Gavin McKenna switches to No. 92 after Sergei Bobrovsky takes his number
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Toronto Maple Leafs No. 1 draft pick Gavin McKenna was already on the field with the team as it held development camp this week, but the touted rookie will need to make a big change this fall.
It’s his number.
McKenna wore No. 72 while playing for the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League and again at Penn State last season.
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Toronto Maple Leafs ace Gavin McKenna has announced that he will opt for a new number one for his rookie campaign. (Photo: Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
The expectation was that McKenna would wear No. 72 with the Maple Leafs, and he did just that this week in development camp. Many fans have already ordered jersey number 72 with his name on the back.
In most frames, number 72 is unique enough that you won’t encounter any problems wearing it. However, on July 1, the Leafs signed two-time Stanley Cup champion goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. Sergei Bobrovsky wore number 72 and number 35 for most of his career, except for his first two seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Some were wondering how this would turn out. Would the Leafs want their new franchise player to pick from the scoring litter, or would they defer to the two-time Vezina winner?
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Gavin McKenna wore number 72 as a junior as well as at Penn State last season. (Photo: Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images)
It looks like McKenna will be the one to change the numbers and move to 92nd this season.
McKenna had to get creative here because obvious scoring changes were impossible to make in Toronto. The sum of 7 and 2 would have been 9, but this was removed in honor of Charlie Conacher and Ted Kennedy.
Another option would have been to reverse the numbers and go for No. 27, but that was scrapped in honor of Frank Mahovlich and Darryl Sittler.
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So 92 it is.
However, McKenna reached out to Jeff O’Neill, one of the three previous players to wear the number, to ask if he was comfortable using the number.
It’s fair to say he wasn’t happy with the idea.
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McKenna will be a key part of the Maple Leafs team as they look to bounce back from a nightmare 2025-26 season in which they finished last in the Atlantic Division.
