{"id":106328,"date":"2026-06-30T08:25:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T12:25:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=106328"},"modified":"2026-06-30T08:26:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T12:26:38","slug":"maple-leafs-select-first-nations-player-first-over-all-in-nhl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/30\/maple-leafs-select-first-nations-player-first-over-all-in-nhl-draft\/","title":{"rendered":"Maple Leafs select First Nations player first over-all in NHL draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0By Sam Laskaris, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com While speaking about one of the best days of his life\u2014being chosen first over-all in the National Hockey League (NHL) draft June 26\u2014Gavin McKenna, a citizen of the Tr\u02bcond\u00ebk Hw\u00ebch\u02bcin First Nation in Yukon, took time to discuss the achievement\u2019s possible impact on Indigenous youth. \u201cI think it will show them that anything is possible,\u201d McKenna said in his first press conference after being drafted by the Maple Leafs. \u201cI want to make those young kids believe in themselves and I want to be a good role model for all of them.\u201d McKenna becomes just the second Indigenous player to be the top pick in the NHL draft, held annually since 1963. Dale McCourt, a member of Kitigan Zibi Anishnabeg First Nation… <\/p>\n

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\u00a0By Sam Laskaris, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com While speaking about one of the best days of his life\u2014being chosen first over-all in the National Hockey League (NHL) draft June 26\u2014Gavin McKenna, a citizen of the Tr\u02bcond\u00ebk Hw\u00ebch\u02bcin First Nation in Yukon, took time to discuss the achievement\u2019s possible impact on Indigenous youth. \u201cI think it will show them that anything is possible,\u201d McKenna said in his first press conference after being drafted by the Maple Leafs. \u201cI want to make those young kids believe in themselves and I want to be a good role model for all of them.\u201d McKenna becomes just the second Indigenous player to be the top pick in the NHL draft, held annually since 1963. Dale McCourt, a member of Kitigan Zibi Anishnabeg First Nation... <\/p>\n

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Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-level-8","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"\nMaple Leafs select First Nations player first over-all in NHL draft - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/30\/maple-leafs-select-first-nations-player-first-over-all-in-nhl-draft\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Maple Leafs select First Nations player first over-all in NHL draft - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a0By Sam Laskaris, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com While speaking about one of the best days of his life\u2014being chosen first over-all in the National Hockey League (NHL) draft June 26\u2014Gavin McKenna, a citizen of the Tr\u02bcond\u00ebk Hw\u00ebch\u02bcin First Nation in Yukon, took time to discuss the achievement\u2019s possible impact on Indigenous youth. \u201cI think it will show them that anything is possible,\u201d McKenna said in his first press conference after being drafted by the Maple Leafs. \u201cI want to make those young kids believe in themselves and I want to be a good role model for all of them.\u201d McKenna becomes just the second Indigenous player to be the top pick in the NHL draft, held annually since 1963. 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