John Tavares discussed welcoming Gavin McKenna into his home, the star rookie’s maturity and character, and the responsibility Leafs’ veteran leaders must take on as a new coaching staff introduces fresh ideas.
Gavin McKenna is not the first young player you’ve taken under your wing and shared a home with. What do you like about Gavin McKenna as both a person and a player?
Tavares: First and foremost, you can see that he comes from a great family. You see it in how he carries himself, his maturity, the values he has as a person, and how he treats people.
He is extremely aware of his environment and what is going on around him, but he is still soaking it all in and enjoying all of the steps along the way.
I have been very impressed by who he is, where he comes from, and the values he has as a person. You can see how that translates into who he is as a hockey player.
He is very comfortable in his own skin. He has had the spotlight on him for a long time. This will be new and different, but it is what he has been dreaming about, especially in this market and with the attention that comes with it. He is going to handle it extremely well. I have been really impressed.
It has been a lot of fun getting to know each other and having him at the house, around my family, and around each other.
I have said it a few times already: Hopefully, I can do him a lot of good, but I know it is going to do me a lot of good as well.
He has an incredible future ahead of him. I am excited for him to get started officially today and tomorrow and experience each step of the way. It is always exciting.
Whether it is me, Auston, or many of our other veteran players, we want to support him along that journey and get to be a part of it with him.
When you are young, everything is new and exciting. When you reach the stage where I am now, you appreciate being in this spot, remembering what it was like for you, watching them live it while helping support them along the way.
He is an impressive kid with an amazing future. I am excited to get going. It has been great so far.
In addition to Jim Hiller, there are new assistant coaches. What do you think about that, in terms of maybe adding more creativity and changing some elements such as the power play?
Tavares: There is obviously some familiarity and some newness as well with some of the staff and the people coming in. It gives some new perspectives and fresh ideas.
Auston and I, along with some of our other leaders and key guys, take a lot of responsibility and ownership for the way things went last season, both as a whole and in certain areas, such as the power play and certain areas of our game.
With the continuity, high skill level, and the talent we have, we have to improve and be a lot better.
The coaches coming in will bring new ideas to different aspects of the game, which we are excited about. We have to lead the way on it and set the standard for the team. We have a responsibility to be difference-makers, not only with the puck but in a lot of areas of the game.
As Auston said, the energy has been great, and the conversations have been really good. We are excited to get going.
It is new not only for us but for the league as a whole, with the shorter camp and fewer preseason games. There is the importance of every day and more emphasis on getting ourselves geared up and ready to go for the season opener and home opener.
It is a new journey and a new year. A lot has happened, but clearly, with the moves that have been made and the people and players brought in, we have an opportunity to become a really good team.
We have to go out and earn that and want to do something special, so we are excited about what is ahead.
