McKenna's First NHL Game Could Be a Costly Family Affair

Gavin McKenna is excited to play his first NHL game. That much is obvious. But the Toronto Maple Leafs' first overall pick will have a few extra butterflies when he steps onto the ice in Montreal. A bunch of his family is coming to see it.

And they're not exactly driving across town. McKenna's family, who reside in Whitehorse, Yukon, are coming to Montreal for the big night. That's a pretty serious trip for a hockey game, even when the player taking the ice happens to be your son, grandson, brother or nephew.

Whitehorse to Montreal Is a Long Way to Go.

There isn't a direct flight from Whitehorse to Montreal, so you'll need to connect somewhere along the way. Vancouver is probably the most straightforward option, although depending on the schedule, Calgary, Edmonton or Toronto can also be part of the journey.

The Whitehorse-to-Vancouver leg is roughly 2.5 hours. Then there's another 4.5 to 5 hours or so from Vancouver to Montreal. Add a connection, airport time and getting to and from the airports, and you're looking at a pretty long day of travelling.

And it isn't exactly cheap. Airfare on the Whitehorse-Montreal route can vary enormously depending on the dates and how early you buy tickets. Depending on the dates and how early they book, a round trip could easily run into the high hundreds or more per person.

So if six members of McKenna's family are making the trip, we're potentially talking $6,000 to $8,000 in airfare alone. That doesn’t include the little things like food and accommodation. In total, that could be a $10,000 hit.

That's a lot of money to spend on a hockey game. Then again, this isn't just any hockey game.

McKenna Will Only Get One First NHL Debut Game.

McKenna told reporters that he doesn't get to play in front of his family very often. Having them there for his NHL debut is therefore pretty special. And you can understand why.

Think about the journey for a moment. They leave Whitehorse, make their way across the country, change planes somewhere, eventually arrive in Montreal and then find themselves sitting in an NHL arena watching someone they watched grow up play his first NHL game. That's quite a family memory.

McKenna is obviously going to be thinking about the game. He'll be thinking about the Canadiens, the Maple Leafs, the pace of the NHL, and everything that comes with making that first appearance. But somewhere in the building, a group of people will have made a very long trip just to watch him take that first shift.

That's pretty neat. The first NHL game comes once. For McKenna, it looks like his family is making sure they're there.