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It’s been a while, but Gavin McKenna is trying to focus on his next shift. Luke Fox has more on how the 18-year-old is handling his benching in Thursday's loss to the Sabres.

No. 1 pick in 2026 NHL Draft didn’t see ice in final half of OT loss to Sabres on Thursday TORONTO -- Gavin McKenna is ready to move forward after the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft was benched by Toronto Maple Leafs coach Jim Hiller on Thursday.

Gavin McKenna played just six minutes and 36 seconds during the Maple Leafs’ 5-4 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena. His last shift came midway through the second period. “We had those penalties, I wanted to get him out there, he sat through the penalties, and then I didn’t get him out there through that stretch,” head coach Jim Hiller explained. “And then the last few minutes of the period, we were just trying to get out of the period, I guess you would say, and now I’ve sat him for so long, and he sits in the intermission. So, I probably should’ve got him out there early in the third. I didn’t, so I’ll talk to him about that.”The Leafs were shorthanded twice in the second half of the second period with Oliver Ekman-Larsson getting whistled for high sticking at 14:35 and Morgan Rielly getting called for hooking at 18:07. Zach Benson was called for interference at 18:33, which ended the second Buffalo power play after 26 seconds. McKenna, the first overall pick in the 2026 draft, is not part of Toronto’s penalty-kill rotation. Between the Ekman-Larsson penalty and the Rielly penalty, Kirill Marchenko scored to give the Leafs a 4-2 lead.