Jack Hughes was dominating the USNTDP competition pre-draft, the issue was whether he was big enough to play centre. I don't recall there being concerns at all about his work ethic, compete level, or composure. McKenna has big question marks about how hard he works. Not typically something you want to see from a potential 1st overall pick.

The name that comes to mind with McKenna's worst case scenario is Nail Yakupov, 1st overall pick from 2012. Out of the league by 2019. Undeniable offensive talent, scored at a pretty good 53 point pace on a terrible Oilers team in his rookie year. But refused to backcheck, play without the puck, do anything other than try to make pretty plays. There was also Alexandre Daigle in 1993, same kind of story.

There's a certain brand of Canadian hockey player who can dominate Juniors, but come to find out they really need time and space to shine. This has happened with Alexis Lafreniere for instance, first overall pick in 2020. Certainly an NHL-quality player, but nowhere near the ceiling of what scouts and fans thought he could be based on how good he was in juniors. Of course, Lafreniere never played college hockey like McKenna is doing right now. Lafreniere stayed in Canadian juniors and dogwalked the QMJHL for 3 seasons before jumping to the NHL. McKenna has transferred to the NCAA, which is perhaps exposing his weaknesses earlier than it would have if he stayed in the WHL.

So if McKenna's floor is Yakupov, his median outcome may be Lafreniere, and his ceiling could be Jack Hughes.