Gavin McKenna spotted doing something in Vancouver that caught everyone off guard

Look closer and it's a San Jose Sharks reunion with a guest.

The footage of McKenna and Macklin Celebrini running drills has been everywhere this week, framed as a glimpse of the league's next generation.

That framing buries the actual story. Celebrini went first overall to San Jose in 2024, and he was skating in his hometown of Vancouver.

Around him were Michael Misa, the Sharks' second-overall pick in 2025, and Sam Dickinson, San Jose's 11th-overall selection the same year Celebrini arrived.

Three of the four names in that scrimmage belong to one rebuild.

McKenna, drafted first overall by Toronto in June, is the outsider here.

Leafs fans adopted the clip because McKenna is theirs now, and he made it official on July 3 with a three-year entry-level contract in Toronto. He turned pro without playing a Penn State sophomore season, but he is still the lone non-Shark on that ice.

The three Sharks already share a dressing room under Ryan Warsofsky, and general manager Mike Grier built this spine across consecutive drafts at the bottom of the standings.

Celebrini, Misa and Dickinson choosing to train together in July is not a coincidence. It is a young core that already likes playing with each other.

The Sharks jumped from 52 points to 86 last season and missed the playoffs by four points, closing 7-9-2 once the games started to mean something down the stretch.

A summer where their first-line center, the No. 2 pick from 2025, and their top young defenseman are logging reps together well before camp is how that gap actually closes.

Toronto got the headline pick. San Jose quietly put the more interesting group on the ice, and the video everyone shared is the proof.

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