participantit just seems very unlikely they Leafs trade down.
Mckenna is going to go #1, and be a nice playmaker for the Leafs which is something they lost when Marner rode his donkey out of townI’m guessing that will be the case. It’s why the price will be high. Vancouver and Calgary want McKenna for more than his hockey ability. Both want an elite talent, Western Canadian, for marketing purposes. Although the other top prospects have very similar worth, they aren’t local in the eyes of the Western Canadian teams. McKenna will be similar to Marner, but in one difference, he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder, if pushed. Marner never had that. He was all skill with no grit to his game. This is where the two players are different. I think Knies gets dealt before McKenna. With Montreal sniffing around, Chicago might want to take a run at him, but it’ll be costly.
Captchas are bullshit!
June 11, 2026 at 8:29 am #74504senstrolltwo
ParticipantIf the Leafs trade down, it will be either Vancouver or Calgary. They won’t trade him to the an Eastern team because that would be a headache for the next 20 years. Chicago might take a run at Knies, but it’ll cost them the 4th overall and either a top prospect or another 1st rounder. Any and all scenario gets you a top prospect and a sweetner that turns into another first rounder later.
Fuck these annoying captchas.
it just seems very unlikely they Leafs trade down.
Mckenna is going to go #1, and be a nice playmaker for the Leafs which is something they lost when Marner rode his donkey out of townJune 10, 2026 at 7:14 pm #74497PrinceLH
ParticipantIf the Leafs trade down, it will be either Vancouver or Calgary. They won’t trade him to the an Eastern team because that would be a headache for the next 20 years. Chicago might take a run at Knies, but it’ll cost them the 4th overall and either a top prospect or another 1st rounder. Any and all scenario gets you a top prospect and a sweetner that turns into another first rounder later.
Fuck these annoying captchas.
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