History was made in the National Hockey League (NHL) Friday night in Buffalo, N.Y.

The Toronto Maple Leafs had the first overall pick of the NHL draft and they selected Gavin McKenna (Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin First Nation), only the second Indigenous player to ever be drafted at the top spot.

Dale McCourt (Frog Lake First Nations) was taken number one by the Detroit Red Wings in 1977.

More from Dan Karpenchuk in Toronto.

Although the draft was in Buffalo, fans in Toronto watching on the big screen at the Scotia Bank Arena went wild after the announcement that their team was choosing McKenna, born in Whitehorse, Yukon.

That kind of enthusiasm from the crowd has largely been missing in Toronto, as the team suffered one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history: ending up in 28th place and missing the playoffs.

The next day, McKenna, the star rookie, got to meet the Toronto media for the first time where he was asked about his immediate plans.

“Yeah, I’m going to the Jays game tonight. I’ve never been to a baseball game, so obviously a Blue Jays fan, so I’m looking forward to that and yeah I dunno know, I think just kind of hanging out, chillin’ out. I think Dev Camp starts out pretty quick so I gotta make sure I’m ready for that. Yeah, just hanging out.”

McKenna has been on the radar of NHL scouts since he was fourteen years old.

When he jumped to the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Medicine Hat Tigers, over two seasons he racked up 97 and 129 points consecutively. At the end of the 2024-25 season, he ended up winning rookie of the year, WHL player of the year, the Canadian Hockey League David Branch Player of the Year, and an Under 18 world championship gold medal.

He then committed to playing for Penn State in NCAA hockey during his draft season. Analysts say he has a high-end hockey IQ with an ability to manipulate defenders and is often compared to such greats as Artemi Panarin and Patrick Kane.

Fans and owners in Toronto are hoping that with the McKenna one of the longest Stanley Cup droughts in franchise history could soon be over.

Timinah Ellenwood-Parrish, left; his aunt Andria Scott, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) Education Department administrative assistant; and Desiree Coyote, CTUIR Family Violence Services (FVS) coordinator, walk during an MMIP Week event on May 6, 2024, around the Nixyáawii Governance Center campus in Pendleton, Oreg. (Courtesy CTUIR / Facebook)

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) is holding a special summit next week organized by its Family Violence Services (FVS) program.

Desiree Coyote is the FVS program manager. She says she is particularly excited for this biennial event, given the quality of speakers and topics.

“I am really happy to be able to get Marisa Cummings to attend, she’s done a lot of federal work in regards to Violence Against Women Act, and she’s got many years when it comes to jurisdictional issues and collaboration.”

Another session led by Jordan Battle and Arianna Sessoms addresses domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking in the workplace.

“There isn’t a lot of meaningful policies or practices around addressing those in the workplace. So I’m excited that, Jordan and Arianna is going to be here to talk about how the federal government is ensuring that there’s technical assistance and training for us at the Umatilla Indian reservation, but for other agencies who receive state and federal funding.”

Coyote says it is important to address these pervasive issues in Indian Country, to keep them in the forefront for vulnerable people.

“When it comes to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, for the U.S. overall, the overrepresentation of population definitely lies with communities of color and tribal nations specifically. Research actually so shows that the Indigenous community on this land, are five times more to have lived through these types of experiences, the intimate partner violence and sexual assault.”

The 2026 Tribal State and Federal Summit titled Beyond Policy: Shaping Behavior and Culture will be held July 7-9 at the Wildhorse Resort and Casino in Pendleton, Oreg.

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