McKenna won round one, but Stenberg's number tonight is 10

The first meeting between the top two picks of the 2026 draft went to Gavin McKenna, and it went to him in the most McKenna way possible. But the number from Monday night I keep coming back to belongs to Ivar Stenberg, and it isn't on the scoresheet. It's nine.

Round one

McKenna broke a 1-1 tie at 4:56 of the third period in Toronto's 3-1 win. He took the puck at the bottom of the right circle, walked into the slot and beat Yaroslav Askarov glove side. It was his first NHL power-play goal, and it made him the fifth Maple Leaf aged 18 or younger to score a game-winner.

Stenberg played 14:27 for San Jose, put one shot on goal and finished minus-1. Askarov made 29 saves and deserved a better night. McKenna was gracious about his counterpart before the game: "He's having a good start to the year."

He is. Through their first stretch, the two are dead even on points. McKenna has three goals and three assists in 10 games. Stenberg has two goals and four assists in nine, per NHL data.

How they're being raised

This is where they split, and it's the most interesting thing about the race. By our count, Stenberg has played between 13.6 and 18.2 minutes every night, averaging 15.7 minutes. San Jose has simply handed him the keys, including 7.9 power-play minutes in Detroit on Saturday.

McKenna's minutes swing far more. He played 17.9 against the Islanders on Saturday, 6.6 in last Thursday's overtime loss to Buffalo, when Jim Hiller sat him for the second half, and 11.5 on Monday.

Of those 11.5 minutes, 4.5 came on the power play, per NHL data. Toronto is building his rookie year around the man advantage, with the net-front job on the top unit while John Tavares is out, and keeping his even-strength diet small.

That isn't a knock on either kid. It's two teams in different places making sensible choices. The Sharks are teaching Stenberg everything at once. The Leafs think they're a playoff team, so McKenna earns his five-on-five shifts a few at a time. After the benching, Hiller said McKenna "knows how good he is." The kid answered with four shots against the Islanders and the winner two nights later.

The clock

Now, the nine. An 18- or 19-year-old's entry-level contract slides a year if he plays fewer than 10 NHL games. McKenna hit 10 on Monday, so his three-year deal is officially running at a $1,075,000 cap hit through 2028-29. Stenberg is sitting at nine. San Jose plays in Montreal tonight on the second night of a back-to-back, and if he dresses, his deal starts for real.

There was never much drama in it. A No. 2 pick averaging nearly 16 minutes a night isn't going back to Sweden. Still, game 10 is the night a team stops keeping its options open on a teenager, and it's worth marking.

Prospect watch Gavin McKenna, LW, Toronto Maple Leafs. No. 1 pick, 2026. 10 GP, 3-3-6, 14.1 minutes a night. Entry-level deal: three years at a $1,075,000 cap hit, running from this season. Ivar Stenberg, LW, San Jose Sharks. No. 2 pick, 2026. 9 GP, 2-4-6, 15.7 minutes a night. Entry-level deal: three years at a $1,075,000 cap hit once he plays his 10th game. Rights clock: McKenna's ELC runs through 2028-29. Stenberg's matches it the moment he plays one more game.

Kessler's call

Stock up on both, and I mean it. Two teenagers producing at nearly the same rate in completely different roles is the best possible start to a rivalry that will run for 15 years. My call: by the All-Star break, Stenberg has more points and McKenna has more goals. The minutes say so.