Remember being 18? Now imagine being 18, playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs and getting benched with the whole hockey world watching.

That was Gavin McKenna's Thursday. The No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft sat for the final 32:54 of a 5-4 overtime loss to Buffalo and played just 6:36. "I can't say it's ever happened (to me before), so that was a first," he said, per NHL.com.

His reaction? Very mature. "Obviously, you want to play, but yeah, we had a good talk," McKenna said of coach Jim Hiller. "He said it had nothing to do with my play, which is obviously nice to know."

Hiller sounded like a fan. "He knows how good he is," the coach said. "He knows how great he's going to be."

On Saturday, with John Tavares out week to week, McKenna moved onto the top power-play unit and played 17:56 in a 4-1 loss to the Islanders. His own advice to himself: "Just shake it off; you've got 84 games in a season."

What's next: The Leafs host San Jose on Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET.