Gavin McKenna's first NHL goal, a first-star salute and a Carlton dap

The teenager from Whitehorse was named the night's first star, and a second Short of him talking about the goal also ran far ahead of the Leafs' usual.

Channel: Toronto Maple Leafs Story of October 8, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 64,083 views a day, 15 times a normal first day on this channel (4,187).

Gavin McKenna First Star ⭐️

Who was named first star the night the Leafs played the Nashville Predators? Gavin McKenna, and the short clip of him taking the honor, titled "Gavin McKenna First Star ⭐️", came close to 70,000 views in about a day. A Leafs Short usually gets a few thousand.

The reason is in the channel's other titles. The same game brought McKenna his first NHL goal and gave Toronto what the club called its "First Win of the Season". McKenna arrived as one of hockey's most talked-about young prospects. He grew up in Whitehorse, Yukon, starred in junior hockey with the Medicine Hat Tigers and spent a season at Penn State.

The comments came in about four times faster than on a usual first day, and they read like a welcome party. Viewers point out that he remembered to share a dap with Carlton, the team's bear mascot. Someone sends cheers from Whitehorse. Many describe the goal as the spark for a comeback, and one popular comment pairs his name with Auston Matthews. Another politely asks the Toronto media not to chase him away.

The channel's daily views overall are running below their usual level, so this was a night carried by one player. A second Short, "Gavin McKenna on his first NHL goal 🚨", where he talks the goal through, passed 40,000 views in under a day. A clip promoting "Debut", the latest episode of the club's documentary series The Leaf: Blueprint, also drew a crowd of its own.

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The numbers

One young player's big night shows clearly in the numbers, even while the channel as a whole runs below its usual pace.

the video's first day

usual first day here

4,187

this video

64,083

subscribers

173,000

▲ 1,000 in the last 7 days

total views

119,592,063

views per day

74,212

typical day: 131,159

the video

views

68,634

likes

1,410

comments

37

days online

1

compared with similar channels (subscribers)

Delta Highlights

187,000

Toronto Raptors

182,000

NFL on CBS

176,000

Toronto Maple Leafs

173,000

NBC Sports Philadelphia

173,000

MLB SZN

161,000

As of October 8, 2026 · Data source: Trari Social News, Trari Traffic Trends and Ranking Platform, Google YouTube

Subscriber, view, like and comment counts are YouTube's. Rates, usual days, rankings, comparisons and categories are Trari's own calculations.

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