Maple Leafs notebook: Quick-study McKenna wowing already

TORONTO — Gavin McKenna adapts as fast as he shifts directions.

The leap in performance from the teenager’s first pre-season game to his second was so loud, you could hear it in the gasps from Wednesday’s Scotiabank Arena crowd, an impressive portion of which were already decked out in straight-off-the-rack No. 92 sweaters.

Be it speed or confidence, rewind-worthy dangles or clever reads, McKenna’s improvement from Saturday to Wednesday was the talk of the barn.

“I think we all saw that, didn’t we?” Toronto Maple Leafs coach Jim Hiller said. “It’s going to be a process for him to understand and adapt. But that was pretty encouraging to be able to come back from Game 1 and show us what he did tonight.”

What he did was deftly chip a D-zone puck along the wall to a rushing William Nylander, who buttered one cross-ice to John Tavares. Billet Dad scored on McKenna’s first assist in a Leafs uni.

What he did was feign an O-zone retreat before slicing through two Ottawa defenders and drawing a hooking penalty that quickly led to a Jack Roslovic power-play goal.

What he did was bring a growingly optimistic fan base out of its seats with spins and passes and prolonged head-up carries through traffic.

“He’s a hard guy to contain, right?” Hiller continued. “If you ask me, ‘What’s the one part of his game that has caught you off-guard?’ I would say it’s his skating. It’s his speed. I don’t know if he was talked about that way. Skating and straightaway speed has been really good.”

Knowing he was joining a league that can run laps around the NCAA, McKenna emphasized skating work over the summer. Not only straight-line pace for rush attacks and backchecking, but switching gears to deceive his checks and earn space to create.

“He really settled in tonight. Had the puck on his stick a lot, a lot of quick plays to a lot of guys out there, give-and-goes and buying his ice and creating space for himself and his teammates,” Jake McCabe said. “Lots of great flashes.”

You’ve probably seen those flashes making the rounds on social media already.

But the coach also saw fewer turnovers like the one McKenna committed against Montreal Saturday, a debut in which the No. 1 pick admitted he felt “a bit timid.” 

No timidity could be spotted Wednesday. 

McKenna tilted the ice something fierce. The Leafs outscored the Sens 3-0, outshot them 13-2, and outchanced them 13-2 when McKenna hit the ice at five-on-five.

No wonder Hiller promoted the rookie to Auston Matthews’ top line mid-game. More flashes. More quick chemistry.

“That was the encouraging part. Game over game, he was able to create a little bit more space for himself. It was almost like he made that adjustment naturally. I know he lives with John Tavares. They talked quite a bit on the way home after the last game about what it was like. So, I would say he’s got a great mentor there in John. But I know he talks to Willy too. He talks to Auston,” Hiller said.

“He wasn’t really in the O-zone much last game. He was on the forecheck tonight. He was on the (back)track again. So, it seems to me that he’s adjusting pretty well to the game without the puck, too.”

McKenna’s self-assessment?

“I felt good out there,” he said. “It gives us all a big confidence boost, having a game like this where you win 6-1, don’t give a whole lot up defensively. 

“That’s huge for our team, huge for myself, and that’s how you want to end a preseason game. So, it’s a lot good going into Game 1.”

Hiller wants more from Knies

If any top-six forward’s stock dipped a notch during this sprint of a pre-season, it is power forward Matthew Knies. 

Not only did Knies lose his net-front spot on the top power-play unit out of the gate, but the left wing sat on the bench while McKenna and Easton Cowan each got a shift or two alongside Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic on the left side of Line 1.

While fully recovered from a knee injury that nagged him last season, Knies has yet to pop off the page as strongly as the other five members of the top six.

“Wasn’t that dangerous. I think he only had one shot on goal, took one to the net. So, I think he’s been OK. I wouldn’t say strongly one way or the other,” Hiller assessed. 

“I think there’s more there, for sure.”

Marshall Rifai won’t make the Leafs out of camp, as was the Calder Cup champ’s aim, but his willingness to fight Florian Xhekaj Saturday did not go unnoticed by Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and the rest of the organization.

“It’s just setting the tone right away from a culture standpoint,” Rifai told reporters. “If you saw where the Marlies were when I got here and where we’re at today, I think it’s a lot different. 

“This part of the year is about gelling and knowing we have each other’s backs.”

This is a team eager to scrub the stain of Radko Gudas’s greasy kneeing of Matthews last season going unpunished in the moment.

Teddy Blueger also jumped in to fight Ethan Samson Saturday after the Montreal blue-liner levelled Vinni Lettieri.

And recently hired muscle Zack MacEwan dropped ’em with Hayden Hodgson Wednesday, igniting Scotiabank Arena. Matthews scored 42 seconds later.

“You look back to the Marlies and why we won a championship, it was that kind of mentality,” scrapper Michael Pezzetta said. “If someone goes down, you’re getting right in there and every single guy would stand up for each other. And when you have that feeling in the room, it’s special. And it’s something you build one day at a time and that was a good start.”

A little insight into why John Chayka went out and signed so many fourth-line wingers in July: Dakota Joshua has been dealing with a core injury since the new GM took the job in May and, although he practises regularly, has not been cleared for game action.

Injuries and inconsistency limited Joshua, 30, to 55 games last season, his first in Toronto. The forward, who overcame testicular cancer prior to joining the team, suffered a lacerated kidney in late December but did finish the season.

“Just as he ramps up, it’s been hard to get into game shape and be ready to play,” Chayka said. “He’s still day-to-day, and we’re hoping that it progresses. But it’s been a while now.”

In other roster news, the Leafs placed Cole McWard and Dakota Mermis on waivers for the purpose of AHL reassignment. 

While Daniel Alfredsson travelled to head coach Toronto’s B squad at Bell Centre Saturday, the Leafs’ new associate head coach did not assume the same responsibility Wednesday in Ottawa.

That task fell to John Gruden. And so, Alfredsson’s awkward homecoming will be pushed to Jan. 20, when the Leafs visit Canadian Tire Centre.

“The hard one for him will be going back into Ottawa,” Hiller said. “That’s what I think. He gave us some input this morning on some of the stuff that Ottawa does well. So, that’s a resource for us. But I think there’ll be a lot more questions about that once we go into Ottawa.”