Andrew Cristall isn’t the only Washington Capitals prospect good friends with a first overall pick.
Capitals’ 2025 first-round pick Lynden Lakovic, a native of West Kelowna, is close with budding superstar Gavin McKenna, who was recently selected first overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs at the 2026 NHL Draft.
Lakovic, 19, has been featured together with McKenna, 18, in several recent social media posts, including photos he shared on his personal Instagram.
Lakovic recently filmed a TikTok dance video with McKenna, dancer/social media influencer Emily Dobson, and Kelowna Rockets defenseman Nate Corbert.
@gmckenna91 @BIGRED🥀🥩 #musically #cool ♬ original sound – Kenz🥹ྀི
He was also spotted accompanying McKenna to a Hole-in-One Challenge in Calgary, Alberta, hosted by the NELK Boys over the weekend at the Heritage Pointe Golf Club.
“We met when he moved to Kelowna when he was 12 and played together for two years,” Lakovic told RMNB. “We stayed friends since he went to Medicine Hat and I went to Moose Jaw. He trains here in the summers, so we hang out with each other every day and are best friends. We’re always together no matter if that’s skating, working out, or just hanging out.”
Although they have yet to represent Canada together on the same national team, Lakovic and McKenna were teammates before their WHL careers started. They played for the Kelowna-based Pursuit of Excellence and RINK Hockey Academy in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League as young teenagers.
The two recently reunited this summer after McKenna was drafted into the NHL and completed his first Leafs development camp while Lakovic was in the DC for his second development camp with the Capitals.
Lakovic, who led the WHL in goals before undergoing season-ending surgery for a upper-body injury in December, took part in drills at development camp, but ultimately did not play in the end-of-the-week, three-on-three tournament for precautionary reasons.
“The year prior, I fractured my collarbone,” Lakovic said to reporters in Arlington, including RMNB’s Katie Adler. “The mindset was I have eight months. I pretty much got two summers to get myself ready for my first year of pro hockey. Most people on the outside, they look at it as a setback. But I didn’t at all.”
After his surgery, the 6-foot-4 left-winger returned to Kelowna in January and began skating again in mid-February, adding five pounds of muscle since last summer.
“Recovery’s going great,” he said. “I feel great about myself and my game right now. It’s been a long, long road to recovery, but it was the right decision me and my team in Washington made, and I don’t regret it at all.”
He added, “I feel a lot thicker. I’ve put on some muscle, and I just feel more confident about my body right now.”
The 205-pound prospect plans to return to Washington in early August after completing offseason training with the pro group in Kelowna, which includes McKenna. Other players Lakovic tests his mettle against include Tij Iginla — the sixth overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, Ryder Richie, and the Schenn brothers — Brayden Schenn and Luke Schenn.
“We train in Kelowna with Byron Ritchie and Mark Fitzgerald,” Lakovic said. “Byron does on-ice work, and Mark does off-ice. He’s in Vancouver the rest of summer, so I’ll see him on weekends, and then I’m coming to DC to train.
“It’s a good group, and we compete,” Lakovic added. “We have a good time up there.”
While Lakovic is expected to start the 2026-27 season with the AHL’s Hershey Bears, McKenna will likely begin his NHL career immediately in Toronto, where he’ll team up with Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and John Tavares to try and turn around a scuffling Leafs team.
Eventually, the two best friends will become rivals again — but this time in the top league in the world.
“I know I’m ready for it,” Lakovic said.
