McKenna (on Kucherov): “I think I play pretty similarly to him. I think we both see the ice pretty similarly and have the ability to slow the game down and speed it up.”

From a physical build perspective and, most importantly, from a skill and hockey sense perspective, both players make perfect sense for McKenna. The projected first overall pick has the best hands in the class and has the most elite hockey sense of any forward we’ve seen in recent memory. He has all the makings of a star NHLer – maybe not one who’ll put 50 goals on the board, but one who’ll dazzle with high-quality passes on a consistent basis. Nobody in this draft class can match McKenna’s hands and creativity.

“They are two franchise players who (are) the top of the top,” he said. “I think I’m pretty similar, skating-wise, to Panarin, and then all the offensive stuff like shooting and passing and the hockey sense like both of them.”