Maple Leafs' McKenna On Training With Celebrini: 'I Got Better'

Toronto Maple Leafs number-one pick Gavin McKenna has been busy of late training for the upcoming NHL season in western Canada. While McKenna is expected to make a successful jump to the NHL in his first season, he feels it's not necessarily the training hours he's putting in, but who exactly they're with that's going to make the difference.

McKenna has been busy training with superstar Macklin Celebrini, and the two have been putting in major work. "He's a pretty intense guy when it comes to his off-ice and on-ice stuff," McKenna said of Celebrini, per NHL.com's Tracey Myers. "To be in that environment and get into a routine, it felt good. I had a lot of fun, and I felt like I got better."

McKenna added, "My trainers probably won't like to hear this, but there was a week where we were on the ice for like 17 hours. So, yeah, max crazy but every skate out there, you're getting better and it's a competitive group. So I've had a lot of fun with it."

Celebrini is a great role model and has taken the league by storm these past couple of seasons. McKenna admitted there's been weeks where they were on the ice for 17 hours, as the two aren't shy about going the extra mile. McKenna feels the added intensity to his training and surrounding himself with some of the NHL's finest are going to give him an edge to start the year. McKenna knows Toronto's going to be an adjustment, but he's ready for the bright lights of the big smoke.

"Everyone talks about the Toronto market, but at the end of the day, I'm just out there playing hockey," he said. "To have that opportunity to get drafted to a market like that is pretty special. But for me, I just try not to think about it, try to block out all the noise and play the game I love playing."

McKenna is hopeful he can have the same impact on the NHL as Celebrini has. The Sharks star just signed to be the highest paid player in the league at $18.8 million, and meanwhile, McKenna is focused on playing with Auston Matthews at Maple Leafs' training camp.