Will Scouch 2026-06-23 Will Scouch 2026-06-23

The Final 2026 NHL Draft Ranking

We’re so back. Another year has passed, and of all teams, the Carolina Hurricanes have won themselves a Stanley Cup with a dominant playoff run. We’re at the finish line, and after hundreds of tracked games and many more watched, it’s time for my final NHL Draft ranking.

I don’t believe I’ve been as excited to see what happens with an NHL Draft class as I am with this one. Sentiments on the team side are very negative from what I can tell, and on one hand while I can somewhat agree in a way, I feel like it’s been years since team-side people have been “excited” about a draft class. I’m of the belief that this class is filled with players that could be interesting role players with strong development potential. Certainty and ceiling may be somewhat low, but I would also argue that that’s just another day on the job projecting young athletes into the fastest, most physical, and most skilled league in the world. Teams could do some real damage in this class with a variety of strategies. I’m of the belief that this class is much closer at the top than is advertised and the gap in my top 10-12 players is extremely, extremely thin and can change depending on which side of my mouth I start brushing before bedtime. Gavin McKenna is a great player, but I think there is plenty of potential for things to get interesting and turn out very, very differently over the next 10 years. I’m excited to find out regardless of my thoughts, and I hope you all enjoy the process on the way there!

Before we get into the list, it might be helpful to take the time to briefly outline my philosophy so you can get in my head a little bit and understand where I come from a little better when I see the game. If you take 10 different evaluators, you’ll probably get some differences in priorities and preferences, so knowing what you’re getting into should add to the experience. At my core, I focus on possession. Hockey is a game in two fundamental states. You have the puck, or you don’t. The ultimate goal should be to find players who are as good at gaining and maintaining possession in some way, getting the puck into a desirable location, and getting the dang thing into the net as much as possible. In my view, the priority should be in that order. You can’t have the third aspect without the second, and you can’t have the second without the first. As such, I see speed, tenacity, competitiveness, and quickness as key, both mentally and physically. I don’t care so much about how big you are, how good of a shooter you are, how hard you hit, I just care about what you do on the ice and if you’re moving the needle in the right direction. In my experience, the best young needle movers with regards to competitiveness, pace, and creativity are the ones of who are often hardest to find when they grow up big and strong to be NHL players one day. I value players who elevate who they play with more than anything. They’re dependable every shift, they're focused on the ultimate task of the game situation, and they think creatively to make baby steps happen that ultimately lead to scoring chances, and ideally some goals go in here and there.

I’ll also note that the positions listed (outside of the imaged lower tiers) are almost universally those from the games I’ve specifically watched and tracked of these players. A defenseman is listed by either handedness or the side of the ice they play on should it be the opposite to his natural shooting side (i.e., RSD is a left handed defender playing on the right side).

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Before we get into it, a huge thank you to all my supporters, subscribers contacts, friends and family for all the support through the year. Everything helps immensely and I consider myself incredibly lucky to be able to do what I do. It’s a pleasure to put in the work and put my thoughts out there and it’s awesome that people take the time to read and support what I do. A big, big thank you. You rule.

The public ranking writeup also includes per-player analysis on the first four tiers of the class. The full version is available to Scouching.ca subscribers with writeups on 100+ players!

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Tier 1 - The Special Ones

I started the year as a McKenna doubter, and to an extent at this point in the year I still am, but the talent, upside and pure skill is undeniable. Players like him are just not available very often, and he has some special qualities on the ice that could make him a superstar. I also believe he improved over the course of the season with his off-puck reads, anticipating play, and defending in the offensive zone more actively, which is absolutely a step in the right direction. His crossovers and speed generation to get up the ice also improved from where it was with Medicine Hat, and the creativity is still as astounding as it always has been. If I’m Toronto, you have to take the plunge and hang on to see where it goes.
That being said, I could see myself swayed to look in a number of other directions here if off-ice experiences with him were not what was expected. His track record of being thrown out of games and objectively frustrating on-ice play is still worrisome, and some of my worse viewings were against hard, fast physical teams at the end of the year like Wisconsin who shut down McKenna’s offensive abilities a bit too easily. His shot selection is also not projectable as it is, which is another concern in my experience, but in the right environment, he could absolutely thrive. An Artemi Panarin comparison is apt to me, and with some physical finishers on his line, he could thrive. Luckily Toronto has Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies to play him with. I don’t believe McKenna saves the Leafs, at least not immediately, but he certainly helps, and there aren’t many players in this class that I would say could step right in and help as much as McKenna should with Toronto. It’s either going to work and be awesome, or it won’t, and the Saga of the Leafs will continue into another era. I don’t think there’s any in-between.
Looking back at my video this year, I still find myself astounded with the maturity and refinement already evident in Stenberg’s game. He just plain understands the game at a high level, and is so effective in so many areas. He doesn’t waste his shooting opportunities, he’s patient with the puck without causing problems, he’s simple but effective with his playmaking, and dominates the neutral zone offensively with great passing and carrying ability. His hands are soft enough to receive complicated passes effectively, and while there isn’t much of a physical game to speak of, there’s more there than McKenna, and his neutral zone defending is a bit more effective.
That sounds awfully positive, so why is he at #2 behind McKenna? I still wake up in the morning and am not totally sure. They’re entirely different brands, and in my opinion it depends on what you value most. For me, there’s just something special and truly elite about McKenna’s skill and passing ability that I just don’t see in Stenberg as much. Stenberg has always reminded me of a Seth Jarvis-type of do-it-all winger who you love having, but would you rather have that or an Artemi Panarin? It may be debatable, but at the end of the day you have to pick one. It’d really come down to the interview process I have zero insight into to fill the gaps here, so I have to lean towards the rarer, higher end talent that McKenna shows, but whoever gets Stenberg is getting a heck of a diverse winger that can do a ton for you on the ice. Smart, refined, tactical, efficient, it’s all there, and fundamental improvement to his strength and boardwork/evasion will only be added dimensions that unlock more and more upside over time.
I’ve taken a lot of crap for sticking to my guns on Lawrence, and I get it. People worry about his “hockey sense”. He got “grilled” at the combine over his decision to go to Boston University. Some have dropped him into the 2nd round at this point. After watching the Stanley Cup Final, and seeing how the Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights got there, I simply can’t wrap my head around how someone like Lawrence is an instantly desirable asset for an NHL team. He’s relentless, with immense speed through open ice, with insanely good forechecking results, a tireless physical game, and great two-way impacts that are so far beyond so many in this cohort. He has frustrating tendencies in the offensive zone I guess, but his shot selection improved after leaving Muskegon, and he drives the net with the puck in a way that should be able to work in the NHL. He pushes defenders onto their heels, dictates the game with the puck on his stick, and gives his opponents no time to think. Some have said he may be more of a winger, but he’s exactly the type of player through the neutral zone going both directions that I personally would love to have up the middle of the ice. The skating base, shooting ability, growing playmaking results, and 200-foot effort with strong results are all an excellent combination to have in my opinion.
It’s very frustrating to me that we live in a sport that is seemingly built on testing yourself, being mature, and being fierce, and when a kid starts the season injured finishes school early, joins an underperforming college team as a top six centre midway through the season as a 17 year old, he gets torched and tossed aside. To me, that’s asinine, especially considering how good the NCAA has gotten in recent years. Lawrence could’ve stayed in the USHL, scored 40 goals, and dominated with a very talented Muskegon team, so where would he be ranked had he done that? He chose not to, he put himself in a tough spot, and just as he was getting a feel for the game there, BU’s season ended. I’m sticking my neck out on Lawrence at this point, but he just plays like a hockey player with that extra gene in his DNA that separates the men from the boys once the playoffs hit. He may never be the 100 point scorer McKenna might be one day, but in a playoff series, is there an argument that Lawrence would make McKenna’s life miserable? I absolutely believe he would. Lawrence rules, and if you can snag him anywhere past 10, I would be thrilled to add him and push him to be the potentially dominant player he could be from day 1.

Tier 2 - Basically Tier 1B

Tiers are weird, I really don’t believe these guys are that far behind the top group, but it would be tough to convince me to take these guys in the top 3. Viggo Björck falls short, and I mean just short of the top tier for one simple reason. I went back and watched a few games of him, then watched a few of Lawrence, watched my clips of both, and came to the conclusion that I just think there’s more of a floor to Lawrence and his two-way game than there is with Björck. I think there is an easy case to be made that Björck catches up and potentially surpasses Lawrence, but that’s an unknown I’m not comfortable with. At the end of the day with how both are seen, it may be possible to just get both outside of the top 10 and see what happens, which feeds into my thought that this could be a fascinating draft to look back on in a decade
Björck is a top-end competitor who has grown by leaps and bounds over the last two seasons, gaining a step of speed and confidence at the highest level of European hockey after a bit of a questionable debut on the wing for Djurgården. Before too long he was playing centre, and looking pretty darn good doing it. An exceptionally smart visionary with the puck, slicing and dicing through traffic with head fakes and tricky skill Björck was an excellent play facilitator at the SHL level after a few months and just continued to look better and better. I think he’s more than competitive and smart enough to play high in an NHL lineup up the middle, but the team that drafts him has to be ready to develop him there and be patient. I’m not sure he projects as well as a winger as his game along the boards and as a reception target in the neutral zone were not really major hallmarks for me. He’s a supportive defensive zone presence who can snag loose pucks and get a great head of steam going on breakouts, with pass lane creation and awareness skill in open ice that any modern centre needs. On top of it all, he goes to the net and hunts for pucks, he grinds, and he’s just never one to be overlooked. His brother is quite a bit taller and his family in general is larger, so there could be growth potential. If we talk about certain players with how far their development could take them, not offering the same courtesy to Björck sounds like a mistake. What if in 12 months instead of listed at 5’9”, he’s 5’11”? Does anyone care? It seems that’s entirely possible, especially considering how young he is, but even if he doesn’t grow, I think there’s enough there to become a pretty darn good NHLer with enough time and patience.
I am a strong believer that Alberts Smits has some excellent potential as an NHL defenseman. I’ve seen people say he had bad combine interviews, so it’s odd that he was then given the EJ Maguire Award of Excellence for character and commitment to the sport, won by such known draft busts as Travis Konecny, Nico Hischier, William Eklund, Michael Hage, Michael Misa and more. Maybe he’s the next Brett Leason or Zayde Wisdom, but none of these kids seem to come with baggage regardless of playing ability.
Smits was tested in the Olympics and held back some of the elite of the elite while quarterbacking a powerplay. He was tested at the World Championships and didn’t look out of place. I’ve seen people call Smits a defensive projection but in my opinion that sells him remarkably short. His skating ability gives him so much potential if it can be refined a bit from here, because the offensive game is really, really interesting. He’s aggressive, attacks scoring areas on and off the puck, and plays a style of play that is definitely not for every team out there, but if you draft him to coach the aggressive offensive style out of him, you’re going to probably ruin him. He needs to be given some freedom in a system that can adapt around him, but he isn’t reckless. The numbers tracked on him were far from poor, and that’s on a team that barely escaped relegation this year in Liiga. Smits is big, mobile, offensively aggressive, and I think he could go a long, long way with his game over time with the right guidance. A bad team might try to turn him into Adam Larsson and end up with Rasmus Ristolainen, but a smart team might try to turn him into Brent Burns and end up with Roman Josi if things break right. I love his style and think it’s so different but so interesting for the modern game, and can see him being an awesome pickup for whoever lands him.
Preston gets traded to the Vancouver Giants, one of the even less successful offensive teams in the WHL than the Chiefs team he left, and in the limited time he had with them, he had points on well past 40% of the goals the team scored. Preston remains an absolute offensive machine, and carries himself with a swagger that clearly a lot of NHL teams have a distaste for, but in my books, as long as he can walk the walk on the ice, he’s got superstar upside. If I’m an NHL team, I’m making the bargain with him of “We really, really believe in you, but we have to play ball with us on getting you there”, because he is a frustrating player in some shifts, but the results in so many areas continue to be immaculate. An elite shooter with a growing playmaking mind, Preston is an electrifying combination of speed, skill, and underrated defensive compete that I think makes him one of the most undervalued prospects in the entire class. I’ve seen folks compare him to Matt Barzal, scoring leader on the New York Islanders, or Trevor Zegras, scoring leader on the Philadelphia Flyers, and putting him in the 2nd round. If you can make that make sense to me, I’m all ears, because I’d be happy to take the chance if that’s the upside. Nothing is worse than a confident athlete that can’t back up their attitude, but Preston can do it, and I’ve seen more than enough evidence to convince me. He’s an outstanding player who is still very young, and I would be thrilled to add him and help him grow/mature as he ages and hopefully becoming the star winger he could be. The guy I always have seen there at his best is William Nylander, and I still fully stand by that comparison, it’ll just be a matter of how he carries himself and the path he chooses to walk in order to get there. There’s too much talent to ignore, the results on the whole are too good to pass up on, and I still fully believe that Preston is as good as any in this class if you’re looking for superstar scoring upside.
What a ride Villeneuve has been on. I cannot believe people forget how good he looked at the 2025 World Under-18 World Championship as one of the youngest guys on the team, and how outstanding he was in the NTDP series this year. His playoff was less than inspiring, and him admitting he was battling injury all year is simultaneously worrying and reassuring. He looked like a completely different player after his time missed due to injury, looking very, very pedestrian in the playoffs for the Armada, with whispers that even his own team was ready to be done with him, refuting his claims of fighting off a nagging injury. I would be doing a lot of homework on him, investigating as much as I can and getting as much information as I can, because Villeneuve’s upside is simply as elite as an offensive defenseman gets. The skating, skill, explosiveness, and creativity are off the charts in combination with one an other, with some of the most exciting individual moments of any player I’ve seen this year. He’s absolutely ruthless in the offensive zone, and I think he’s an underrated defensive player as well, with a good offensive blueline defensive ability and neutral zone positioning. His physical game is questionable, but the same is also true of Chase Reid, Daxon Rudolph, Keaton Verhoff and others who people completely gloss over in my opinion.
Lane Hutson is the comparison that he and others quickly provide, but I think he’s beyond where Lane Hutson was at the same age. The top offensive NHL defensemen these days play like Villeneuve. Skilled, creative, daring, explosive, and positionally sound. Like Preston, if Villeneuve is available in the 2nd round but is compared to someone like Shayne Goestisbehere, I’d be happy to take that. That having been said, you’d have to find out if there is indeed a hip issue that could nag him over longer periods, because a mobile, offensive defenseman with a hip problem is a no-go, so due dilligence is necessary. The upside is immense, and even if his season ended limply, a few years at Boston University could easily lead to a career that follows in the footsteps of the Hutson brothers.

Tier 3 - The Fancy-Pantses

Similar to Lawrence, I’m amazed at how people are cutting Verhoeff to pieces over his play in the NCAA this year. I came into the year a bit lower on Verhoeff than others, but I think people have wildly overcorrected. He could’ve gone back to Victoria and scored 30 goals and maybe touched 80+ points and nobody would be batting an eye at him being in the top 5-10. He goes to North Dakota, isn’t really deploying the high-end shot he definitely has, and is forced to defend like he’s never had to before. It wasn’t perfect, but he’s got one of the best defensive sticks and skating range of the 08s this year. His slip passing through traffic and offensive zone playmaking took huge jumps from his time in Victoria and I believe that was on full display at the World Juniors in limited usage. I think he’s got tremendous upside as a 200-foot finesse defender with some offensive ability at 5v5 that could be a good asset for any NHL team. I think trying to make him a more purely physical player might be a mistake, but he does have a ways to go to be the puck possession-heavy high usage defender he could project to be. Skilled at lower paces of play and smart and efficient off the puck, there’s a great framework to start with, and I’m pumped to see where he goes from here. I think we're all highly underrating the value of a guy like Verhoeff being a sophomore at North Dakota when most of the time, he’d be a freshman, or before last year he would just be going back to the WHL to dominate, or being put in the NHL likely to struggle for a time. It’s a new era, and names like Verhoeff and Lawrence could be bellwethers for a new paradigm of NHL prospect analysis.
A player that grew on me very, very quickly this season, especially once he got a call-up to an SHL team that desperately needed help to stay in the league, Malte Gustafsson was one of the most underrated defensemen in the entire draft class from an actual defending perspective. His positioning and mobility are excellent, but his ability to read where play is going, keep his feet active, stick check, guide carriers into the boards, erase chip-and-chase plays, it’s all there, and he does it against men already. On top of that, you see much more range and offensive punch when he’s at the junior level, especially at the Under-18s where his breakout ability and skill were evident often. Gustafsson is a guy that I think is right up there with defenders others have rated as high as the top slot in the class. He’s got a good positional game, a good stick checking ability, and a smart, effective physical game that catches your attention constantly. I think there’s offensive upside to come as well, with a strong slap shot from the point and bits of skill that started to come out in the offensive zone here and there in the SHL. He’s very young, still quite lanky, and his development curve could be very, very strong in the positive direction. As with many others this year, it wouldn’t surprise me to see him even higher than this on redraft boards in relatively short order.
It’s a testament to how close this class is that I’ve got Reid down at 10, but I do like a lot of what he brings to the game. A very fluid and mobile forwards skater with deception ability and skill that should help him project well, along with a strong shot release that I may like to see used a little less often. The pass vision and breakout control is strong with Reid, and if the game were played entirely with the puck, Reid would absolutely be much higher on my list than 10. My questions come up away from the puck through the neutral zone and on defensive zone cycles. He’s just not very involved unless play is coming directly at him, and he can be a little bit too easily to work through by players that can get low to the ice, keep the puck away from Reid, and try to wrestle through him. He’s a tough one for me, but he’s undeniably one of the most interesting offensive bets this year. The guy he has always reminded me of somewhat is Morgan Rielly, who had quite a good run as an offensive defenseman in the NHL, even if his defensive results weren’t spectacular. Getting that at 10th is a testament to the potential upside in this class, but also might lead me to believe I might be undervaluing him a bit. There are a lot of interesting defensemen this year, but many of them have completely different styles of play, which makes it all the more interesting to see not only how teams actually select them, but what their trajectory from here becomes. Reid is a premier example of that conundrum and I can’t wait to see where things go for him and the others defenders in this range.
Talk about a turnaround, Adam Novotny started the year terrifyingly questionable compared to where he was in the Czech league two years ago. The World Juniors seemed to ignite him, and my best viewings of him by far came in the last few games of the season. He became a much more relentless forechecker with dual-threat offense that leaned a bit more in the shooting direction, and the physical energy was undeniably evident. Novotny could be more of a reliable puck distributor on more occasions but that’s also not likely his wheelhouse at the NHL level. He’s a north-south winger with speed, skill and tenacity that was finding himself in scoring position often, getting plenty of chances, and driving efficient results in many key areas. I would love to see him cut down on the shots from the boards and blueline and defer to others more often, but in general, Novotny remains an interesting bet on fundamentals and underrated energy. If you wanted to argue some of the names behind him as better bets, I could see why that would be the case, but his game is pretty projectable on some level and for the right team he could be a good asset with some upside to explore.
Right where I left him a couple months ago, Wyatt Cullen is fresh off a great Under-18 Tournament where all of a sudden his the greatest thing since sliced bread in the eyes of some. I’ve been watching Cullen for two years and the growth in his game is immense, especially factoring in his age. As one of the youngest players in the class, Cullen’s developmental path could be extremely beneficial and could easily catch up with the wingers up in my top range. An absolutely elite set of hands with a great shot/playmaking combination, with the puck on his stick, very few area as dazzling as Cullen is at his best. He can be a “live and die by the sword” type as he is at this age, and we saw that on display at the Under-18 World Championships last month, but the skill and upside is still obvious and very, very impressive. His defensive game and defensive rush involvement is a far cry from the moments with the puck, but he could easily still learn plenty from here and grow as a player. He’s a huge unknown, but the upside is awesome, and we may be looking back wondering how he fell at all past 5 or so. If he gets picked in that range, I would not be surprised in the slightest, but there are still areas to work on in order to make the gamble on his offense worth it.
If having fun were the only goal in the sport of hockey, Hermansson would probably be a top 5 pick this year. He has a skating and skill combination that immediately jumps out at you, and has an oddly similar profile to Cullen, but relies a bit more on his feet and quickness to get by rather than pure skill and creativity. Hermansson was an efficient men’s league player for MoDo, and although the physicality of the HockeyAllsvenskan playoffs somewhat limited his ice time and impact, he still remained an impressive player for his age at that level. He’s got a little bit of everything in his profile, especially in transition, with high involvement, efficient results, and very good passing results. The shot selection is a problem and he can frustratingly skate himself into issues and nonsense, but he isn’t the only one in this class to do so. I could see him go around here, or I could see him pushing the 2nd round depending on what teams are looking for and how much they weigh the downsides with Hermansson. As a complimentary transition facilitating offensive winger, Hermansson has upside, but if you’re looking for a high-motor, competitive physical winger that grinds to scoring areas, you might want to look elsewhere.
Belchetz remains very strange, and I don’t know what to make of him or the world that’s been constructed around him. Going back to his AAA days, he was a giant that could score but everyone wanted him to be meaner and more physical. This year, he’s a giant that can score but everyone wants him to be meaner and more physical. On some level, it may just not be the way he’s wired, and going so far as to admit he has a special coach dedicated to that area of his game makes me think people are telling him to go down a road that he may just not be wired to go down. I’d be happy to be wrong, but I always focus on what a player can do or could do, and with Belchetz, I think people have started to overcorrect somewhat on just how impressive an offensive player he could be. I don’t think he’s the 200-foot do-it-all winger, but as a complimentary power winger with soft hands in transition, moving the puck through defensive layers easily, with a little bit of shooting skill, playmaking skill, and physical energy, Belchetz is an intriguing player. I’d be very curious to privately interview him and pick his brain a little bit on what he wants to do in his game genuinely, rather than what people may have been telling him he should be, because I get the feeling the two may differ. He’s a good pickup to have in the stable, and his style of play is certainly fun to watch at its best, but God only knows what an NHL system try with him. I don’t know what the end product is likely to be, but he remains one that I simultaneously enjoy watching at his best, but scratch my head about at times as well.
He’s going to be gone by here, so my analysis almost doesn’t matter, but I continue to try and try and try and try to see what others are seeing in Malhotra. What I see, is a talented rush quarterback that can plant his feet and protect a puck well, making plays under pressure that I’m sure NHL scouts notice every time. That’s fine, but I track data for a reason, and zooming out, Malhotra’s impact in my experience as an individual player is still very pedestrian. Mediocre pass volumes and results, good shot selection trends but low volumes, an efficient but not elite offensive transition driver, and most troubling of all, his impact defensively on the rush an in his own zone remains well behind his peers in this class. For a guy on a team as dominant as Brantford, almost 60% of dangerous shot attempts with him on the ice in my sample were against him, and just 12% of his pass attempts were directed into scoring areas, completing just 26% of those attempts. I don’t always trust my data, but I think that roughly encapsulates the strengths and issues I believe are there in his game. Adam Benak and Cooper Dennis were insanely good this year and often found playing on Malhotra’s wings, and I think that’s a great trio to work with, but from my perspective, if you take those two wingers away, they’d be just fine at the OHL level, and I’m not sure the same could be said for Malhotra.
He has the advantage of youth just like many others in the class, and yes, going from where he was on paper in Chilliwack to where he is now is very impressive, I just wonder if there are dimensions we’re missing to his analysis and history. An interesting player that is projectable, and I’m sure I could be more easily swayed if development coaches who are smarter than me really reassured me and he interviewed impeccably well, but I can only go off of my own experience and what I see. I don’t see a top pick here, but a projectable, effective offensive centre for the middle of your lineup one day? I could see that much more easily.
One of the biggest risers relative to April, I saw a lot more of Carels to really be sure I wanted him where I had him, and comparing him to others at this range, I really don’t believe he obviously belongs in the 4th tier here. I think the defensive game has really developed over the year, with tactical defensive positioning that showed maturity and timing that I wasn’t seeing early in the year going back to last season. He has some explosive skating ability on loose pucks and attacking the offensive zone which helps him generate offense, but I do wonder how much you can project his offensive brand to the NHL. The physical game is very good though, picking his times to be engaged well, but I wonder about how active a defender he is through the neutral zone being very projectable. His feet are often very stationary, playing with fire quite a lot defending the rush, relinquishing space and waiting for a moment to strike. When it works, it’s awesome, when it doesn’t he’s beaten far too easily. Like Malhotra, he’s almost certainly gone way before this point, but I see him as another flavour of defenseman in an interesting draft class of defenders with his own playing style that might stick out more to some than others. He’s risen quite a bit because of the physical floor that’s become more apparent, but I’m still skeptical of just how far he’ll go in his NHL career if he is a guy gone at or before the 5th pick this year.
I’m just throwing caution to the wind here on Svensk. To be clear, I wouldn’t actually draft him this high, I think there are too many unanswered questions about him that are impossible to be confident about at this point, but he is as good a skater as any defenseman in this draft with a skill level to match. I couldn’t believe SaiPa didn’t give him an extended look in Liiga as a defenseman, or at least loan him out to Mestis to play men’s hockey and really push himself. At the U20 level in Finland, yeah he had a lot of secondary assists, but he still had points on almost 40% of SaiPa’s offense, and did so with remarkable fundamentals. In Liiga, he played quite a bit on the wing and the last game I saw of him there, he actually looked pretty good at it. He’s got physical development room being a lanky 6’1”, and I’d be curious about how he comes off in interviews, but if you want to talk strange development curves, this guy went from a 2nd division U20 player in Finland to a SaiPa flyer, to Liiga defenseman/winger in two seasons. It’s been a strange ride, but he is undeniably thrilling and the numbers back it up. His physical game, shutdown metrics, forechecking metrics, and offensive generation (even when scaling game by game data for when he was playing on the wing) is very impressive. 46% of his tracked shot attempts were scoring chances, he shut down >70% of defensive transitions he was involved in, and if he can just calm his breakout game a bit more, and use his skill to find passing lanes and simplify his neutral zone offense, the upside could be immense. He tries to do a lot himself, and that can be a big issue for him, but boy is he ever talented. I would be very, very curious what SaiPa’s plans are for him, because he can’t be dragged around dominating the U20 level while either playing on the wing or for 5 minutes a night in Liiga. He’s tons of fun and should’ve had visibility this year, and as a guy likely drafted well outside the first round, I’m willing to bet many, many players that are objectively not where Svensk is will be picked before him.

Tier 4 - Bloop Singles or Home Runs?

Time and time again, my thoughts on Sörensson are put to the test, and time and time again he gives me reason to keep pushing him up and up the board. I thought he was simply fantastic at the U18 World Championships, helping his team win a gold medal with a combination of speed, determination and skill that rivals the best in the class. I went back in my archive and watched him next to all the guys behind him in this tier and a few that are ahead of him, and I honestly wanted to put him a tier higher. There are some personal concerns with his situation that muddy the waters a bit and hold me back from really pushing some chips on the table for him, but I don’t believe it’s anything that really gets in the way of his long term development, especially when you consider he might be a late round swing and just how damn good he is at this sport. Sörensson is electrifyingly quick on his feet with skill to go along with it, attacking defenders, crossing them up, getting the puck off the boards and creating plays time and time again. Watching Wyatt Cullen in one game and Sörensson in another, there are moments where they at worst look comparable from a fundamental standpoint. Yes, Sörensson is not likely to play high level men’s hockey for at least another season, but he played a huge part in getting his hometown team into HockeyEttan, and will likely be a huge part of ensuring they are competitive there next year. It’s unusual, but I’m unusual, so here we are. He’s constantly impressed me at every level he’s played at, and I think if you find a way to snag him this year, he has as much potential as anyone likely to go in this range of the first round.
Ho-hum another guy right where I left him, but it’s mostly because Suvanto barely played or added any other thoughts in my book in the time since my last list. He’s huge, built like a fridge, plays a valuable position up the middle, has underrated skill and puck management ability, and has a simple, effective game that is not hard to see working in the NHL one day. If his game plan is: defense passes him the puck, he makes a read, moves the puck a bit, hits a winger in the neutral zone, then is the trailing forward that attacks the net, he could be quite valuable. Suvanto is also extremely young, giving him a very intriguing runway, which combined with his physical tools is very interesting to say the least. It’s simple, but he’s impressive where he’s comfortable. It was entertaining seeing him physically dominate weaker opposition at the U18s last month, and projecting him as a solid piece down the lineup with intriguing upside is an interesting bet in this range.
Hemming slots in right where I left him, and I think he could be one that makes me look a bit silly for having him this low. He’s one of a kind, really. A September 2008 kid who skipped a lot of levels to jump straight to the NCAA as a physical winger with a shot you rarely saw utilized. I felt the NCAA was beyond his capabilities at this moment, but his youth and inexperience made it difficult get a good read on him this season. I think the physicality is always something to fall back on for him and as a complimentary two-way player, he’s going to be a curiousity. I could see a team jumping at him and his potential early, but teams might have seen a bit of a limited profile in Hemming and seeing him slip a bit past this point. He’s got some great tools as a forechecker and shooter, and there’s value in that. The allure of where he could be in 12-24 months is enticing, I just believe there are a few players I’ve seen more apparent ability in to this point, and Hemming ends up an unclear projection, but one with a solid physical floor and developmental upside.
Mutryn drops a bit after a somewhat underwhelming U18 tournament last month and some reflection with the video on him that I’ve pulled over the season. He’s still an undervalued asset in my books, with all the NHL upside in a power winger that you could want. He’s big, strong, attacks players head-on with good puck protection, is a fierce physical player and puts in good work in tough areas along the boards. I feel like he’s a player who is only scratching the surface of his game, as he can disappear for stretches, lose control of the puck at key areas, and shy away from attacking scoring areas a bit too often, but the fundamental package there is undeniable. He should be able to carve out a role down an NHL lineup as a nightmare for opponents to handle on the forecheck with punishing physical play, and speed to maximize his impact in that regard. It seems he’s going to be playing with his brother in Moncton for a year, and honestly I would be very curious as to how that goes. I imagine he will be a physically dominant player at that level who can brute-force his way into some good production. I’d love to have a Casey Mutryn in my system, and in this draft class there’s a level of comfort and certainty in his profile.
Still right around where he was a few months ago, Håkansson has fallen down some boards out there but I still feel like there’s a very strong fundamental baseline to work with here. A good defensive baseline with strong skating range, Håkansson also flashes some good puck carrying ability and a good slap shot that you see here and there. His loan to Almtuna put him in an uncomfortable position on the ice for him, so I would hope that he sticks on the left side of the ice from here. As he is now, he’s a bit meat-and-potatoes, but he’s pretty solid at it and has done so at the men’s professional level almost all season. Good physical tools, great size, great range, we’re also not that far removed from Håkansson’s strong performance at the World Junior Championship, so if you need a rock-solid defensive player with intriguing tools and upside, Håkansson could be a good option in this range.
I adore Victor Plante. Every time I see him, he’s consistently one of the most entertaining, admirable players in the whole draft class. He is a relentless worker on both sides of the puck, driving great two-way metrics with punishing physical play, quick feet and skill to go along with it. His on-ice approach is basic but effective, with great energy and very strong results at the end of the day. The trouble is that he’s undersized, and while I believe he’s determined and strong enough to carve out a role, I can understand that the bar for a player like him is extremely high in the NHL. Like Svensk or Sörensson, I don’t think I draft him this high, but in the 2nd round and beyond, I’d be willing to bet worse players will be picked before Victor that teams wished played more like Victor, but are just bigger. For me, I think there’s a competitive streak in Victor Plante that is very difficult to just pick up along the way, and I get the feeling he’s going to bust his behind to earn his way to an NHL job.
Morozov is another strange one, but I keep coming back and setting aside my base instincts from previous draft classes where I’ve overlooked players like Morozov. He’s another 17 year old that played in the NCAA this year and deserves the same analytical lens that I’ve given the names already covered. Morozov was arguably thrown into the toughest environment of them all on a less-than-stellar RedHawks team. Maybe the expectations were a bit more restricted relative to places like Boston University or North Dakota, but the role was important for Morozov. A big, physical centre with range, his skating ability looked more and more fluid and refined over the course of the season, and by the end of the year, he was able to be more of an impactful off-puck player who drove good defense-first results. There wasn’t much evidence of big offensive upside with Morozov, and his game was largely kept quite safe and careful in my experience, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t bring value. I think the ceiling may be a bit limited right now, but he’s still a 17 year old NCAA freshman centre, so it may have been an adjustment year and we see more of that offense next year. If that happens, he might look like a great get in this class if he’s available around here, but something tells me an NHL team will pounce on this guy a bit earlier than this.
Bleyl hasn’t moved for me, but a fantastic playoff has only solidified that at the very least, he’s an exciting offensive defenseman specializing on the rush and working along the offensive blueline. He opens lanes and exploits them easily with shots and passes, and I would love to see the playmaking explored a bit more over time, as he deferred to soft point shots quite a bit relative to other offensive defensemen. His defensive positioning and anticipation skill improved over the year as well, especially on the rush, but I do wonder about a defender that loses a lot of physical battles, defers control across bluelines often, and doesn’t really indicate the extreme fundamental tools that a modern offensive NHL defenseman has as he is. He’s foregoing a year at Michigan State next year to go back to Moncton, and as a player born in 2007, I’m not sure if this is the move I’d make, especially with so many 17 year old 08’s this year who will be Juniors or even NHLers by the time Bleyl laces up for the Spartans. I don’t think about that conundrum too much, and I still love what Bleyl brings to the game. At this range of the draft, players who bring an excitement factor of some kind with upside and some questions are some of the best names available in my opinion, and Bleyl is a perfect example of that. I’ve been told some teams love him, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he were taken way ahead of this slot, and if you really believe in his offensive game, I can absolutely see why that might happen.
I just love Adam Andersson so much as an NHL prospect. Big, strong, fast, skilled, he has so much going for him and I felt he was only beginning to dig into his real capabilities as the year came to a close. My last couple games tracked and viewed, he was more confident on his puck touches, attacking the middle of the ice with more pace and strength, and seemingly figuring out how to use the frame he has. His defensive metrics are strong, he’s an efficient neutral zone player going both ways, and in some games, his offensive generation was very impressive. He makes his scoring chances count, and I think there is a ton of room for improvement in the coming years. We saw Tinus Luc Koblar make a huge leap in Leksand’s system last year, and I bet in HockeyAllsvenskan, Andersson and Koblar could make quite an interesting pair of teenagers at that level up the middle.
Valentini works his way into the tail end of my first round after seeing some more NCAA tape in the playoffs of him. One of the peskiest players out there who found a mean streak I didn’t see last year in Chicago, Valentini took a bit of time to find his stride in college, and while he didn’t blow you away on the ice, he found a role that made sense for him. A very active physical player with great forechecking results, Valentini was also a relatively highly involved transition winger with acceptable results, but the 5v5 offense left a lot to be desired. Very much preferring to be a volume shooter from the perimeter, Valentini is too quick and skilled to be defaulting to that style of play, and his shot while good is not so high-end that it can beat NHL goalies from anywhere. Not many can, and Valentini does have some things to work on. That said, for another 17 year old in college hockey, Valentini made a name for himself in ways I didn’t expect, and I think he’s a player NHL teams will be very curious about, especially if he falls out of the high ranges of the draft. With the issues projecting his offensive game and his size deficiency, I could see him falling down draft boards, but like a Casey Mutryn, you could always use a pesky, intense winger like this to play an important role on any line.
I was waiting all year for Hextall to take a step in his game and really take control of the USHL level this year but it just never seemed to happen. Don’t get me wrong, he was a very successful player, but I was hoping for more confidence, more oomph, and more zoom in his offensive game. Those aren’t the most high-brow descriptors, but it gets the point across. An exceptionally smart play driver, Hextall had excellent defensive metrics as a positionally supportive centre with skill and scoring instincts that should take him a ways. He did drive a good chunk of Youngstown’s offense while on the ice, but he always played like there was more there that just wasn’t coming out enough. I’ll be fascinating to see what happens next year with Michigan State as their forward group is quite log-jammed, but he has such an excellent baseline to start with. Centres that think like he does with the results he generates are relatively rare, and he’s exactly the kind of centre that makes everyone’s life easier, but the NCAA and NHL are going to require more out of him. There were times this year I was a bit more drawn to the offensive tools of linemate Evan Jardine, so perhaps there are some lessons for Hextall to take home over the summer from that experience. I still have plenty of faith and greatly enjoy watching him play, and he’s a thinking man’s favourite player this year, but the fundamentals and confidence will need to take a step.
Lin is another strange one this season. I remember a small handful of games where he looked like the skilled, agile defenseman he was advertised to be, and in others looking like the very limited, compact and hard to project offensive defender that I was seeing more often. He had a strong performance at the U18s, showcasing dynamic footwork, skating circles around weaker opponents and showing more offensive zone confidence than I remember in Vancouver, but the results in my experience speak for themselves. Lin was getting shelled in almost every game, with solid but underwhelming defensive rush results, but you can’t fault the smarts and skill level that he has. He’s deceptive with his skill, manages the puck well, has a nice ability to find shooting lanes from the blueline, and has strong fundamentals that could take some good jumps. As an added benefit, he’s headed to Denver University, so if any coach is going to get the best out of a player like Lin, it’s probably David Carle. There may very well be NHL teams that love his upside and pick him much higher than this, and it could work! I remain slightly more tepid, but I’d be thrilled to see more Ryan Lins in the NHL.
Piiparinen’s hype train has seemingly slowed down in my mind a bit the more I’ve seen of him. I think he’s a very straightforward player with good positional defensive habits, with good length, a strong stick, a solid physical game, and takes care of the puck breaking it out of the defensive zone. There’s a level of offensive confidence that came out at the junior level at the end of the year, but I’m not sure that’s an area I would be leaning into over the next few years. Simplicity and efficiency should be the name of the game for Piiparinen, and it’s where he really thrives. His feet and range are strong, with good coverage of the ice with all the tools necessary to project as a solid defensive player. He may not be a day 1 pick, but as the 2nd or 3rd player a team lands, he could be a great option that has a bit more of a limited role. He’d be strong in that role, but limited nonetheless. He showed strongly internationally this year, and the youth, maturity and fundamentals in his game are strong.
Another big, range-focused defensive leaning player, Goljer has been all over the place in my experience this season. At times, a strong, intelligent defender, at others a capable puck controller with a shot that can drive some offense, and at others, a player who can look overwhelmed and lost in the defensive zone, turning the puck over and relinquishing chances. He had plenty of defensive zone time on a team that barely escaped relegation, but you’re betting on what he is when he’s 25. He’s big and has impressive range, with dual-threat defensive skill, but consistency is an issue, and when he has issues, it’s apparent. That said, as a right hand shot that projects as a potentially diverse roleplayer on your bottom two pairs somewhere who may develop into a capable penalty killer one day. A long term bet, but an interesting one in this range.
In what may come to many as a shock, Jonas Lagerberg Hoen of all players ends up finishing up my first round. Watching my tape back on him, I couldn’t believe how good he looked with a combination of size, speed, and efficiency, Lagerberg Hoen took big strides this year after a bizarre season scoring 27 goals and 3 assists in his prior year. He was a dominant player before missing the rest of the season with a knee injury, and if the medical checks come back clear, I could see him being well worth the bet here. He was an absolute offensive machine on the puck through shooting and passing, and a constant individual threat with the puck at the U20 level. If he had stayed there all season, he may have come close to setting scoring records for a player his age, and I would’ve loved to see him play at the SHL level had he not been hurt. He’s a tall, lanky and confident player with the ability to embarrass the opponent and while there isn’t much of a physical game to speak of, but that’s not really his job. He’s an offensive winger with size, range and skill, and I was very surprised with how impressed I was when watching his tape back at the end of the year.
Cali grew on me more and more as the season wore on, especially considering how young he is for the draft class, and how physically developed he is. On top of this, he’s a smart player who puts in hard work on both sides of the puck, with intelligent, smart passing vision utilizing linemates effectively. His performance at the U18s was a bit of a coming out party, showing his trademark energy, physicality and pressure application, even if the raw finishing ability wasn’t quite there as it’s been here and there with North Bay, but he has an impressive baseline to work with. I’d want to see him get a little lighter on his feet, a little quicker to the puck, and improving his puck control a bit to be a more reliable transporter. His youth, size, and work rate are impressive areas to build on, and he could easily be a guy that develops pretty significantly in the coming years.
I’ve come back around on Chrenko in recent weeks and months. The game 7 Overtime hero to win his men’s team a championship consistently shows a speed, skill and smarts combination up the middle of the ice that continuously is capturing your attention. Very light on his feet, and lacking some important physical tools that hold him back from a high end valuation, Chrenko does have some other tools that are high end, with plenty of potential for more if he grows a bit and fills out. He’s undersized and definitely plays a little small, but the skill is there, the agility is impressive, and his overall data package at the men’s level is rock solid. He may not be a centre at the higher levels, he may not be good enough along the boards or physical enough to be an NHL winger, but the talent is there, and he may, with some luck, work his way into an NHL lineup one day.
Definitely one of the more fun players out there this year, Klepov puts in the work, he’s got quick hands, plays at a high pace of play on the puck, and has a lightning quick wrist shot that he certainly used from all over the offensive zone often. I think he’s a player who requires a bit of a sheltered role if he makes the NHL one day, but in the right slot, he could be an interesting and valuable addition. His 5v5 metrics were notable below average in my work, with low volumes almost across the board, but when the puck hit his stick, he had some impressive moments creating space for himself, creating passing lanes and getting good looks on net. I don’t know what’s to come for him, and he may top out as a great AHL scorer, but he’s worth a bet somewhere in this range, even if he may not be the first or second guy I’d want to add this year.
An absolutely punishing physical winger with speed and tenacity, Pugachyov is a relatively straightforward projection, but an entertaining one at that. Some guys are very good at moving the puck slowly and efficiently, some are pure shooters, some are offensive leaning playmakers, some are patient off-puck defenders, but some, like Gleb, are hunters. He’s a missile on the ice at times, with great footspeed and crossovers to get moving into lanes and on the forecheck. His finesse and puck control are areas to improve, but you see flashes of what’s there. His offensive numbers weren’t zeroes this year, but his hallmark is off-puck hockey and plowing through opponents to get to the puck. He’s a more than capable transition threat offensively, with good skill settling the puck and getting up the ice, it’s just that I would love to see a bit more activity and confidence in the offensive zone on the puck. Attacking the net more, driving more passes into scoring areas, all the stuff that leads to offense is a bit of a mixed bag with Pugachyov. A team could draft him way higher than this and I would very much enjoy it. Fans will too, and he deserves the last slot in this tier. It’s a close range, but I bet he’ll make whoever picks him feel pretty good about their decision in relatively short order once he comes over.

Tier 5 - Neat Guys Who Do Stuff

Tier 6 - The Real Big Swings

The Watchlist

My hands hurt and this is where the list becomes much more vibes based, so I apologize for the lack of detailed insights on these guys. The Watchlist is a collection of players I’ve enjoyed that I may not consider actually drafting, but show enough where they may be interesting re-entry candidates or late round swings.

Goalies

I’m no expert, but I think it’s a pretty strong year for goaltending around the world and these are the names I’ve liked in roughly an order in which I’d prefer them:

Ryder Fetterolf
Roberto Henriquez
Vladimir Proskurin
Yegor Rybkin
Tobias Trejbal
Marek Sklenicka
William Lacelle
Dmitri Borichev
Xavier Wendt
Vladislav Yermolenko
Harrison Boettiger
Brady Knowling
Gleb Peshkov
Dmitri Ivchenko
Pyry Lammi
Matvei Karbainov
Juuso Ainasto

Will Scouch 2026-06-22 Will Scouch 2026-06-22

Scouching’s 2026 Mock Draft

Note: This was written and submitted to subscribers before the flurry of trades of 1st round picks. Quick editor’s notes have been added.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are complete, and the Carolina “Bunch of Jerks” Hurricanes have gone all the way, coming home with the greatest gift of all. The gaggle of nerds and internet dorks finally crossed the Rubicon and are now Stanley Cup Champions, and they deserve it. The teams that aren’t that one may not be winning first prize, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other prizes to win. In just a few days, the best young hockey players in the world will be hearing their names called, drafted into NHL programs to chase their dreams and pursue a Stanley Cup of their own. As something of an analyst, it would be a terrible mistake to not throw my hat into the ring and make a mock draft of my own, and it also wouldn’t be a Scouching product without an explanation of how I do things a bit differently than others.

My mock drafts are basically two drafts in one, one where I’m trying to put on my NHL hat and draft as if I were in the shoes the existing regime using existing rankings that don’t relate to mine. A second pick follows that would be where I would go if I were running the show, assuming the draft goes the way it’s mocked. My personal picks will also be somewhat guided by actual organizational fit from my understanding of their culture, prospect pipeline, and historical strategy. We’ll have a “Gut Pick” and a “Personal Pick”, with explanations for both. I hope you enjoy and I’d love to hear your feedback on Scouching Live, Mondays at 8pm ET and Thursdays at 2pm ET on YoutTube! Don’t miss our Draft-a-Thon covering every pick over both days too! Book your reminders for Day 1 and Day 2 today!

1st Overall - Toronto Maple Leafs

Gut Pick: Gavin McKenna | Personal Pick: Gavin McKenna

For those unfamiliar, I’ve been using Toronto’s draft picks to “draft” my own team since 2016 to test my takes and see how the players I like develop most over the years. When Toronto’s lottery ball popped up, I won’t lie, part of me became very, very nervous. I’ve been indecisive on McKenna going back to September, and while his game improved over the year, I still have concerns about his style of play that Leaf fans seem awfully quick to forget can bring struggles in the playoffs. That said, McKenna is one of the few truly special, elite skilled talents we’ve seen come along in the draft. In my books, Ivan Demidov gives him a run for the money in recent years, but McKenna’s precise, tactical playmaking game alongside an improving off-puck forechecking game and strong transition quarterback ability is impossible to ignore at this slot. This pick could go a very long way to help the Leafs get themselves back into the playoff picture, but I don’t think he’s a magic solution that masks issues elsewhere in the lineup. There’s also a part of me that is simply curious what packages are available trading the pick to a team that really wants McKenna, and that part of me sees a few universes where the collected value is greater than that of McKenna’s NHL output.

McKenna in Toronto is going to be a fascinating story to follow for both Leaf fans and fans who love to hate the Leafs. McKenna will live every day under a microscope, and behaviour on the ice on more than a few occasions this year has had him thrown out of games and visibly frustrated, which as far as I’ve been told, is a thing that apparently concerns NHL scouts. I’ve been told by a few people that McKenna isn’t #1 on their board, and it doesn’t surprise me, but the upside is just too tantalizing to ignore. He’s been compared to every skilled winger that leans offensively in the NHL, but I always come back to Artemi Panarin, and there aren’t that many Artemi Panarins walking this planet. McKenna should slot in right away with the top units in Toronto, and while he may require development and patience, the only thing that would sway me away from him here would be off-ice interactions that reinforce my worst thoughts over the season, but from all indications, that does not seem to be the case. Rumours are abound that McKenna is going at 1, and I would be quite surprised if it was another name. For me, the upside is too high to ignore and Team Scouching adds another highly skilled winger, but one that adds a tremendous amount of creative offense to offset the more energetic, two-way impact players added over the last few years.

2nd Overall - San Jose Sharks

Gut Pick: Ivar Stenberg | Personal Pick: Ivar Stenberg

There may not be a pick in the top range talked about as widely as the San Jose Sharks this year. After a surprise leap into the 2 slot, the Sharks have been given a gift, and could go a number of different directions. It seems the fanbase is borderline obsessed with the idea of taking a defenseman to fill current NHL roster gaps, but when I look at the team’s forward group, their overall prospect pipeline, and the names available, I still believe there’s room to improve up front, and considering the high-end skilled forwards they’ve added, an excellent complimentary two-way winger in Ivar Stenberg would arguably be just as good an addition as a defenseman.

I can already hear the screaming, so I’ll also put it this way: I’ve seen a ton of hockey this year, and while the defense crop is stronger than usual, I also believe the names talked about at the position as candidates at this pick are somewhat overrated for the slot, and the defenders available later on are not necessarily a huge step down. For example, there’s lots of talk about Chase Reid here, but I see a similar profile as I did in Sam Dickinson back in 2024. I don’t believe in Reid’s skating and skill combination as much as I did with Dickinson, and I was relatively low on Dickinson. Considering Dickinson’s play in the NHL to this point, I don’t think a player like Reid is pushing your team into a playoff spot for quite a while, when I believe the Sharks should be pushing for a playoff spot in 2027. Dickinson is also just 18 months older than Reid, so comparing their trajectory closely is arguably more logical than it sounds considering being drafted two entire draft classes apart. Stenberg drops right in, can play a variety of roles, and complements the players they’ve drafted very well. I don’t think many names not in the NHL are sure bets for major roles either, so aiming to fill perceived gaps in the pipeline also doesn’t really add up to me. Could they go straight for a defenseman? Sure, and that' would be fine. For me, Stenberg just feels like the right fit for the situation the team is in, and the defensive gaps should be filled in an alternative fashion.

3rd Overall - Vancouver Canucks

Gut Pick: Carson Carels | Personal Pick: Tynan Lawrence

The Vancouver Canucks’ selection here is also being endlessly discussed and digested, largely due to the timeline crossover of Caleb Malhotra’s emergence as an NHL prospect, and his father Manny’s hiring as the new head coach of the big club. It’s obviously very easy, convenient, and logical to believe that Malhotra is the guy here, but I simply cannot wrap my head around the actual hockey logic behind doing it. Malhotra went from a middling BCHL centre to being left off the Hlinka Gretzky Cup roster, to a high scoring OHL centre almost overnight, and nobody seems to explain how that’s physically possible. It’s an unprecedented rise, and in my experience, there’s a lot more going on than Malhotra quickly becoming one of the best players available in the span of months thanks to his surroundings in Brantford. I’ve seen a ton of him this year, and I just don’t see it making sense, and you will never convince me that drafting a story is a good idea, especially at 3rd overall. You’re picking athletes, not content.

So who do they pick? Realistically, with Stenberg off the board and trying to think like the Canucks, Carels makes a degree of sense, but they could go any number of directions here. Carels grew on me this year, and he does show defensive habits that have wildly improved over the season, and should project well to higher levels. I’m skeptical his offensive game translates as much as his production would indicate, but he does have very explosive moments with playmaking off the blueline and half wall that could give a solid floor that goes beyond being a defensive player. He’s young-ish for the class, and while I’m cooler on him, I can see why NHL teams value him so highly, and it seems Vancouver is one of those teams.

It might shock fans to see me personally putting Tynan Lawrence here, but I am so certain of my read on how valuable his game could be in the NHL that I simply think the story is completely out of control on him. If anything, the way people talk about Caleb Malhotra is more like how Lawrence plays the game, and watching the Stanley Cup Playoffs and especially how a team like the Carolina Hurricanes play, sometimes pure competitiveness and two-way energy throughout a game is what wins you championships, and Lawrence is a pure-bred winner and I’ve loved every game I’ve seen. People question his hockey sense, but I see plenty of greasy nonsense result in goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs at 5v5, and Lawrence’s numbers offensively aren’t bad by any stretch in my experience. In fact, in my tracking data, the player he lines up with closely in my archive in many ways? Macklin Celebrini. The difference is that a game of Lawrence was tracked with Muskegon, not Boston University, colouring things a bit more favourably, and Celebrini’s raw slot pass volumes are higher. Almost everywhere else, they’re comparable, and as crazy as it sounds, I believe we could be looking back in 10 years at Lawrence being one of the most underrated players in the class with a long history of winning at the highest levels. To be clear, I’m not saying he’s as good as Celebrini, but for the perceived flaws, the actual results paint a different story. In my opinion with Marco Rossi already in Vancouver, those are two foundational competitive players to build a team around that can play on both sides of the puck while also generating good amounts of offense, and I would bet it wouldn’t take long for Vancouver fans to fall in love with Lawrence once his skates hit Rogers Arena ice.

4th Overall - Chicago Blackhawks

Gut Pick: Chase Reid | Personal Pick: Alberts Smits

Another team that is confounding my mind, the Blackhawks have made 54 selections since 2020, and are selecting in the top 10 for the fifth consecutive year. They’ve added a little bit of everything: skill, physicality, finesse, defensemen who can score, defensemen who can defend, pure scorers, the list goes on. In that sense, similar to last year, I have no idea where they’re actually headed, but a defender feels like it makes sense here. Partially because they’ve alternated drafting forwards and defenders at the top of the draft since 2022, but more seriously because I believe that’s where there’s still some work to do with regards to building the NHL roster. They could go a number of directions as a number of strong defenders in various areas of the game are available, and realistically speaking, Chase Reid would be a strong addition that I could see making sense here. He’s got great range to his game and a strong transition touch offensively, something I felt the team sorely lacked in the NHL, and adds an alternative to Kevin Korchinski that may be a bit more projectable as a transition specialist. He augments more defensive names like Vlasic and Del Mastro well, while bringing good upside that could grow into something very interesting that helps round out the roster while also quarterbacking what could be a good first powerplay unit.

Personally, I just adore Alberts Smits and would strongly consider him here. I find that all the things people lauded Artyom Levshunov for are much more evident at this age in Smits, and in ways that I think could be a huge upside bet for the NHL. We all watched him shut down the Canadians at the World Juniors, and shut down the Americans at the Olympics, and while people are questioning his offensive game, I think that’s where the most upside could be unlocked with time. His skating edges alongside his frame are used in such creative and entertaining ways to push into the offensive zone and challenge opponents in scoring areas. With a responsible system and a defensive partner who can help cover for him, he could be a tremendous add for the Blackhawks. The resume is great, he’s been a fascinating offensive generator against men in my experience, and if he’s allowed to play his game, his two-way impact and skating range could be something that Chicago seems to lack.

5th Overall - New York Rangers

Gut Pick: Caleb Malhotra | Personal Pick: Chase Reid

The Rangers aren’t used to picking this high, so I have trouble sifting through what their plans could be, but considering the types of players they seem to develop well and the players considered in this range, Malhotra going here makes a degree of sense. He’s an aggressive puck carrier with quick hands and confidence under pressure which are traits that I think teams have fallen in love with, and the Rangers have a somewhat similar player in Mika Zibanejad who could take a player like Malhotra under his wing and ease into the pro levels quite easily. The Rangers clearly demand off-puck physicality out of their young players, and while that’s a main gap in Malhotra’s current game, that environment could breed growth in that area that could make him a strong two-way presence with projectable traits, even in a playoff scenario. Malhotra is lower on my list than this, but I can see how it could make sense considering the Rangers’ history and the types of players that have performed beyond expectations in their pipeline.

In my personal picks, Reid makes a ton of sense, perhaps bringing a bit of the rock star energy that New York naturally can bring as a culture. He’s more offensive leaning, but the Rangers haven’t not had those guys come and go over the years. The size, range and offensive creativity could be nice pieces to have on the roster, especially if they’re entering a longer term rebuild that results in the sacrifice Adam Fox for futures. For a player with a good developmental runway that could use an environment that brings out a bit more physicality in him, Reid feels like a good pick, but I’ll be fascinated to see where things go for the Rangers at this pick.

6th Overall - Calgary Flames

Gut Pick: Keaton Verhoeff | Personal Pick: Viggo Björck

The Flames have seemingly drafted directly off my list for the last two seasons, especially early on, so we’ll see if it’s three in a row this year. At this slot in reality, I could easily see them take the bet on Keaton Verhoeff. He could’ve easily gone to Victoria and scored 40 goals playing 25 minutes a night and nobody would bat an eye at him being very high on everyone’s list while issues are masked. Instead, he chose North Dakota, not being the guy on the team, and having some struggles along the way. He was asked to do a lot and put in a tough spot, and was absolutely challenged, but in many areas Verhoeff showed some special ability. He’s a patient, tactical defender with much more active feet than others in this cohort, even if the explosiveness and fluidity are rather mixed right now. His stick checking is exceptional and very evident, which you can’t say for a number of defenders out there. He isn’t very physical, but it isn’t really his style. The playmaking in the offensive zone also grew significantly this year, and I believe he could turn into a real dual-threat defender that brings value in a number of areas thanks to high-end tools and a creative mind. He’s a bit of a project, but Calgary can afford to be patient, and he also fills a spot in their pipeline that seems to be a bit lacking. Verhoeff is a bit riskier, but I think the correction on him this year has gone a step too far, and I would bet Calgary is a team that sees that as well.

If I’m running the show though, Viggo Björck is the name still available that I’m psyched to add. A remarkably competitive playmaker who plays bigger than he is, Björck has grown immensely in his game over the last two seasons and there’s definitely room for more in the future. Still young for the draft class, Björck has all the makings of a tactical genius at the NHL level, with energy, and fantastic awareness on the ice of his surroundings and working off linemates exceptionally well. It takes a lot for a pro coach to trust a 5’9ish 17 year old as your #1C, and for a stretch this year, that’s what he was for Djurgården this season. There’s skill here, but his game is about making the right play every time, enabling others, and being as much of a menace off the puck as he can. With the players Calgary has added over the years, their forward group may lack a little bit of size at this point, but you can work on that later because Björck is absolutely worth the swing here.

7th Overall - Seattle Kraken

Gut Pick: Alberts Smits | Personal Pick: Xavier Villeneuve

Maybe this is the year Seattle uses a top pick on a defenseman! I mean, this year, I can’t not see it happening. Some great options will almost certainly still be available here. They’ve made picks in first ten selections in four of the five drafts they’ve participated in, and this will make six in five, and none of them have been defensemen to date. While they’ve ended up with very good names, and have drafted well outside the first round, this year is the year to look at a defenseman, and in my Gut draft, Alberts Smits is still there, and he’s an absolutely perfect fit. Seattle doesn’t really have a defenseman like him either in the NHL or in the AHL or elsewhere. He’s got skating range, skill, confidence, and two-way potential that you just don’t find very often, and he’d be a fantastic addition to the team that might even be able to step in and help right away. The guy did play quite well at the Olympics, World Juniors and World Championship, so a quick look in the fall could very easily be in the cards. From there, who knows, but Smits would immediately become the most exciting defenseman in their already exciting talent pool, and based on the NHL team’s defense corps, could work his way in there on day 1.

Personally, with Smits already gone, I’m going to stick my neck out and suggest Xavier Villeneuve. The Kraken have a surprising amount of rock solid defensive-leaning defensemen on the periphery that are going somewhat underrated like Kaden Hammell and Tyson Jugnauth, and if there’s a defenseman available this year who plays like the best offensive defensemen in the world today, it’s Villeneuve. Any NHL team would love to have a Quinn Hughes, or a Lane Hutson, or a Cale Makar, and Villeneuve has that kind of upside. If anyone can ignite the offense of others, something I believe their defense group has lacked, Villeneuve could easily do it. With a nagging hip injury, a medical check would absolutely be in the cards for me, but on talent alone, he’s been tossed aside by the establishment, but I think that the NHL is repeating the same mistakes they’ve made in the past with players like Villeneuve. Seattle isn’t stupid, and they have an analytics staff who absolutely would be seeing the same information that I’m seeing in my data package on Villeneuve, so if I’m there, this is a name I think you’d be happy to add. Villeneuve is also pretty clearly a strong candidate to be just a year away from NHL ice time assuming his freshman year in Boston goes according to plan. I don’t know if I can say quite the same thing as a number of other defensemen likely to go in this range.

8th Overall - Winnipeg Jets

Gut Pick: Malte Gustafsson | Personal Pick: Malte Gustafsson

The Jets did not have a year for the ages, and stand on the precipice of what may be the earliest stages of their first ever rebuild, and their selection here could be a foundational member of the second generation of Jets that joins an intriguing young group of players still developing that the Jets have gathered since the turn of the decade. They could go any number of directions here but I lean a bit in the direction of sticking with the Nordic theme their picks often take, but aiming for a high upside, strong defensive presence like Malte Gustafsson. If I’m running the show in my personal draft, I’d be hard pressed to look a different direction as well. They seem to love range-y defenders with interesting two-way ability, most notably Elias Salomonsson recently, and while there are names like Lawrence, Björck and even a Suvanto that might be on the radar here, if Gustafsson hits his ceiling, he could be the rock solid dependable player that every team needs. There’s upside, there’s development potential, but there’s a very well refined defensive game already that could be a huge asset. Why not one of those names mentioned earlier? Well, it’s a bit early for Suvanto, and Lawrence crossed my mind, but I get the feeling NHL teams are more freaked out by Björck’s lack of size and Lawrence’s perceived lack of true offensive threat to jump at taking them in the top 10. I don’t necessarily agree, but for the checklist Winnipeg seems to be looking for, Gustafsson wouldn’t be a bad bet.

9th Overall - Florida Panthers Ottawa Senators

Gut Pick: Tynan Lawrence Ethan Belchetz | Personal Pick: Mathis Preston Caleb Malhotra

The Senators love their size, and love dynamic shooting wingers, and after losing Tkachuk, while Belchetz lacks the ruthless physical play of Brady, he brings some serious firepower that could give the Sens a nice pure-scoring boost.

Personally, Malhotra just makes sense. The connections between Ottawa and Brantford are obvious, and I legitimately would consider Malhotra here. The fit feels right, the upside is there, and he’s a strong, confident player with a good developmental runway.

A smart team like Florida has to be thinking about Lawrence here. They’re a fiercely competitive team that has skill in the lineup, and that sounds an awful lot like Lawrence. They very well could trade this pick, but if they keep it, I can easily see a Stanley Cup calibre organization like this jumping on a force of a player like Lawrence. He’s such a competitive player who is a lock to play centre in my opinion, and could be a huge upside bet at this spot in the draft. I gushed about Lawrence earlier, but seeing him in a Panthers jersey in short order just feels like such a good idea in my mind, and I would bet that the teams ahead might be kicking themselves for not seeing the forest through the trees.

With Lawrence gone in my personal draft, I’m going to stick my neck out and put Mathis Preston in here. He just feels like a perfect fit for a place like Florida, while filling a gap I believe they have. He’s a fast, skilled, dazzling player that could be an elite offensive player in the NHL one day, but he has a competitive edge that goes underreported, and a swagger that many in the draft don’t have. An electrifying talent that might be one of the most misunderstood players in the class, Preston has had a strange year, but the numbers on the paper are impressive to say the least when you look under the hood. On talent alone, he’s worth taking in this range, he’s young for the class, and I bet we’re looking at a turnaround season next season wherever it may be. Florida is a place that loves a character, and Preston certainly is one. If it works, it could be an absolute steal. If it doesn’t, the Panthers might still be okay, considering the strange season they had that landed them here. It’s a risk, but I would be comfortable taking him, betting on him, and seeing where it goes, so long as he’s willing to work with the team and teammates to develop and grow into an NHL job over time.

10th Overall - Nashville Predators

Gut Pick: Viggo Björck | Personal Pick: Keaton Verhoeff

The Predators are entering a new era… again. The unexpected departure of General Manager Barry Trotz has given way to a new regime headed by former Colorado Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland and former LA Kings executive Rob Blake, so the expectations of what the team might be thinking are completely up in the air. The Predators at times draft exactly how I would, and at others, the polar opposite. They may be a group with factions in the scouting room, alternating between different strategies, which makes this a tough call. At 10 though, it’s impossible to ignore Viggo Björck, and at this point he has to be a serious consideration for the Predators. They lack a truly high end centre prospect, they’ve drafted and amassed some beef over the years, and there appears to be plenty of help on the way on the wings and on defense. Bjorck could link high powered names together in the future who have bright futures like fellow countryman Felix Nilsson, or college star Ryker Lee among others. He’s a foundational link for the future of the Predators, and brings a skill level and competitiveness that should help the team enter a new era, and I could easily see him flying around Bridgestone in a few years with some real fancy linemates, driving excellent results on both sides of the puck and endearing himself to the Predators faithful.

With Björck gone in my personal draft, Keaton Verhoeff is left over as one of the guys I genuinely enjoy, but just falls down the board because someone has to. He’s a stable, precise and capable defender with dual-threat offensive tools, and if any NHL team out there knows and loves defensemen in the draft, it’s Nashville. They have plenty of range-y, skating-heavy names in the pipeline, and Verhoeff isn’t necessarily that, he certainly could be complementary to a player like that. A great stick-checker with projectable offensive upside, Verhoeff could be a fantastic player to stash away for a few years while Nashville gets their feet set under new leadership and a tumultuous few years.

11th Overall - St. Louis Blues

Gut Pick: Ethan Belchetz Tynan Lawrence | Personal Pick: Caleb Malhotra Carson Carels

My love for Lawrence is not unknown and I think he would be a perfect fit for the Blues. He checks a ton of boxes for players they’ve had over the years in a Brayden Schenn or Robert Thomas who lead with energy, skill and a two-way impact. I could see it happening, but I’ve heard Belchetz is a target of theirs. Ottawa is now a complication.

Personally, with Malhotra also bumping up to Ottawa, I can’t see Preston being the guy here. A rock solid defensive player with good habits and some offensive flash in Carson Carels makes sense though. Realistically he’s gone well before this, but for my personal list, this is a strong range for him. A well-rounded player with a great physical game, Carels has upside, and a great path ahead of him that I’d be fine with if I’m St. Louis here… As much as I love Mathis Preston…

This one just seems to make sense in my head if I’m thinking like the St. Louis Blues. They’re a team that likes to switch gears in the draft, going after skill, defensive ability, size, and all kinds of other varieties of player in a draft. A player like Ethan Belchetz just seems like a St. Louis Blue and I can’t quite put my finger on why. He’s got plenty of assets that they clearly look for, with a great frame with advanced physical development, strength on the puck, net-driven offense, and some slick puck control on the rush that should project quite well. Belchetz projects as a more complimentary two-way presence with some nice offensive upside, and many facets of his game this year drove solid results on both sides of the puck, but I wonder just how much of a role he’ll play the higher up in a lineup he finds himself. He has specific areas of the game that are really impressive, and others where he’s significantly less visible. There’s a well-rounded set of fundamentals there and projecting to the NHL should be relatively clean, and St. Louis amassing a wide variety of players that bring skill, physicality, size, and finishing ability in some way seems like a reasonable match. There are even rumblings in my sphere that Belchetz is a legitimate target here for the team, so that lines up too.

In my personal pick, Malhotra makes sense here for very similar reasons. He’s a centre which gives him a bit of a positional advantage, but I think his transition quarterbacking ability combined with his tenacity under pressure makes him a strong candidate to be an interesting hybrid of various kinds of players in the Blues’ world today. To many, it seems insane to think he’s still available here, but I simply think that this is a more reasonable range to consider Malhotra. There are gaps in his game and there are unknowns, but for a player like him, with the veterans still in St. Louis and how they’ve found success, Malhotra should be able to grow and mature well there. I see him as a valuable offensive leaning centre in the middle of your lineup whose production could fluctuate based on who he’s playing with, and if he ended up picked here, I’d think it was another strong draft decision from the Blues.

12th Overall - New Jersey Devils

Gut Pick: Wyatt Cullen | Personal Pick: Wyatt Cullen

The first unanimous pick in a while, Wyatt Cullen just makes sense for the Devils. A skill-forward coach with a fancy new GM and a pipeline that lacks high-end skill somewhat, Wyatt Cullen adds huge upside and I wouldn’t be surprised if he were drafted before this point in the actual draft. The upside is arguably as high as anyone in the class, and while there are frustrating moments in his game, his youth and time missed this season makes it somewhat more excusable. There’s so much runway with Cullen, and having an NHL veteran of veterans for a dad certainly boosts the stock. The pure skill Cullen shows time and time again is ruthless and creative, with slippery playmaking ability that threads the puck around the offensive zone with ease. His game is pretty offensive zone-focused which is okay, but needs to be either worked on or worked around in order to project reliably in my opinion, but he has the benefit of strong fundamentals and youth on his side. The Devils can be patient if Cullen is the guy, but I wouldn’t be surprised to be seeing his name in the NHL in relatively short order with people wondering how he’s still only 19, 20, or 21 years old down the road considering how much raw skill there is to work with.

13th Overall - New York Islanders

Gut Pick: Adam Novotny | Personal Pick: Carson Carels Mathis Preston

Preston with the Islanders makes so much sense in my head. They love to pick skilled offensive players that other teams have moved on from, and I think they could fall directly into a steal with Preston here. The idea of him teeing up Cole Eiserman or being teed up by Matthew Schaefer or Victor Eklund is just too enticing and at 13, to some it may be a reach, but the idea of adding him to the Islanders growing stable of talent with some swagger, he’s a perfect, easy call for me here.

After being given the gift of Matthew Schaefer this year, the New York Islanders came back to Earth and are back in the hunt for a playoffs spot. While they fell short this year, they’ll still have a shot at a strong name in the draft this year in what looks to be a balanced and intriguing group. Adam Novotny strikes me as a perfect candidate, especially after drafting intense, offensive talents in Victor Eklund and Cole Eiserman. The Islanders still seem to lack a bit of offensive punch and pace, and Novotny brings that in spades. Aggressive, strong on the forecheck, with offensive tools that focus on generating individual scoring chances, Novotny is an impressive player who seemed to turn on the jets down the back stretch of the season, showing more physicality, more pressure application, and more puck distribution that were welcome changes after a somewhat sluggish first half. There are a lot of resonances with the kinds of players the Islanders seem to take swings on, and Novotny could be a very interesting pickup to add to a still somewhat bare prospect cupboard.

In my world, this is the range I think Carson Carels makes sense. It’s a tight group of players in this range, but Carels is a nice addition to the Islanders system, and fits the mold of a number of players that are currently on the big club. To me, Carels projects as a bit more defensive than his numbers might indicate, with strong physical play and anticipatory skill, and while he may be a bit passive and static defending in-zone and on the rush, when he chooses his time to strike, he rarely misses. I’d be quite surprised if he were still available here in real life, but similar to Malhotra, I just don’t value Carels as highly as others, and this feels like a much more comfortable range. With a budding superstar in Matthew Schaefer, more physical defensive leaning presences like Kashawn Aitcheson and Carson Carels are nice foils, both of whom have areas of their offensive game that could chip in in the NHL as well, making them all the more valuable. A strong pickup with a projectable style of play, Carels would make more than a fine addition at this slot.

14th Overall - Columbus Blue Jackets

Gut Pick: Daxon Rudolph | Personal Pick: Elton Hermansson

The Blue Jackets are not shy of going off the board and betting on upside, and while I’m on the record about absolutely not valuing Daxon Rudolph in line with the market, quite a few have provided theses to me that could make me look silly in a few years, and if there’s a team around the range that is willing to set aside issues or common consensus and trust development, it’s Chicago. Last season they added Jackson Smith who has all the elite tools you could want, but questionable areas as well that hamper his projection. Daxon Rudolph is somewhat similar, and as it’s explained to me, if development staff and coaches can get him more engaged, defensively active, and improve his footwork when under pressure, then the upside is there. His point shot is effective, his pass vision is effective and relatively dependable, his offensive zone reads to challenge breakouts is solid, and many areas of my tracking data on him are admittedly strong. I have doubts myself, but I see the argument, and a team like Columbus strikes me as one that will see him in a similar vein to recent defensive picks like Smith and Denton Mateychuk, as offensively skilled defensemen that should be able to drive good results from the backend and develop solid defensive floors that allow them to take on a major role in the future.

In a similar vein, I’d think about Hermansson here. We’re a few years removed from the Kent Johnson pick, and while had a tough season, the potential is still very obvious, and Hermansson might be an option that could provide a boost of top-6 level skill to Columbus’ system. Wyatt Cullen is off the board, but Hermansson strikes me as a somewhat more advanced iteration of Cullen. Highly skilled, highly confident and evasive with a focus on playmaking. Hermansson’s performance against men this season was somewhat variable, but the bright moments were bright, and the overall results in key areas was quite strong for a player his age. He was one of the most highly involved and highly efficient offensive transition quarterbacks in my dataset, with exceptional results passing the puck through the neutral zone. The floor and fundamentals are absolutely very strong, but like many skilled wingers in this class Hermansson’s development will all hinge on maturing his possessions, moving the puck a bit quicker and playing a bit more of a forecheckers game in the offensive zone, but positive signs are everywhere. He was productive with somewhat limited slot pass and scoring chance generation as he is, so if those areas can be honed and focused, the upside could be that well beyond a typical mid-first round pick.

15th Overall - St. Louis Blues (from Detroit)

Gut Pick: Oliver Suvanto | Personal Pick: Adam Novotny

The Blues get just about one of the best realistic outcomes with this pick from the Justin Faulk trade as a late season collapse from Detroit landed them with another lottery ticket, and while they didn’t see their lucky number come up, picking 15th overall in this class could be very, very rewarding if things fall right. With Ethan Belchetz off the board already, Oliver Suvanto feels like such an interesting complement that St. Louis somewhat lacks. Suvanto is a bit of a mirror-universe Dalibor Dvorsky, where Dvorsky was much more shot-forward with good physical tools and lacking high end pace up the middle of the ice, Suvanto is more of a playmaker with good physical tools that may lack high end pace, but brings more intriguing pass vision and practical skill that interests me more than Dvorsky did at this age. He’s confident under pressure, and is extremely young for the draft class. For all the talk of a player like Caleb Malhotra’s growth from a middle-range BCHLer to a top OHLer, Oliver Suvanto jumped straight from the Finnish U18 level to Liiga, almost skipping the U20 level completely. That is not an easy jump, but Suvanto looked strong in short order. While I don’t know if there’s a top six player in Suvanto, he’s still very young, and there are interesting tools to work with, as I found his skill to be somewhat underrated, his physical game improving with increased confidence, and a great mind for forechecking that held my attention. For St. Louis as a pick in the middle of the first round, he’d be a great fit that could pair well with a number of players on the Blues and in their system one day.

Novotny is still here for St. Louis at 15, and with Malhotra already in the stable, Novotny is more of a bet on pure skill and finishing ability while still having a physical edge that I believe the Blues keep an eye out for. We’ve gone over him before so I’ll keep it brief, but the fit is there for me. A nice balance of skill, finishing ability, pace and physicality, Novotny fits the framework for an interesting pickup that could add a nice piece that is somewhat cut from a similar cloth as Jimmy Snuggerud, so having a 1-2 punch of offense there one day sounds like an interesting idea to me.

16th Overall - Washington Capitals

Gut Pick: Elton Hermansson | Personal Pick: Ethan Belchetz

The Capitals are a fascinating team to see drafting over the years. They are all over the map, and they lean into all compass directions hard. When they go for skill, it’s pure, all-out skill. When they go for beef, it’s the beefiest. When they go for smarts, it’s guys who rely significantly there. They may just be identifying players with some sort of truly special area and just dealing with it in a solid developmental system led by a capable head coach. In this class, they could have a choice of a number of various player types, and I have an inkling that Elton Hermansson at this slot seems like a potential option. The skill and speed combination paired with his ability to use it is certainly among the high-end of the remaining players, and that might be all they need to see in order to take the plunge. The Capitals have a way of surprising people, and I could see them going a little wild here with a player they can be a bit patient with, but Hermansson is higher up the hockey ladder and showcasing some serious fundamentals that could be a high-ceiling add to a surprisingly impressive pipeline of NHL prospects.

This is going to sound dumb, but there’s a small part of me that thinks NHL teams have a scouting bias towards players who wear jerseys or colours similar to their own, and I’ll admit at times I’m guilty of that. At 16 though, Ethan Belchetz not only already wears what is essentially a Washington Capitals jersey, but is an obvious fit for the players that Washington seems to target. He brings size, but a relatively fluid skating stride and offensive tools that are relatively rare for a giant at his age. The Capitals often don’t draft high-pace players and focus on players that can tactically pick apart opponents and play an effective team game, and Belchetz fits that mould well. He isn’t slow per-se, but his game is relatively slow, and he gets away with it with puck protection, strong control skill, and flashes of net-driven offense. It may be more of something the Capitals already have, but in this slot it makes a ton of sense and Belchetz would be a nice bet on a team that could do well with him.

17th Overall - Los Angeles Kings

Gut Pick: Ilia Morozov | Personal Pick: Oliver Suvanto

The Ken Holland era in Los Angeles is still relatively fresh, and picking apart their draft strategy might be difficult, but from my perspective LA’s 2025 class seems to line up with the kinds of players that Mark Yanetti has valued over his time there. That being said, I know that GM’s can come into organizations, see perceived issues with the team, and impose some kind of correction through their draft strategy. Even if this isn’t the case with LA this year, I could see the Kings go with a big centre with physical tools, especially with the advent of a prospect like Samuel Helenius, the acquisition of Scott Laughton, the struggles of Alex Turcotte, and the departure of Anze Kopitar. At this slot, whether it’s my personal pick or what I think is possible in reality, the Kings likely have an interesting set of options they could sift through here.

Realistically, I know there are those who really like Ilia Morozov’s game, and over time the case made more and more sense to me. He’s one of a small handful of 17 year olds that played a full season in the NCAA this year which is impressive on its own, but he also put himself in arguably the biggest role he could’ve been offered at Miami-Ohio. The team was okay, but being a centre on a team in that environment is not easy, but Morozov performed admirably and had he played in the USHL, I bet he’d be more universally appreciated. I felt his skating ability and pace of play improved over the season, and while I don’t believe his offensive game is very apparent nor translatable, his smarts moving the puck and using the skill he has is quite impressive. This draft class will be fascinating to track as we have a group of players in an extremely unusual environment, and Morozov arguably played the biggest consistent role for a club, and showed a fundamental floor to his game that could slot into LA’s system well. You could maybe swing harder on some skill here, but teams do prioritize size and centres, and if that’s your goal, Morozov is a neat option here.

18th Overall - Washington Capitals (from Anaheim)

Gut Pick: Mathis Preston | Personal Pick: Ilia Morozov

There are those that are extremely disinterested in Mathis Preston, and there are reasons for that, but for a good team with a great developmental system with two first round picks, Washington taking the plunge here and swinging for the fences would be really, really fun to watch. I’m just imagining a guy like Andrew Cristall teeing up Mathis Preston on a powerplay, or Preston flying around the ice at 5v5 and people being baffled he fell this far to a team as good as the Capitals. He’s in my top 10 with a superstar profile of speed and skill, with underrated competitiveness and budding playmaking ability that could grow immensely over the next few years. The outline of their strategy was articulated in their previous pick, and Preston may not really fall into that, but in my opinion, not everyone has to fall into a cookie-cutter approach, and Preston’s upside is impossible to ignore. From a risk-management and developmental perspective, Washington would be as good a bet as any on arguably one of the most fundamentally talented players in the entire class. Preston is young, plays with swagger, and has as much upside as anyone in the class, and I would love to see what Washington could do with a player like him.

On the flip side, Preston is gone, and in this range I’d fall back into the lower-pace but effective profile Washington gravitates towards and strongly consider Ilia Morozov. The Protas brothers have come along nicely, and Morozov profiles as somewhat similar to those two, but in my view is a bit more fluid on his feet at this age and is well ahead of where both brothers were in terms of level of competition at this age. He’s simple but effective with interesting if limited upside. Combined with Belchetz, Washington adds some great physical tools and upside to their pipeline, which any team these days would certainly welcome, especially a team already knocking on the door of the playoffs like the Capitals are.

19th Overall - Utah Mammoth

Gut Pick: Oscar Hemming | Personal Pick: Oscar Hemming

Another unanimous one here and I’m not exactly sure why, but it just makes sense that Utah would be a team that swings on Hemming here. One of the strangest cases in the year, teams were landing and dumping him like a high frequency trading firm before he decided to just jump straight to Boston College. I would argue he looked well out of his comfort zone this year, but he’s barely eligible for this year’s class, and had he been born less than two weeks later, he would have been the youngest player playing NCAA hockey since 2000. At the Hlinka Gretzky Cup there was a high-end triggerman for the Finnish team showcasing a high-end wrist shot and some interesting physical traits, but lacking a level of pace and puck control that checks boxes in my books. After a bit of time with Boston College I felt Hemming seemed a bit more comfortable, if in a bit of a more limited physical role, but boy was he looking decent at it. He’s huge, is improving on his feet, has the advantage of youth, and has scoring upside since in my work he wasn’t given the opportunity to actually shoot all that much. There are gaps in his game, but Utah can afford a big swing on potential here. They’ve drafted a ton lately, they draft a ton of size, they’re a playoff-quality roster, and there should be no rush to get Hemming into the NHL which makes this pick even more possible. There is no shortage of players with size for Utah to go after here, but in terms of the “what if” question we all love to ask, Hemming is a fascinating one, and around this point in the draft is where he legitimately becomes an interesting bet if I’m thinking both like Utah, and if I were running the show there.

20th Overall - San Jose Sharks Buffalo Sabres (from San Jose via Edmonton)

Gut Pick: Tommy Bleyl | Personal Pick: Tommy Bleyl

I’m not going to lie, part of this comes down to laziness, but the more I thought about it, the more I do really believe that Tommy Bleyl is not only a realistic pick, but one that I think would augment the Sabres well in the future. It may take a while for him to get to town, but he brings a raw, high offense game that could work off and learn from a player like Rasmus Dahlin over time. Dynamic, skilled, and refining his game. defensively, Bleyl would be a fascinating bet here and it wouldn’t shock me to find out that part of the explanation for Buffalo was ensuring they could snag a late riser before everyone else. Maybe that’s wishful thinking, but Bleyl just gives me a weird feeling that something like that may be at play.

Another one where I could see agreement between the Sharks and I, potentially leaping ahead of others and taking the bet on Tommy Bleyl. Sharks fans are yelling and screaming and desperate for a right hand shot defenseman with upside and seem fixated on doing so at 2nd overall, but I’d argue Bleyl at 20 with Stenberg at 2 could bring significantly more upside. There is risk with Bleyl’s profile and he’ll require physical development, but he’s an extremely interesting offensive defenseman with puck rushing ability that puts him up in the top of this class, with interesting offensive zone playmaking. He scratches an itch that San Jose could use, his style of play should fit seamlessly with the good-vibes high skill NHL lineup one day, it’s just that San Jose will have to wait at least two seasons to see him. That being said, I could see him seamlessly jumping into a good role right around the same time as the defensemen everyone wants at 2nd overall. The upside is there, the style of play lines up with their priorities, and landing both him and Stenberg would be a very exciting combination to add to the already exciting lineup.

21st Overall - Philadelphia Flyers

Gut Pick: Maddox Dagenais | Personal Pick: Casey Mutryn

The Flyers are absolutely one of the more entertaining teams to watch draft. Often focusing on beefy physical players with high end skill sprinkled about, there is no shortage of entertaining options for Philadelphia to have. They could go with a Russian like Gleb Pugachyov, but I find that unlikely. I would be very surprised if Maddox Dagenais wasn’t quite high on their list. For a team that jumped on Jack Nesbitt in the Top 15, if you squint, Dagenais is cut from a similar cloth, but likely projects more as a winger and has more advanced fundamentals than Nesbitt at this age. His game revolves around physicality, with simple and effective playmaking, Dagenais was noticeable often this year. He loves to be a tone-setter, but you see flashes of quick hands and skill that catches your attention, especially on the rush. He projects quite simply to the NHL is some role, and Flyers fans will love him. There’s upside, but it might be a bit of a ways away and his hockey sense limitations might hold him back from playing up the middle. Regardless, he’s entertaining and will be annoying to play against to say the least.

For me, I feel much more confident in Casey Mutryn here, and I think fans would love this guy. Big, hulking but surprisingly speedy with a net-driven attitude, Mutryn was a player I was surprised to enjoy as much as I did. His data profile is limited, but where he’s strong, he’s very strong. He’s going to be an absolute nightmare for the opposition with the puck, and when he gets moving, gets low to the ice and attacks defensemen with pace, he’s a freight train. God only knows how far he could go under the wing of the Philadelphia Flyers, but he strikes me as a guy who will go out and just play Flyers hockey, and be quite good at it. There might be more upside and pure skill available, but those players likely have a very difficult time if Mutryn is chasing after them or attacking them with the puck.

22nd Overall - Pittsburgh Penguins

Gut Pick: Jack Hextall | Personal Pick: Jack Hextall

The Penguins stunned everyone but me taking Ben Kindel as high as they did, and he went off and jumped straight to the NHL and looked pretty darn good as the Penguins outperformed expectations and landed themselves in the playoffs. Kyle Dubas and Wes Clark do not care about consensus and do not care what you think. They know what they want, and in my view, they want competitive nerds. This season, Wyatt Cullen was the guy I penciled in as a sure bet for Pittsburgh but he’s almost certainly gone by 22, so changing gears, my crystal ball landed on Jack Hextall as a realistic option. I would be fully supportive of this decision and while I considered them going really off the board and taking Victor Plante, Hextall’s upside in a draft perceived as a bit weak for centres is undeniable. One of the smartest tactical players out there, his off-puck awareness and neutral zone control is really high end, with good moments of finishing ability that didn’t come out as often as I believe he’s capable. He builds a great map of the ice, chips in on both sides of the puck, and is headed to Michigan State University, where you can leave him for a few years to work his way up the lineup and end up a very impressive profile at a valuable position. Smart, precise, tactical, and a classic case of a great mind to build fundamentals around, Hextall might surprise some, but I could very easily see him being a target for Dubas and Co., but I’m always absolutely fascinated to see how reality plays out with that crew.

23rd Overall - Boston Bruins

Gut Pick: Casey Mutryn | Personal Pick: Alexander Command

The Bruins are a tough team to pin down. It seems their strategy has slowly pivoted over the years to value skill while still having a characteristically “Bruins” style of physicality. That physicality was one of James Hagens’ most underdiscussed parts of his game last year, and seeing him in a Bruins uniform this year showcased that in my opinion. Casey Mutryn is a very interesting bet for me here if I’m Don Sweeney. While not as skilled as Hagens at all, he is a physical monster out there while also having a decent level of skill in tough areas of the ice. The upside potential to develop a projectable NHL-style offensive game is very intriguing to me, and for a team that saw value in a guy like Justin Brazeau, the Bruins might see similar potential in Mutryn. He checks a lot of boxes I think the Bruins look for, and at this range of the draft, getting an entertaining everyday NHL winger with a punishing forechecking game sounds like solid value.

In my personal picks, Mutryn is a Flyer, which is unfortunate for the Bruins, but I would be curious about pitching a style of player that encompasses where I think the Bruins are headed with their strategy in Alexander Command. I’m lower on Command than this slot, but he is skilled, very competitive and from all accounts, NHL teams love his personality. That seems right up the Bruins alley, and like others this year, they can afford to be patient. I would be leaving him overseas or in college hockey for a few years, letting him grow and physically develop as much as I could, because his style of play demands a very strong base in order to project to a good NHL role, but if it worked, it would certainly be entertaining thanks to the skill and effort Command shows.

24th Overall - Vancouver Canucks (from Minnesota)

Gut Pick: Alexander Command | Personal Pick: William Håkansson

There is plenty of chatter that Vancouver is looking at Command, and if he’s available here I could easily see them doing it. After adding an interesting defenseman at 3 in Carson Carels, a competitive Swedish centre like Command does make a level of sense around here. Frankly there’s a part of me that thinks he’s going to be gone by now, but the edginess of his game is apparent, with a solid skill/skating base that can be developed. He’s a bit of a lite-version of Braeden Cootes, and if his game takes a leap like Cootes’ game did this year, the Canucks could end up with some really nice depth up the middle of the ice.

Sending Command to the Bruins at the previous pick leaves me wondering what Swedish player the Canucks could add to the stable, and with Tynan Lawrence already a Canuck at 3, big defenseman William Håkansson would be a very interesting option for me here. I’ve been high on Håkansson all year, thanks to strong skating range, efficient defensive ability and flashes of skill and offensive potential make him very intriguing as a later first round pick. I think he’s one of the more undervalued pure defensive players available, and offsets a young player like Zeev Buium well. The Canucks need more than just these two to turn the ship around, but Håkansson adds a dimension that could combine with a number of existing options in the system, and he could be one that finds his way into the NHL sooner than others in this range. He may be a player Vancouver could land in the 2nd round, but in my books he’s a talented player with defensive tools that should project well, adding Håkansson would be a nice part to add to the future Canucks engine.

25th Overall - Seattle Kraken Ottawa Senators(from Florida via Seattle via Tampa Bay)

Gut Pick: Ryan Lin Maxim Sokolovskii | Personal Pick: Adam Valentini

I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist. It really does seem like the chatter is percolating that he’s going to be a first round pick, and if any team is going to jump at a guy like Sokolovskii, it’s Ottawa. Perhaps Utah, but Sokolovskii has a relentless brutality and goonishness in his game that the Senators seem to really like to have. They simply do not draft smaller players very often, and I can only imagine where NHL teams think Sokolovskii could go. I certainly wouldn’t do it this early, but it would be really fun to see a team take a swing. Considering Ottawa just added four picks to play with, taking a giant swing on a giant would be really fun and fascinating to see develop. If anyone needs and could grow from development this year, it’s Sokolovskii.

I’m leaving Valentini here on my personal list. I think he’s got that grease the Senators love, but with a side of skill, finishing ability and pace that could really suit a young offensive group like Ottawa. He’s aggressive, grittier than you’d expect, and is coming off a strong freshman year as a 17 year old. A good summer with strength training and some on-ice tweaks could give him a really exciting role in Ottawa one day.

The Kraken’s second first round pick will be an interesting one as they have a number of different interesting pathways to go, but adding another high-ceiling defenseman who likely will be available here could pay some serious dividends. They can take afford to take on a bit of risk thanks to their relative strength drafting over the years, and Lin has some serious risk-reward potential. I worry about his skating ability projecting into a role he’ll need to have at the NHL level, and his numbers in general I’ve tracked aren’t too exciting, but you see signs of an impressive offensive defender in Lin. Smart positionally, deceptively skilled and creative with his neutral zone passing, he has some high-end traits that are a nice framework to build around. There are some safer defenders they could go with here, but Lin feels like he’s up their alley as a Western Hockey League player showcasing flashes of upside and a bit of a modern approach to the game. That approach might turn some off, but a team like Seattle may see the potential Lin has, and adding him after Smits gives them two very interesting options in the future that solidifies their pipeline significantly.

In my personal pick, Villeneuve is a huge add for them, and another defenseman here is tempting, but I think an Adam Valentini could be a guy that sneaks up their list and end up a very good fit. Seattle does seem to lack hardworking, pesty aggressive players in their system regardless of position, and Valentini brings that along with real skill, quick hands, and showed relatively well for a 17 year old playing on an elite college program. There were definitely growing pains in his game translating to the NCAA, and those issues may also take some time to solve, but he has a fundamentally competitive style of play that I can see being a valuable option at the 25th slot. For Seattle, it could make sense to buy low and hope that a few more years in college will turn him into the dynamic offensive threat he certainly looks like he could be.

26th Overall - New York Rangers (from Dallas)

Gut Pick: J.P. Hurlbert | Personal Pick: Ryan Lin

From a strong, offensively talented centre in Caleb Malhotra to a smaller, skilled and offensive winger, J.P. Hurlbert being a Texas native being drafted in the first round by a pick belonging to the Dallas Stars is a fun coincidence. Genuinely though, I do believe that the Rangers could take a good look at Hurlbert here. They went after a finishing-oriented skilled winger in Gabe Perreault a few years ago, but you need more than one of those to win, and Hurlbert has shown strong capabilities in key areas that you need to generate offense in the NHL. Agile, daring and skilled, Hurlbert could be a nice addition to play with some teammates with more of a physical edge, or more of an open ice puck transportation skill that could fill some of the gaps in his game. Potentially a productive player, Hurlbert is a nice bet on upside and skill here and I could see the Rangers taking the slow route with him. I thought about putting a guy like Juho Piiparinen here, but I would be willing to bet there’s a strong chance he’s available for the Rangers’ next pick, and their pipeline does still lack a degree of skill that their NHL team seems to lack at the moment.

In my world, the Rangers still have Adam Fox floating around (… for now), so why not draft the guy that people are projecting as a potential regeneration of the guy? In my opinion, Adam Fox is one of a rare class of defenseman, one where there just aren’t any others like him, so I have doubts about Lin “simply becoming Adam Fox”, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. The way he uses his feet and skill in combination is very impressive, with a tactical offensive game that times things well and is aggressive when called upon. The Rangers added Reid at 5 for me, and adding a less range-y offensive weapon gives the Rangers two swings at an important NHL job. I have more limited confidence in these guys that they hit their absolute ceilings, but if they do, you’ll be glad to have them, especially if both work out. At 26, Lin in New York would be a very interesting pickup with a great mentor to be pasted to for the next few years.

27th Overall - Buffalo Sabres San Jose Sharks

Gut Pick: Adam Goljer | Personal Pick: Victor Plante Adam Goljer

Honestly, I think Goljer would be an awesome add here in any case. A big, young, range-y right handed defender checks a lot of boxes that Sharks fans have been screaming about, and for a defenseman who can actually defend and project as a strong player in that area, Goljer shows a lot of promising signs. While he’s still learning on the puck management side of the equation, Goljer played a ton in his own end, got plenty of practice defending, and showcased some really impressive tools that can be difficult for kids his age. At least defensively, I don’t think he’s too much of a downgrade over all the guys people are looking at 25 picks before this one.

The Sabres drafted a giant Czech defender last year in the top 10, and have drafted other giants in the draft in recent years, and I would be willing to bet they’re thinking about another big defender in this range, but one with a more skating-heavy style of play that focuses on efficiency more than physicality and raw offense. Adam Goljer has been all over the hockey world this year playing a huge role internationally for Slovakia, as well as plenty of minutes on a team that barely escaped relegation from the Slovak top division. To me, his team’s quality is a factor in his lack of production and it was not for lack of trying, but a diverse, dangerous game in the offensive zone is not in his wheelhouse right now. Goljer is just a young, big defender with really impressive mobility and and effective defending instincts without needing to overcommit to a physical game. There are rough patches in his game, but I think the developmental path could be very positive, even if it takes a bit of time for him to get there.

I’m going off the board here. The Sabres aren’t usually ones to do so too often, but I would absolutely love to see Victor Plante in a Sabres jersey one day. He’s almost certainly not going to be a first round pick in reality, but if you like Zach Benson and thought his playoff performance was impressive, Victor Plante is arguably cut from a very similar cloth. Admittedly not a big player, Plante more than makes up for it with an impressive combination of raw compete, quickness and skill that drove very good results in my experience. I don’t think he’s a traditional top 6 forward but he strikes me as a smaller guy that will earn his way into the NHL eventually. Teams have drafted all of his brothers outside the first round and they all have tended to take some huge steps as they age, and I would argue Plante is the most impressive of them all at this age. Tenacious, non-stop energy can take you a long way these days, and a guy like Plante down your lineup for a playoff-quality team could be a very valuable asset, especially with the offensive ability he’s shown this year.

28th Overall - Montreal Canadiens

Gut Pick: William Håkansson | Personal Pick: Gleb Pugachyov

I don’t have a clue what the Canadiens are thinking at this point in the draft. They traded a few picks for Noah Dobson last year, and trading another first rounder for some help today is probably not out of the question, but at this range the names available are a bit more on the side of rounding out your lineup with solid assets that can play clear, important roles, and William Håkansson seems like a logical pickup. The obvious answer here would be Xavier Villeneuve, and I’d love to see it, but a big part of me thinks the Habs will skip over him due to the presence of Lane Hutson already on their top pair, and a perceived weak end to his season. If it happened, it’d be awesome, but I don’t think I see it. Håkansson would be a very interesting piece to put in the pipeline that you can stash in Europe for some time, letting him play a bigger and bigger role, bringing him along slowly and really finding his comfort zone before coming over for a North American job. He’s got great range, very good defensive instincts and execution, and has shown flashes of offensive upside here and there that could grow with time. His floor is strong, the defense group in Montreal might look quite different by the time he’s ready, and I think for the types of young defensemen already floating around, Håkansson is a nice stylistic piece to add that has intrigue for something more in the future.

In my world, I would absolutely love it if Montreal went for Gleb Pugachyov. He is simply not something they have much much of. Ruthlessly physical with strong skating speed and projectable energy, Pugachyov would be an absolute riot to watch at the Bell Centre and I would imagine he’d endear himself to the city immediately. I do wonder about his puck management and offensive projection, but where he’s strong goes a very long way. He’s thrown some of the biggest hits I’ve seen this year, and there are some nice moments moving the puck that could bring some promise in the future, but at the very least, getting an entertaining physical piece that can play in various scenarios on the team sounds solid to me at this range. The Habs have a little bit of everything after their rebuild, but Pugachyov brings something that is still a bit behind the rest of the organization.

29th Overall - St. Louis Blues (from Colorado)

Gut Pick: Nikita Klepov | Personal Pick: Juho Piiparinen

In another year where St. Louis has three first round picks, they should be able to find themselves in a good position to make some interesting picks, even this late in the first round. Belchetz and Suvanto are the well-balanced, physical names they’ve added that have a degree of offensive upside, but this is a team that also swings on skill, and Nikita Klepov could be a nice bet here. I’m more skeptical of Klepov, but if he’s properly insulated by some bigger and rangier players with a bit more of a reliable physical game, Klepov could be a strong offensive zone weapon for the Blues. He’s got plenty of skill and pace in his game, a wicked shooting ability and produced a tremendous amount on a Saginaw team that had a tough season. If he hits, he’ll hit hard. Part of me thought of putting JP Hurlbert here, but it seems like some NHL folks are lower on him, even if they may see him as a similar case as Klepov. I think there’s jam in Klepov’s game that St. Louis will like, and bet that it’ll work out one day, especially if he’s the third name off their board in this class.

On the other hand, the St. Louis Blues are not afraid of boring, effective defensemen in the draft, but they usually tend to draft those who are actually somewhat good at it. Piiparinen is a defender with strong range under his feet with pro-level defensive instincts, and when he keeps his game simple, his game is effective. Malhotra, Novotny and Piiparinen gives the Blues three strong options at three different positions that all bring an interesting hybrid of competitiveness, skill, and efficiency that could help round out the lineup in somewhat short order. There is no shortage of interesting options cut from the same cloth as Piiparinen, but he’s always been one that I feel projects well into a role, even if it isn’t the most exciting on. Guys like Piiparinen that can really play at the NHL are very valuable, and with his youth and experience in Liiga this season, he’s got a bright future ahead of him.

30th Overall - Calgary Flames (from Vegas)

Gut Pick: Xavier Villeneuve | Personal Pick: Adam Goljer Simas Ignatavicius

With Goljer gone now, the big Lithuanian Simas Ignativicius makes sense here for me if I’m Calgary. Yeah, they’ve drafted a lot of speedy skill in recent years, but they lack some good complimentary guys that can slow the game down, work off of what’s around them on the ice, while playing with a bit of a physical edge. Ignatavicius is not quite there yet, but he did play a full year at the top division of Swiss hockey, which is no small feat. A big, resilient and smart puck mover who is willing to sniff out scoring opportunities in front of the net, at 30th this year, considering who’s available in my personal picks, he could be a projectable guy who could play well off of some of the fancier names they’ve picked up over the years.

Calgary gets handed a high-ceiling gift here and swings on Xavier Villeneuve. I think it is very possible he's drafted this late, if in the first round at all, but Villeneuve would be a fantastic add to augment their defense group even with Zayne Parekh already there. His skating and skill combination is absolutely elite, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with two elite offensive players in your top-4 and making it work. Players like Villeneuve don’t come along often, and Calgary clearly is trending towards drafting for upside, skill and pace of play these days. If he’s still available here, I would be begging and screaming to pick him up, and I bet Calgary would be giving him a good look. Even if he’s a miss at this range of the draft, he’s worth the swing, and there’s plenty already in the system that can help the team take some good steps relatively quickly.

Villeneuve is gone in my world, and if I’m there, I think I’d go a bit of a different direction to where they’ve gone in recent years and take defensive-leaning Adam Goljer here. The range of his game is very strong, he’s had pro experience this year with plenty of minutes, and his diverse defensive capabilities are an interesting combination to bet on. He’s a bit of a project, but the Flames have time, and already have amassed a few names that could potentially be a good partner for a player like Goljer.

31st Overall - Carolina Hurricanes

Gut Pick: Gleb Pugachyov | Personal Pick: Brek Liske

They’re trading the pick because they’re Carolina so who cares.

Seriously, I can’t help but think that Pugachyov will be an option here. I can just imagine Rod Brind’Amour absolutely loving what he brings to the game with the beefy energy and ruthless physicality that has become his trademark. He would fit in seamlessly with their forecheck-heavy style of play, and getting anything in this area of the draft would be a benefit. They often draft upside and skill, and could very well go this direction again, but maybe, just maybe, this is the year they might go for a player that actually plays like the Hurricanes that don’t get the fanfare that the skilled guys get.

For me, Carolina loves to go a bit off the board here and there, and watching them during the playoffs, and watching Everett in their playoff run, Brek Liske just feels like a guy that Carolina would love to add. A defender with excellent smarts for the position with a good skating base and strong pass vision, he doesn’t necessarily jump off the rink at you, but he’s one of the guys who could be one of those players who pops up on the right team that trusts his tools and he ends up playing a ton of minutes. One of the rare right-handed defenders found playing on the left side of the ice, he was put in a difficult role for the Silvertips this year and continued to look rock solid in every game. He takes care of the puck well but competes in intelligent ways, and I would not be surprised to see the Hurricanes jump the queue and draft an efficient defender who fills a bit of a gap in their developmental pipeline.

32nd Overall - Ottawa Senators

Gut Pick: Jaxon Cover | Personal Pick: Adam Andersson

Closing out the first round, the Ottawa Senators. They are simultaneously one of the strangest and least predictable teams in the league, but also oddly predictable in their focus and valuation regarding raw size. There are options here that are likely, and part of me just wanted to take the easy way out and toss Maxim Sokolovskii in here, but I have to believe that the Senators see a more interesting upside case in Jaxon Cover. He certainly doesn’t lack size and a competitive streak. He’s confident under pressure and underratedly skilled. He can drive into the offensive zone and open up passing lanes with his feet and skill level to make some interesting plays here and there. He’s a project to say the least, so maybe the Sens will prioritize someone who could come along quicker considering where they’re at in their pipeline, but the patience could be worth it. He’s a player I’d want to see another year or two of at the OHL to iron out his game and boost his fundamentals, but I think the competitiveness and physical energy in his game indicates a good development curve as a projectable winger with important NHL tools.

If they really wanted to go off the board and get weird, I would think about a big, mobile centre with good two-way impacts and a budding offensive game in Adam Andersson. There are a ton of ingredients that are just beginning to scratch the surface of what he’s capable of, and while you may be able to snag him a bit later, I think he’s a player that could be worth drafting here if he hits. His ability to play a physical game while also with strong puck control and flashes of strong play in tough spots on the ice, Andersson is an option that I think just gets better and better over time. Last season a guy like Tinus Luc Koblar looked like he was quite a ways away, and he’s taken a huge leap, even if he isn’t the most productive player out there. Based on where Koblar was last year, I think Andersson is fundamentally more advanced, and shows a lot of tendencies and traits that I think could work in Ottawa one day.

Here are the picks I’d personally push for if I were with the given team:

Toronto - Gavin McKenna
San Jose - Ivar Stenberg
Vancouver - Tynan Lawrence
Chicago - Alberts Smits
NY Rangers - Chase Reid
Calgary - Viggo Björck
Seattle - Xavier Villeneuve
Winnipeg - Malte Gustafsson
Ottawa (from Florida)- Caleb Malhotra
Nashville - Keaton Verhoeff
St. Louis - Carson Carels
New Jersey - Wyatt Cullen
NY Islanders - Mathis Preston
Columbus - Elton Hermansson
St. Louis (from DET) - Adam Novotny
Washington - Ethan Belchetz
Los Angeles - Oliver Suvanto
Washington (from ANA) - Ilia Morozov
Utah - Oscar Hemming
Buffalo (from SJ) - Tommy Bleyl
Philadelphia - Casey Mutryn
Pittsburgh - Jack Hextall
Boston - Alexander Command
Vancouver (from MIN) - William Håkansson
Ottawa (from Everyone) - Adam Valentini
NY Rangers (from DAL) - Ryan Lin
San Jose (from BUF) - Adam Goljer
Montreal - Gleb Pugachyov
St. Louis (from COL) - Juho Piiparinen
Calgary (from VGK) - Simas Ignatavicius
Carolina - Brek Liske
Ottawa - Adam Andersson

To Recap, my gut feel on where the teams could actually go:

Toronto - Gavin McKenna
San Jose - Ivar Stenberg
Vancouver - Carson Carels
Chicago - Chase Reid
NY Rangers - Caleb Malhotra
Calgary - Keaton Verhoeff
Seattle - Alberts Smits
Winnipeg - Malte Gustafsson
Ottawa (from Florida) - Ethan Belchetz
Nashville - Viggo Björck
St. Louis - Tynan Lawrence
New Jersey - Wyatt Cullen
NY Islanders - Adam Novotny
Columbus - Daxon Rudolph
St. Louis (from DET) - Oliver Suvanto
Washington - Elton Hermansson
Los Angeles - Ilia Morozov
Washington (from ANA) - Mathis Preston
Utah - Oscar Hemming
Buffalo (from SJ) - Tommy Bleyl
Philadelphia - Maddox Dagenais
Pittsburgh - Jack Hextall
Boston - Casey Mutryn
Vancouver (from MIN) - Alexander Command
Ottawa (from Everyone) - Max Sokolovskii
NY Rangers (from DAL) - J.P. Hurlbert
San Jose (from BUF) - Adam Goljer
Montreal - William Håkansson
St. Louis (from COL) - Nikita Klepov
Calgary (from VGK) - Xavier Villeneuve
Carolina - Gleb Pugachyov
Ottawa - Jaxon Cover

Will Scouch 2026-06-18 Will Scouch 2026-06-18

Recapping the 2026 IIHF Under-18 World Championship

The 2026 World Under-18 Hockey Championships are here, and hopefully you’re all strapped in for a fun, rough ride. This season’s instalment is pretty clearly characterized by a fairly level playing field, featuring a strong group of European contenders with some individual high-end contributors, a capable Canadian roster, and an underrated US national program with firepower and youth to spare. A few teams are likely to rely on some talented goaltending, and picking a clear winner, let alone the medal rounds is difficult going into the tournament.

The Under-18 World Championship is a great tool for evaluators to get one last look at certain players coming from unique circumstances are either stepping up into playing the best kids in the world on the international stage, or stepping down after seasons some might call a struggle to play junior competition and really stretch their skills to their maximum. Scouts everywhere will be firmly trained on both cases, and there are plenty of names who still have runway to make a significant impact at a key time in the season. A balanced, relatively deep class of draft eligibles headline the cast of chararcters, but a great selection of players eligible for 2027 and beyond look to make a name for themselves. Four players under 16 years of age are making their debuts, including 2029 NHL Draft-eligible Slovak Max Melicherik, a feat that just 50 players have accomplished since the turn of the century. It’s a strange year without the Swiss, but there is also evidence of strong growth of the game globally, with a strong generation of Norwegians, Slovaks, and Latvians on display, and the Czechs bringing a player who may be among the earliest names called in the 2027 NHL Draft.

I expect a tight, tough tournament where almost any team could find themselves winning medals through great individual performances, be it in net or with a great offensive performance from a key contributor punching well below their weight class. Get excited, it’ll be a good one, and the takes on the on the other end are likely to be scorching hot. Enjoy the ride.

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Relegated: Denmark

MVP: Emil Saaby Jakobsen - D - Karlskrona HK U18

It is really difficult to see how Denmark finds their way out of the relegation round this year, featuring a team filled with Danish junior, Danish second division, and lower-division U18 Swedish hockey. The 2025 Division 1A tournament was a two-horse race between this group and a surprising Ukranian team, and the Danes are bringing just four players from their championship team does not bode well, including many of their top scorers. That said, two key names appear as major pieces that could work some magic to keep Denmark in the top division for 2027. Anton Emil Wilde Larsen is back to likely start every game here after a capable tournament last year earning promotion. He is unfortunately known for being the goaltender who Gavin McKenna absolutely lit on fire at the World Juniors back in January, and his workload here will be no easier.

Another World Junior alumnus and my player to watch, Emil Saaby Jakobsen looks to be locked in as a major contributor and role player on both sides of the puck, with a mobile, skilled game with great finishing ability and puck controlling confidence. The group around those two will be in tough against the US, Czechs and Swedes, and their tournament is likely to come down to their result against the Germans, but even that one might be a tough one to pull off. Nothing is impossible, but this is a team I’m expecting to at least make for a competitive relegation round with whoever may join them.

Latvia - 4.93 NHLeS Average - Ranked 9th

Player to Watch: Patriks Plumins - G - Zemgale

Latvia always brings an intriguing roster to this tournament, and unfortunately for all of us, Muskegon centre Rudolfs Berzkalns is unavailable due to the USHL playoffs where he’s been a huge presence up the middle all season long. While he’ll be missed by this team, there’s still an interesting group here that might be able to work themselves into a quarterfinal spot ahead of the Norwegians if things break right. I’m a big fan of what I’ve seen of goaltender Patriks Plumins, with strong international performances this season, and good results in the Latvian top division, albeint in light workloads. All three of Latvia’s goaltenders appear capable, which might be able to keep them afloat, but it might be tough. Big Olivers Murnieks can be a strong presence up the middle, absorbing pressure and making plays effectively, and Martins Klaucans is back after snagging a pair of goals last year at this tournament. As is tradition, the Latvians are bringing a gaggle of 16 year olds, led by Ricards Lisovskis, a defenseman who seemed like an intriguing puck mover in my limited viewing, albeit in the Finnish U18 league.

The issue for Latvia against a team like Norway will be countering the firepower that team has up front, and while we all know anything is possible, it may be a longshot for this group to get themselves into the playoffs. The goaltending will be the prime hinge point, and that’s where my attention will be focused as Plumins has been on my radar all year. Anything else is a bonus. Can they stay up against Denmark? I think it’s very possible, but it could be competitive.

Germany - 6.84 NHLeS Average - Ranked 8th

Player to Watch - Tobias Krestan - F - HV71 J20

The Germans have been floating around this tournament depending on the year, some years getting into the playoffs, and others where they’re being relegated. To be honest, I have no idea what this season has in store, but I think they’ve got a leg up on the Danes thanks to their core group of key contributors with experience in high end leagues, including big heavy defenseman out of Wenatchee Darian Rolsing, big winger Tobias Krestan out of HV71’s junior program, and 16 year old DEL contributor Max Calce. There are 7 players on this team eligible for the 2027 tournament, and in my model, all but one are in the top half of expected contributors. The goaltending is a key area where their tournament may hinge with limited exposure to high end opposition, with German junior Niclas Wolter likely taking the majority of ice time, and two Red Bull Salzburg program goaltenders backing him up, albeit with great results in their leagues. Krestan has a nice combination of size, skill, and finishing release that could buoy his team in a similar fashion to previous leader David Lewandowski.

Beyond that, it’s all a big question mark. There have been some waves made about giant defenseman Tobias Krämer, and I would’ve been thrilled to see my Hlinka standout Moussa Hackert here, but getting eyes on Krämer will be very intriguing based on the limited viewing I’ve had of him at the German junior level.

Norway - 7.21 Average NHLeS - Ranked 7th

Player to Watch - Niklas Aaram-Olsen - W - Örebro HK U20

Norway is in the middle of a strong era of talented players, with names like Mikkel Eriksen and Tinus Luc Koblar coming and going over the last few years, and this year, Niklas Aaram-Olsen, Casper Kjølmoen, and all three goaltenders may have bright futures ahead of them. Aaram-Olsen has been a mainstay on the Norwegian program, back for his third instalment of this tournament, and is fresh off a dominant World Junior performance, earning Norway a slot in the 2027 tournament in December. He’s slick, speedy, and creative, and almost assuredly a part of the men’s national team at the World Championship. A gifted offensive player who could easily take his team into the playoffs on his own, scouts will be rightfully focused on him, as he’s shifted all over my board this season from the middle of the first round through into my deep second round. Kjølmoen is all speed and pure energy, which should shine at this level in what is likely to be high usage. A number of other Swedish junior league players should help keep this group afloat, and the real keen-eyed should look for Philip Tollefsen, son of former NHL heavy-hitter Ole-Kristian. He’s a very skilled 15 year old offensive defenseman, potentially playing U20 hockey in Sweden as soon as next season, and has been impressive every time I’ve caught him this year.

The Norwegians are likely to be exciting, with young players hopefully showcasing a performance that may catch some by surprise. Their success might hinge on a few key names, but the supporting cast is not to be scoffed at either.

Slovakia - 6.76 Average NHLeS - Ranked 6th

Player to Watch - Adam Goljer - RHD - HK Dukla Trencin

The Slovaks are always a great group to watch at this tournament. Their batch of 16 year olds look to be some major contributors this year, as Timothy Kazda and Oliver Ozogany had strong USHL campaigns, and Tomas Selic entering the tournament off a great season at the Czech junior level with Brno. The skill in the lineup is strong, but there’s also a good amount of size and energy up and down the lineup. Their U18 team gets plenty of reps against relatively tough competition in the 2nd Slovak professional league, and in turn, goaltender Samuel Hrenak is likely coming in battle-hardened, with a remarkable average workload of 50 shots a game this season. Sure, he allowed 5.5 goals per game, but you would be thankful for those results if you had grown men pelting you with hockey pucks that often. Adam Goljer has had my eye going back to last season, and I expect a very strong performance leading this group. He’s big, but has great skating range, strong defensive instincts, and moments of shot-led offense that should raise the floor of this team significantly. He’s another player who has fluctuated around my board this year, but has held strong as a late first round pick, and a good performance in what is likely to be very heavy usage will only reinforce that going into the NHL Draft. Samuel Karsay and Lucian Bernat have also been impressive pieces of this national program in my international viewings previously, with Karsay bringing great energy and net-driven offense, and Bernat carrying a physical, heavy offensive brand that should be able to power through quite a bit of the competition here and make a case for an NHL Draft, selection in June. While I don’t expect a medal from this group they’ve been on a remarkable streak of bronze medal game appearances since being promoted to the top division in 2022. Is that a repeatable achievement? With strong goaltending and outstanding performances from their youngsters, perhaps, but the real story could be the potential returnees making the case for a medal in the 2027 tournament if all goes well.

Czechia - 9.6 NHLeS Average - Ranked 5th

Player to Watch - Petr Tomek - C - HC Energie Karlovy Vary

The Czechs look to be bringing a relatively strong team that could compete for a medal here. They’re built well from the net out, featuring two strong CHL goaltenders in Marek Sklenicka and Jan Larys. Sklenicka has stuck out to me on multiple occasions for is technical skill and raw size, facing heavy workloads with admirable results. The defenders in front of him are solid, with Tri-City’s physical and defensive Jakub Vanecek likely leading the way. He’s got a strong shot from the point and should be a power play weapon as well as a strong defensive presence. Vaclav Nedorost has been exceptionally productive on the Czech junior circuit as a dynamic, undersized presence, and Ondrej Ruml is fresh off a strong, skilled season with the Ottawa 67s. The scoring depth may be somewhat of an issue, but pockets of the team are names I’ve had an eye on all season. David Huk has caught my attention in the Swedish junior circuit with his skilled, dual-threat game that he can pull off at great pace for a player his size, and Jan Trefný was one of my strongest performers in my notes from the Hlinka Gretzky tournament back in August, even if his season with Moose Jaw was not particularly productive. Simon Katolicky is big, strong and shows some great flashes of skill when he isn’t smashing his opponents, and he likely will play a key role, likely making an impact in front of NHL scouts. Leading the way however is likely to be 2027-eligible sniper Petr Tomek. Tomek is speedy, highly skilled, plays at a breakneck pace of play, weaving and shaking off pressure and attacking the net with ease. He was my key standout from the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and I expect that trend to continue here. Tomek would likely be in my first round for this year’s draft if he were eligible and I’d expect next year to be the same story. If the Czechs are going to make a serious impact here, they’ll need to score, and the only Czech top division player on the roster will likely need to be a major source of that offense. If all else fails, they might be able to squeak out a few key wins thanks to their defensive options and goaltending skill.

Finland - 9.99 Average NHLeS - Ranked 4th

Player to Watch - Oliver Suvanto - C - Tappara Tampere

As is tradition, the Finnish crop this year is not to be underestimated. If anything, this may be one of the strongest teams they’ve brought in a very long time, and might be able to work their way into their first gold medal since 2018. At the very least, their first medal round appearance since 2022 should be more than doable. Finland is bringing a number of very strong 2026 NHL Draft prospects including two potential first round picks in Oliver Suvanto and Juho Piiparinen. Both of these players were at the World Juniors and did not look out of place, showing trademark Finnish stability, teamwork and physicality that projects to any level of hockey flawlessly. Suvanto especially could have a field day, with his skill and pass vision being underrated when you see how big and strong he is. He’s a player that NHL scouts are likely to be clamouring over each other to see more of, and I don’t think they’ll be disappointed considering his play in Liiga this year on a top program. Another Tappara teammate is also likely to make a heavy physical impact in Vilho Vanhatalo who is almost certainly going to be a key forechecker and penalty killer with a ruthless physical approach to the game. The Finns are also bringing their fair share of skill as well, as Atte Vuori, Max Laatikainen, and the Uronen twins are likely to do their part and help move the puck into good space and create key offense. Samu Alalauri is a player I’ll have a keen eye on as well. There have been moments where I’ve felt he isn’t far behind the crop of strong defensive players available in this class with his skating range, stick checking ability and bits of offensive jump that can catch opponents off guard.

The Finns have a potential advantage over many teams with the highly athletic Pyry Lammi in net to go along with the rest of their roster. Lammi has been impressive in many viewings in my time watching the Finnish junior league this year. His international performances have not been as successful, but there’s no time like the present to find your footing, and he certainly has the daring athleticism to make it work here. This group of Finns is a return to form on many fronts, with a balanced team filled with size, physicality, small area passing ability, and skill that should be able to pressure any other team in this tournament. A medal is within reach, moreso than recent years, and it would be a real treat to see this group get there.

USA - 16.34 Average NHLeS - Ranked 3rd

Player to Watch - Wyatt Cullen - W - U.S. National U18 Team

The 2026 incarnation of the US National program is a strange one. I don’t believe this team will have any trouble scoring, and they have enough goaltending talent in Brady Knowling to do a good job keeping the puck out of the net, but the group of defensemen is a big question mark that could be exploited by the best in this tournament. The addition of Levi Harper from Saginaw is absolutely a massive boost, as he may be a skilled offensive defenseman that shows up at the top of my 2027 draft board in a year. His Hlinka Gretzky performance was second to none, playing a huge part in the team’s historic championship, and I’d expect him to be a premiere play driving defenseman that can quarterback their powerplay. Luke Schairer and Logan Lutner are explosive, confident defenders as well that may round things out capably, but relative to the best of the best in Slovakia, this might be the soft point for the Americans.

That said, the offensive firepower is impossible to ignore. Their crop of 2027-eligibles can be lethal, with Jamie Glance’s insane playmaking vision and practical skill level, Carter Meyer’s passing skill and off-puck ability, Sammy Nelson’s powerful skilled game ,and the dynamic and zippy Brayden Willis looking to make a name for themselves. The 17 year olds are no joke either, with personal favourites Victor Plante and Casey Mutryn leading the way with their physical, intense and skilled style of play that should be able to coast this team deep into the playoff rounds. Mikey Berchild, Lucas Zajic, and Dayne Beuker only bring more offensive punch, but the addition of the gargantuan Brooks Rogowski adds a whole new dimension of physical play and surprisingly slick playmaking ability. My eyes are on Wyatt Cullen, though. A player who has gotten staggeringly good relative to where he was 18 months ago, Cullen has skill for days with skating edges to evade pressure, work the puck around the offensive zone and create passing seams that put him right up with the best playmakers available in the NHL draft. Lightning quick hands and a lightning quick release give him all the tools to be a premier player here, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see NHL scouts blasting him up their lists before June. They’ll be a tough offensive team to contain, and it might not be pretty getting there, but this is a team that has the ability to win the whole thing.

Sweden - 18.99 Average NHLeS - Ranked 1st

Player to Watch - Wiggo Sörensson - C - Boro/Vetlanda HC | Växjö Lakers HC U18

If there’s a team that could handle the Canadian depth and pure talent, it’s Sweden. From top to bottom, this team has so much going for it. The Viggo Bjorck saga is yet to be solved at time of writing, but a lack of Bjork will be greatly missed and might withold this team from being clear favourites, which makes the decision even stranger. Regardless, the Swedes are a strong, deep group filled with skill, energy and fun factor. Potential top NHL Draft picks are all over the team, with defenseman Malte Gustafsson likely eating a tremendous amount of minutes for thie group, but Alexander Command, Axel Elofsson, and Elton Hermansson all bring their fair share of firepower that may catapult them up NHL Draft boards. A few personal favourites of mine are here as well, and could surprise many who are unfamiliar. Adam Andersson is a big, strong and skilled centre that should physically dominate much of the competition, Max Isaksson, Nils Bartholdsson and Adam Nomme bring plenty of creativity and raw speed that also augments the team around it’s best names. While none of their skaters are eligible to return, their 2027 Draft-eligibles might be great additions. I’ve loved every game I’ve seen of Bosse Meijer with his excellent two-way impact, Vilgot Liden’s skill and skating combination should easily make him one to watch, and Olle Karlsson’s high octane offensive game earned him an impressive call-up to Vaxjo’s SHL team this year.

There’s a little bit of everything on this team from top to bottom, with size, stability and finesse on the defensive side of the ice, with flash, skill and intensity up front. The name I’m most fascinated to see is Wiggo Sorensson, hailing from Vetlanda, Sorensson played much of the season playing for his hometown club at the Swedish men’s 4th division where he was a premier offensive contributor. That level of play is far from competitive, but his appearances on the wing for Vaxjo’s U18 and U20 teams, as well as his appearances internationally for this team have provided great insight into what I believe could be a huge steal in this year’s NHL draft if things break right. He’s explosive, skilled and a slick passer with tons of offensive tools, oozing confidence and at times playing with names that might hear their name called early in the upcoming draft. I am already a huge fan, and I bet he’ll have a few more after this tournament. Sorensson certainly adds to the pile of names that push this team in the right direction, and if their netminders can hold the line, this is a team that will make any victory difficult to earn.

Canada - 20.93 NHLeS Average - Ranked 2nd

Player to Watch - Tynan Lawrence - C - Boston Univ. Terriers

As always, it’s important to realize that Canada functionally cannot bring all of their best players to this tournament every year due to the CHL playoffs. It’s annoying, but it does give you a great look at some key names that you otherwise might not see at this level, and a preview of what’s to come with the youngsters they choose to bring. This year, of course eyes will be on names like Joseph, Eshkawkogan, and (at least for me) Zhilkin, but this is a strong Canadian roster regardless of who is unable to join them this year. Carson Carels is off the roster unfortunately, but Ryan Lin, Ben MacBeath, Keaton Verhoeff, and any one of their other defenders should hold up more than capably at both ends of the ice here. They should have no issue insulating their capable pair of goaltenders in Gavin Betts and Carter Esler. Betts was a standout at the Hlinka Gretzky, and if Canada can get saves when needed, they could easily find their way into a gold medal game. The storyline I’ll be keeping an eye on is the performance of the names jumping in from the NCAA. I’ve been thoroughly impressed with all three of the players on the roster at their respective schools this year. Adam Valentini has found a pesky, physical streak to go with his quick hands and lightning quick shot release. I’d like to see some more offensive zone punch to his game, but his off puck play has been excellent, and I would think he should have no issues finding his offensive touch here. Keaton Verhoeff was thrown onto one of the best NCAA programs in the country and played key minutes for North Dakota on their way to a Frozen Four appearance, and I think the lessons he’s learned will only help him look even more dominant than he did at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in August. He’s skilled, calm (almost to a fault) and has excellent dual-threat offensive zone presence that I can only imagine will shred much of the opposition here. Tynan Lawrence is an absolute dog, and every scout in the universe will be hyperanalyzing every shift to see if there really has been a negative step in his game since going to Boston University. I am personally very confident in my belief that Lawrence will shine here. He’s an aggressive, intense two-way centre who has been an elite transition driver in my data tracking, with a growing playmaking sense and significantly less waste on the puck in the offensive zone than I remember with Muskegon. He’s grown up quite a bit, and as a 17 year old centre on an underperforming NCAA program, I don’t know what more I could’ve asked for in my viewings, especially later in the season.

Of all the names mentioned, I don’t think any others could turn as many heads as Mathis Preston could. An infectious personality for interview fodder, Preston clearly loves to score, loves to be the star of the show, and has more raw talent than almost anyone in the tournament. Unbelievable levels of skill, pace, and creativity, Preston is a player with a ceiling as high as any, and if he has his mind set on success, he’ll get it. He’s competitive, an underrated defensive player when he’s engaged, and a ruthless offensive zone presence. Many have dropped him to the second round, but if he plays anything remotely close to his capabilities here, I think things might change in the other direction relatively quickly. His CHL/NTDP series and Hlinka Gretzky Cup performances were second to none, and I can only assume this will be more of the same.

This Canadian roster is very good from top to bottom and a medal should be in reach. Even down the lineup, JC Lemieux, Beckett Hamilton, Alexis Joseph, Ryder Cali and Lucas Ambrosio should have no problem eating minutes with pace, energy and physicality, and this group should be a great one to watch. They’re my favourites to take home the gold, but the road will not be easy getting there, and they’ll need great performances from their best to push back against the best of the rest.

Will’s All-Star Team Predictions

Forwards - Elton Hermansson (SWE) - Tynan Lawrence (CAN) - Mathis Preston (CAN)

Defense - Levi Harper (USA) - Keaton Verhoeff (CAN)

Goaltender - Pyry Lammi (FIN)

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2026 IIHF Under-18 World Championship Preview

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Denmark - NHLeS Average Unavailable - Ranked 10th

Player to Watch: Emil Saaby Jakobsen - D - Karlskrona HK U18

Latvia - 4.93 NHLeS Average - Ranked 9th

Player to Watch: Patriks Plumins - G - Zemgale

Germany - 6.84 NHLeS Average - Ranked 8th

Player to Watch - Tobias Krestan - F - HV71 J20

Norway - 7.21 Average NHLeS - Ranked 7th

Player to Watch - Niklas Aaram-Olsen - W - Örebro HK U20

Slovakia - 6.76 Average NHLeS - Ranked 6th

Player to Watch - Adam Goljer - RHD - HK Dukla Trencin

Czechia - 9.6 NHLeS Average - Ranked 5th

Player to Watch - Petr Tomek - C - HC Energie Karlovy Vary

Finland - 9.99 Average NHLeS - Ranked 4th

Player to Watch - Oliver Suvanto - C - Tappara Tampere

USA - 16.34 Average NHLeS - Ranked 3rd

Player to Watch - Wyatt Cullen - W - U.S. National U18 Team

Sweden - 18.99 Average NHLeS - Ranked 1st

Player to Watch - Wiggo Sörensson - C - Boro/Vetlanda HC | Växjö Lakers HC U18

Canada - 20.93 NHLeS Average - Ranked 2nd

Player to Watch - Tynan Lawrence - C - Boston Univ. Terriers

Will’s All-Star Team Predictions

Forwards - Elton Hermansson (SWE) - Tynan Lawrence (CAN) - Mathis Preston (CAN)

Defense - Levi Harper (USA) - Keaton Verhoeff (CAN)

Goaltender - Pyry Lammi (FIN)

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The April 2026 NHL Draft Rankings

At long last, I’m back, somewhat delayed, sharing my “midseason” 2026 NHL Draft Ranking! I hope you’re all enjoying your respective transition seasons as summer approaches here in Canada and are enjoying the stretch leading into what looks to be a remarkably exciting NHL Draft in Buffalo in 2026. If you’re as excited as I am, check out the NHL Draft Simulator I built over the last month or so!

This year’s class is looking absolutely fascinating. I think we’re looking at a 2021-style relatively balanced top-end of the class, with lots of potentially valuable players, with a bit of a murky vision of the end result come the 2030s. There are projectable players in the middle of a lineup in a number of roles, there are riskier extreme upside targets, and a bit of everything in between. I’m not sold on guaranteeing any team a game-changing talent in this class, but the potential is certainly out there. Beyond that top group, in my opinion all bets are off, and the marketplace is still wildly all over the place, and I am no different. My thesis in the current era of the NHL Draft landscape is that the CHL has taken a very large step back in quality thanks to the exodus of very talented players to the NCAA. From ages 17 through 21, we’re seeing a huge list of talented young players taking their talents to the college hockey circuit for a greater challenge, more time out of games to focus on training and development, and in many cases, significantly more exposure to both fans and scouts alike than what is available up in Canada compared to the size of the market in the US. When you see a number of CHL players ranked lower on my list than many others, that’s the fundamental explanation. For many high scorers, I just see too much uncertainty projecting them in key areas that hold me back from the level of comfort I’m looking for in an elite level pick. Some buck the trend as you’ll see, and you don’t have to agree with me, but it’s simply an explanation for a pattern that will undeniably be noted by many upon the release of this list.

Nonetheless, it’s looking like an exciting year. I’m excited to watch players on my ranking as far down my board as the third round, and while many don’t have a clear pathway to the NHL, they all have something to put forward as a key talent that can be leaned on and developed to hopefully play some kind of role in the toughest league in the world. I still struggle to sift through who my top priorities would be past as high as the top 10-15 picks in this class, and I think the volatility come draft time could make for a wild weekend in Buffalo. Last season, that excitement ended somewhere around the early 2nd round on my list. Does this indicate a “deeper” draft class? I believe it does, but it’s still way too early to know anything for sure. Playing your cards right, plenty of NHL teams could find themselves with a small handful of roleplayers that round out a pretty solid roster, even if you’re a contender and aren’t expecting much from your draft capital.

This is the free version of my full ranking writeup, containing full reports for my first four tiers, roughly the entirety of my first round. If you’d like full access, subscribe below and unlock the full rankings with reports on over 100 different players below!

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Tier 1 - By The Hairs of their Chinny-Chin-Chins

Stenberg has consistently been such an impressive all-around player this year and after seeing so much of him, I am still not exactly sure why he’s so impressive. His forechecking energy and turnover generation ability is awesome, tracking play with ease at the SHL level. His skill level may not match that of a Gavin McKenna, but the way which he uses it is so much more practical and effective in tougher scenarios. Knocking pucks down through feet and traffic, attacking players head on, protecting the puck down low, creating tight space for himself, it’s all there. the margins here between my first two tiers has gotten tighter and tighter over the last few weeks as I finish datasets on some other names, but Stenberg would probably be my choice first in what would be a strong top end of a solid draft class. He doesn’t waste his shots from the perimeter, he’s an excellent transition driver with diverse talents and a propensity for good stick checks, and if he can just improve his explosiveness to add another two-way dimension to his game as he has over the last 12 months, he could be a fantastic add to the top line of an NHL team in the mold of a Seth Jarvis-esque player with excellent value in many areas of the ice in many situations outside of raw point production.
Looking back, I absolutely do not regret having McKenna at 5 in December, but he has absolutely taken some great strides this season that alleviate a certain amount of concern about his game. The skill level is undeniable, and his ability to blend skill and playmaking on it’s own will make him a gazillionaire if things go right. He’ll score, fans will love him, and he has star upside. It’s as strong an individual trait as Connor Bedard’s shot in junior hockey was a few years back. That said, there are still significant concerns. I may be in the minority of not being a huge fan of the circumstances surrounding his arrest earlier this year, but beyond that, McKenna’s style of play is extremely improvisational (admittedly excellent at it though), which requires an outstandingly high level of talent against top tier NHL defending. McKenna relies often on having time and space to think, and using his skill to create gaps to defenders in a way that seems somewhat hard to see in the NHL without being one of the best in the world. The potential is there, but the data paints a very sketchy profile to project. Excellent offensive transition efficiency, but highly, highly reliant on pass receptions and chasing offense in the neutral zone. Tons of shots, but a majority coming from the perimeter. Some decent offensive zone turnover generation, but usually done off errant passes and sloppy board possession by the opposition. I don’t put a ton of weight into a lack of hits, but McKenna hasn’t thrown a single on in my sample. His defensive transition efficiency is among the worse in the draft, especially at the top, left behind on many attempts, relying on reach and soft stick checks, but also having pucks played through him positionally far too often. I’ve said for months that if I’m an NHL team, my gameplan is to vibe him out in an interview and go from there. If you get any inkling that there might be off-ice issues that become a distraction or detriment, then the downsides become far more troubling. If you come away thinking he understands his issues and that there may need to be some tweaks to get coaches to trust him more, then great! McKenna is a player who could take a good two-way top line that struggles to score and makes them into an elite unit. He’s clinging to this spot in a tier that is very close to the next one, but he’s going to be an absolutely fascinating player to watch develop and grow, and if things work out, he could be an enormous lightning rod for the sport as a whole. I have a bit more conviction in Stenberg, but it’s close.

Tier 2 - The Ones Right Behind Them

My god the things I’ve seen, read, and heard about this player while we all watch what the NHL is like and how the best play the game. We’re in a paradigm shift in the world of hockey and I’m sticking my neck out on a lot of these players trying to get ahead of where the paradigm is headed, and I think Lawrence is a prime example of that. Five players under the age of 18 are playing in the NCAA this season. Just 24 other players in the last 25 years have done the same. Younger players are playing tougher and more developed competition which I think is a great shift and we’ll likely only see more of it. For me, I see Lawrence’s journey from domination of the USHL to perceived NCAA struggles as a massive benefit. He’s getting ahead of his development curve, and even when you look at the data, his play with Boston University has by and large been outstanding. Lawrence is an elite transition driver with a speed and skill combination unlike arguably anyone in the class, huge offensive creation numbers on a team that struggled to finish chances he creates, a very strong defensive presence at both ends of the ice, improving shot selection skill, and all-in-all, just playing like arguably the most purely competitive team-driver in the entire class.
Here’s a thought experiment in honesty: If Lawrence stayed in the USHL and scored at his pace, landing somewhere in the range of 40 goals and 80 points threatening for the league lead in production, would there be equal concern about his game? When he jumps up in quality of competition and doesn’t shoot the lights out immediately, why does the evaluation suddenly completely shift? If we’re playing that game, many other players in the class don’t have the same pathway or exposure, but have the luxury of playing at a level where they can threaten for their league lead in scoring without the challenge of NCAA experience at 17 years old. I’m very bullish on Lawrence and think he’s a great player to build a line and team around in some way. A natural centre with a style of play at the position that perfectly lines up with my philosophy of the position, Lawrence is a gamer, and in my opinion based on his last few games I’ve seen this year, he’s much closer to McKenna and Stenberg than he is to the tier behind these players.
You want to talk impressive seasons, I’m not sure any player has taken as great a leap as Viggo Björck. Habitually found on the first line playing centre for the Djurgårdens men’s team in the SHL is no small task, and by and large he’s been excellent in that role. A very capable transition driver, especially offensively, Viggo Björck has an exceptional view of the ice with great awareness and timing on his passes, stitching play together and generating almost 50% of his team’s shot attempts in some way, all while just 30% of his shot attempts come from outside scoring areas. While on paper Stenberg has a slight advantage in key areas, Björck has more evidence of physicality and net-driven grind off the puck, with awesome give-and-goes all over the ice, and vastly improving the pace and speed of his game in the last year. His key weakness is a combination of being a bit undersized without elite agility and speed in his skating, especially for a centre. I am personally less concerned as there is physical growth potential, and plenty of time to develop those areas. The thinking ability, pass vision, overall energy, and off-puck skill is very tantalizing, and it seems very possible that Björck goes significantly later than I would take him, which a smart NHL team may be able to capitalize on come draft day. A strong U18 might change that perception as it might for Lawrence, but as of today, I’m surprised at just how down many are on him.
One Olympic appearance and a loan to Germany since my last ranking has only solidified my view on Smits as a top choice for a defenseman in this class. He’s exactly what I’m looking for in a two-way player at the position for the modern game. Great skating range, a great frame, strong skill and puck protection ability that I’d love to nurture more, an off-puck awareness that looks for great scoring chances with limited perimeter shooting offense leading to cheap and unprojectable production. If he does make a pinch, he doesn’t disappear, often using his range to get back and cover his position, with strong defensive efficiency. He’s a bit of a rover though, with a transition profile looking more like a forward than a defenseman, but he’s such an interesting two-way presence with a level of impact almost everywhere. His pass vision across longer distances could use some work, being a bit calmer on the puck in his own end, but he’s more than capable of keeping the game simple and straightforward with a good team-first focus. He really brings a Brent Burns type vibe to the game, with a bit of that offensive zone confidence that might scare many coaches, but if you give him some rope and time to develop, you might end up with a premier 70/30 offensive split defenseman that is a rock solid addition to any team’s top four. I mean, the guy went to the Olympics for the Latvians, played a ton, and I saw him shutting down some of the world’s best players, especially in their game against the gold medal winning United States. He certainly didn’t seem overwhelmed in his role, and clearly looked like a guy that could and should hear his name called awfully early this year.
Villeneuve moving down from 2 in December might sound like a big jump, but other guys have simply caught up and shown a bit more dependability in key areas than Villeneuve, but if we’re looking at players with the highest upside in the entire draft, Villeneuve is absolutely #1 among defenders, and at worst in the top 3 overall. He’s an unbelievably skilled and daring offensive defenseman, putting up offensive data in my dataset that goes well beyond any other defender I’ve tracked in the last few years. In fact, since re-scaling my offensive threat metric (slot passing + dangerous shots) to more accurately evaluate defensemen, Villeneuve blows everyone so far out of the water that I almost considered rescaling the information again. Scott Morrow is the closest comparable on paper and he was playing at the prep school level which, for all the stuff I’ve put out there on the QMJHL and the CHL, is a big step up from that circuit. 40% of his shot attempts are from scoring areas. He passes the puck almost twice a minute with strong completion metrics, he generates more slot passes than J.P. Hurlbert and Caleb Malhotra, generates more dangerous shot attempts than every player with a decent sample in my dataset outside of Stenberg, and McKenna, and rivals names like Preston, and Belchetz when it comes to individual scoring chances. The kid is a machine, and he gets there in a way that I think could work against NHL competition. Shifty like Lane Hutson, explosive out of his skill moves like Cole Hutson, and underrated defensive metrics make him a remarkable case study. He generates turnovers effectively at both ends, is no worse defensively in transition than the other defenders available in the CHL to a significant level, while registering more involvement defensively through the neutral zone than every other CHL defender likely to be in this range. He can be frustrating and easy to beat physically, which for some is problematic, but I’m a believer in tolerating some downside in order to accept immense strengths, and I think Villeneuve is going to be a player where the strengths wildly outweigh the issues, and his play since returning from injury, as well as his play at the CHL/NTDP series and last year’s World U18 tournament all solidify how special I think this player is. It’s a tight group at the top but he very quickly becomes one of the most exciting players available if the chips fall like my model estimates.
Another player where a small drop isn’t necessarily because of them not being impressive, but this year, so many names have clumped up at the top of my board that things have just come down to philosophical preference and vibes, to be perfectly honest. I really like Verhoeff, and if things break right, he could be a player I should’ve had a tier or even two higher. Nobody in the entire class is better at defending bluelines than Verhoeff, and he doesn’t do it strictly through his range and off-puck play knocking down loose pucks and errant passes. 32% of his defensive transitions are stick checks, and he’s successful 85% of the time. For a 17 year old in the NCAA, that is absolutely wild. He’s got a great shot that just didn’t come out much in my sample, but what did was his excellent offensive zone vision and playmaking. On a dynamic offensive team like North Dakota, his presence was a bit more limited than it probably could’ve been, but as a player with defensive acumen and offensive zone ability, there isn’t a ton more you could want. That said, Verhoeff isn’t without faults, and in my view, in some very key areas. His footwork and range are great in open ice through the neutral zone but his defensive zone explosiveness and strength have been a bit of a detriment, as has his overall reliability procedurally moving the puck around the defensive and neutral zone offensively. He gets a ton of puck touches but turns it over in those zones more than I would like, his physical metrics are worse than you might expect, and his skill and puck settling ability at low-pace is still something to be worked on after months of seeing him deal with that. There’s a lot going right with Verhoeff, and the upside is significant, and like Gustafsson, he may take a bit of time to really break out, but with the right amount of patience and the right areas of development, Verhoeff could be a great addition to any team’s defense corps.
Another youngster with some immense growth in his game since the beginning of the year, Malte Gustafsson has become one of the most curious players in this draft class. My shakiest viewings of him came outside the SHL oddly enough, with some skill issues controlling the puck and dealing with pressure, but once he got challenged in the best league in Europe, he really came alive. In terms of projectable defending, leading with stick checking and positioning, fading into physical pressure and separating bodies from the puck, Gustafsson might be the best at it in this class. Great rates of physicality, strong transition efficiency going both ways, very strong pass completion rates, and flashes of some offensive zone magic all make for a very intriguing player that might be one of those guys who all of a sudden at 23 or 24 has a breakout NHL season and becomes an obvious top-end defensive player. I don’t know how much offense there will be down the road, but the ability is there, and his SHL team generated less offense per minute on the ice than almost anyone else I’ve tracked, and I don’t think you can lay that at the feet of a 17 year old defender with very good defensive metrics on that team. I may end the year with him a biiiiiit lower on my final board, but I’ve become enamoured with Gustafsson’s development and what he’s capable of when playing against very strong competition. His U18 tournament should he make an appearance will be very interesting and I expect him to be one of the more developed two-way presences out there.
Reid comes in around the same slot, even after others have had him as high as 1st overall. I like Reid, to be clear, and I think there isn’t a better straight line puck rusher in this draft, outside of maybe Xavier Villeneuve. He has an explosive skating ability that can build speed through the neutral zone with good skill in combination, using his frame to protect the puck effectively, and using his feet to patrol the neutral zone with ease. He’s efficient off the puck, with good shutdown ability and solid blueline defending results, but he largely achieves these results without close-quarters physical contact, and that’s where I find Reid’s game falters somewhat. Faster, more skilled OHLers have found their way through his physical pressure more often than others in this range. His offensive output also relies on perimeter shooting more than I’d like, especially when there is some good playmaking ability if he takes a step up from the blueline. He’s an intriguing package that reminds me a bit of a Morgan Rielly type, and say what you will of his game at his age now, but Rielly had a very good, long run as a legitimate top four NHL rushing defenseman with blueline-based offensive ability and powerplay upside. I think Reid could be that as well, and I can’t imagine he ends the year any lower than he is here.
Two things: Yes, I may have been a bit overzealous with putting Preston at 1 in a bigger first tier in December, but I still believe he might be the most undervalued player in the entire class. Seeing him ranked in the second round by many is borderline outrageous, as he went from one team that struggled to score and generate offense with him to a team that missed the playoffs and had the same problems. This is why I track the data I do. Preston played just 10 games with the Giants, but in that time he scored in 9, had 3 multi-point games, and had points on 44% of Vancouver’s goals in those games. It’s a smaller sample, but of all the players I’ve ranked, that is the highest value out of anyone playing on this continent. Yes, that includes Malhotra, Klepov, the Rucks, Hurlbert, and even Gavin McKenna. Preston has star upside, and every time I hear him speak and play hockey, I still see a potential regen of William Nylander there. The skill, speed, confidence, dual-threat offensive output, dominance of the neutral zone offensively, and underrated competitive nature are things to bet on to say the least.
So, why is he down here instead of at 1 still, well, the top has become much more crowded, and it’s undeniable that Preston is a frustrating player. If he isn’t moving his feet, he isn’t contributing much of anything, made all the more frustrating by seeing just how intense and hard to play against as he can be at times. One of the bigger hits I’ve seen this year came at Preston’s hand when down something like 7-1 at the end of the game. Clearly frustrated, capturing that intensity when things aren’t out of hand is something a good coach should be able to scrape out of him. There’s just too much to like with Preston, and if he’s a lottery team’s 2nd round pick, that’s astounding value if things break right. Like McKenna, it comes down to your perception of his willingness to learn, adapt, be a professional and be the best version of himself he can be. If he does, he very easily might be right up there with the top names in this class when all is said and done.

Tier 3 - The Scoring Fancy Boys

Novotny is one of the biggest rollercoaster rides of the year for me. For long stretches of games until recently, I was wondering what the heck happened to him after coming across the pond. It seems that a quick run to another successful World Junior tournament playing a significant role rebooted his “try hard” meter because the last few times I’ve seen him, he’s simply been outstanding. Dynamic, aggressive, making great forechecking reads, generating a ton of offense from scoring areas, chipping in through the neutral zone off the puck well, there’s plenty to love. His puck carrying results leave a lot to be desired, skating into pressure and trying to do too much himself with 50% of his attempts being carries with under a 50% success rate. Novotny, like others in this tier, is about his potential if he hits. Like others, the shot selection and defensive zone involvement needs improvement, as does his hockey sense through the neutral zone, but he’s one of a small handful of players who can seize a possession and dominate his competition, chaining play after play together generating excellent offensive results when all is said and done. I’ve got a few more games to watch and track of him, so there’s still room for him to shift around, and it may be somewhat significant, but the best moments are so, so good. I’m just constantly reminded of supremely individually talented wingers who need some development in the finer details like a Noel Gunler, and worry there’s a similar case in Novotny, but past traumas can’t prevent current excitement. If I get hurt again, so be it, and I can see how it might happen, but Novotny has taken a turn for the better in my experience, and the excitement in his game is worth betting on.
Upside is the name of the game for Cullen, and boy is there a lot of it. I liked Cullen a ton last season with the U17 team and for one of the youngest players in this draft, he has grown into one of the most impressive players on the NTDP, especially as a passer. Cullen has excellent offensive transition metrics across the board and is one of the most effective carriers in the class. His defensive game certainly needs work, but he has that Mitch Marner-esque ability to see the ice beyond what’s right in front of him. Working off defenders using skill to create passing lanes, hanging onto the puck for an extra split second to hit a secondary option, faking out opponents and changing lanes remarkably quickly, his on-puck talent is undeniably. A wicked wrist shot release is part of the equation too, but his selection needs work like many in this range. I’ve seen him play college opponents and he doesn’t look out of place, and at his best he is one of the most impressive NTDP players with the puck on his stick to say the least. He needs time to grow and round out his game, but he brings so, so much to build on in areas that really matter in this sport as an offensive player. I’m excited for his potential and while I might have him a bit lower at the end of the year, I still believe that his projection could be very, very positive.
Hermansson is another player whose rise this year has only complicated the top end of the class for me. He’s gone from an undeniably skilled and impressive scoring winger to a very capable play driver with great vision and playmaking ability, even under pressure. His transition game is exceptional at the HockeyAllsvenskan level, and on paper he might be one of the best passers through the neutral zone that I’ve tracked to this point. He’s a tremendous player when you look at the fundamentals, and while his defensive game is a question almost all-around, it isn’t so behind his offensive game that everything becomes problematic. Half his team’s offense comes from him somehow, and if he can just attack the middle of the ice a bit more with and off the puck there’s room for even more to like. He and Preston suffer from shot selection issues here and there, and while Preston’s raw shooting ability makes it a bit more tolerable, Hermansson isn’t quite there, and for that among other reasons I lean slightly more in Preston’s favour. If what you’re interested in is pure pace, skill and procedural offense, Hermansson is a great bet that has matured his game significantly to my eye in the last few months.
Belchetz is very odd. I think he could be a great complimentary presence on any line for an NHL team. There’s a bit of everything: Skill, physicality, shooting ability, playmaking ability in tough spots, efficiency in transition, and very little that doesn’t appear “good”, but there’s still something about him that I’m not sure I can put my finger on. His offensive threat metric is average with a 50/50 split between playmaking and shooting, which trails others, but he’s still generating 42% of his team’s shot attempts. I think it comes down to his overall pace of play being lower than expected and never really developing much, along with a big of a case of stone hands in transition on the receiving end of passes, where he trails many others in terms of that offensive efficiency. That said, it’s entirely possible that Belchetz’s skill, frame and physical potential might be more than enough to make it work against the NHL regardless of his upside impact. I’ve yo-yoed on him a ton, but I lean towards the idea that he’ll figure out some kind of way to be an impact in the NHL. For example, I would think a good role for him is a physical defensive zone player who is a leading pass target on breakouts with good forechecking energy and puck protection against bigger opponents, with an ability to make simple but effective plays in scoring areas, with good shooting power on the side for the fun part. Is that the most impactful thing out there? Maybe not, but it’s valuable, and he could be quite good at it.
I’ve really, really tried to see the “Best Centre in the Draft” in Malhotra and I just can’t do it, especially when looking at the other centres I’ve seen do their thing in tougher leagues on much worse teams. He continuously underperforms others in this range in very key areas: Defensive transitions, playmaking, and pass reliability. He’s adequate in the defensive zone, but he’s also back there a ton, at least significantly more than you’d think for a team as good as Brantford. He has had serious problems closing gaps off the puck and challenging puck carriers, let alone causing turnovers, but it isn’t all bad with Malhotra whatsoever. I see the appeal. He’s very comfortable facing pressure, absorbing opposition and making plays, he’s got some great hands able to throw pucks around the ice even when you think he can’t do it. As I write this, I think about how much I thought the exact same thing about Brantford’s elite player last year, Jake O’Brien, and the similar gaps in his game that there were. It’s a very good package of traits to build around, but the overall picture is very murky in my view. He’s really pushing the tier above, but I have seen too many off-puck gaps that hold him back from the tier above. If he goes very, very high, so be it, but I’m not there yet and I’ve almost got a full dataset on him to back up my thoughts. He doesn’t waste his shots when he does take them, and his offensive transition ability is undeniably strong, but the other areas cloud the projection a bit too much for him to round out the tier above.

Tier 4 - Bloop Singles and Home Runs Swings

Mutryn comes in right around where he was in December, largely because he’s one of the easiest players to project in this range. He’s pure energy and beef, and I love it. I am sacrificing some of my principles a bit with Mutryn this high because many of his data points are just plain not good, or at least not exemplary. He needs to be more physically engaged and make better reads in the defensive zone, he needs to get more aggressive through the neutral zone defensively, and he needs to power his way to the net on his puck touches more, but my god if there’s a Stanley Cup Playoff “will your way to winning the game” style of player in this class, it’s Mutryn. He’s throwing his constantly, causing turnovers in the offensive zone all the time, generating slot passes on 21% of his total pass attempts, and his game is all about capturing the best parts and seeing them more often. He got pulverized in so many metrics, but you see what he does on the ice and how he does it, and you just can’t help but be drawn to what could be possible. He isn’t some troglodyte flying around recklessly killing everyone, as there is an amount of skill and puck protection that needs to be more evident. People are looking for the next Tom Wilson, and it took time for him to sort out his offensive game, but once it clicked, it really clicked, and Mutryn might be on a similar path if all goes well. Luckily for him, Boston College looks to be a great landing spot for a big, heavy presence with flashes of finesse as names like Hemming and Letourneau have been making great gains in the same system.
Yes you read that right, in my sample, Vertti Svensk has not only played defense on the wrong side of the ice, but he’s played Liiga games on both sides of the forward position. He is a bizarre player and I fundamentally cannot understand why others haven’t found him as impressive as I have. Sure, there are issues defending on the rush when pressured, but you could say the same about Chase Reid and he might go top 3. That’s not to devalue Reid, to be clear, but Svensk seems to be written off for that shortcoming. For defensemen in this draft, the fundamentals might be among the best in the class. He’s an unbelievably explosive skater with great skill, comfortable at all kinds of paces of play, and he uses his feet to defend remarkably well, at least better than you would expect when you see him at his worst. His team was stuck in the defensive end a ton, but he broke up half of the cycles his team has faced in my sample, which regardless of position is gross. He’s got a large amount of tracked hits and offensive zone turnovers generated, with almost half of his shots taken from scoring areas. At the junior level, he’s got points on 35% of SaiPa’s points, which for a defenseman is top class, and having seen him there a few times, it’s obvious how he’s able to do it.
It has been wild watching him this year. Seeing him on the wing sent me off the deep end, and he clearly struggled at first, but every game at that position since, he’s looked more and more comfortable with a simply spectacular performance in Liiga at that position last time I saw him. Frankly, if this is the path he’s on long term, whatever, so be it, I don’t care. He’s gross, tons of fun to watch, and just based on fundamentals alone, he’s a player worth betting on and seeing where things go, especially if he’s drafted around where he’s projected to go, if he’s drafted at all.
Hemming has finally played some games, and he has not disappointed at all. Ruthless defensive impact at the college level ain’t easy, and he brings a somewhat limited, but interesting overall package of talents to the game that could easily do nothing but trend upwards. It’s important to remember that Oscar didn’t turn 17 until the middle of August last year, leaving an enormous amount of developmental runway, especially for a big guy. Hemming is physical, anticipatory off the puck, a dependable if a bit simplistic offensive transition weapon, and his shot is a nice stamp on top of it all. The big ticket area I’d be developing is his touch on the puck and the skill level he brings. He could be a bit too clunky on receptions and carries through the neutral zone, losing control too often and leading to unnecessary turnovers. Even on passes, Hemming seemed to have issues making quick reads, moving the puck and hitting targets with clear, crisp pass attempts, but again, this guy is barely eligible for this year and he’s a college hockey player. The story is a bit of a wild card, but the potential that could be percolating will be an intriguing one to NHL teams. He will likely be a player I watch quite a bit down the stretch and at the U18s considering his shortened season, but I can pretty easily see a player that at worst is a late first rounder with big development potential.
Since returning from injury, Ryan Lin has absolutely blown me away far more than I expected. My first few viewings of him were not necessarily negative, but projecting him to the NHL was nearly impossible as he was. Smart, well-positioned, and tactically sound, Lin had plenty of good ingredients, but a lack of defensive zone cycle involvement, getting absolutely destroyed possessionwise, and far more limited 5v5 offense than you would think were big, big concerns, but the agility and skill level in transition seems to have taken a jump, and while I still have some doubts, this is the area of the draft where the guys that make you go “wow” here and there should be at the worst. A good passer with excellent playmaking ability for a defenseman, Lin still lags some key indicators I look for in a defenseman, but with improvements to his range and skating ability should only make those areas better and better. I’ll be watching him at the U18 keenly, and I would expect him to be a major player for the Canadian team should he make an appearance.
Suvanto constantly flashes an impressive floor, with great off-puck presence, physical play, decent scoring chance generation on his own, and some flashes of simple but effective centre that could round out a lineup well. He’s a bit of a return to form for the traditional big Finnish centre who may not have the flash of others, but has the pressure management, size, strength, and team-based approach that that nation specializes in. I don’t know how much offense you’re going to get out of him in the NHL, but the ingredients are there, especially when you consider how young he is. This range of the class is so, close, and I can easily see the case for him being a tier higher if you believe in his trajectory. He’s a well-rounded and projectable talent that could help skilled players score, complement other physical players, or simply bang in chaotic goals off of point shots or perimeter playmaking.
Håkansson drops a bit from the top 10 as other names have really come along nicely in the time since December. His World Junior performance was rock solid as he usually is, showing poise, calmness, range and strong defensive abilities. His loan to Almtuna in HockeyAllsvenskan challenged him with more ice time and playing the right side of the ice, and he was clearly a bit uncomfortable in the role, struggling to settle the puck along the boards at times, panic passing to nobody out of the defensive zone, and getting turned around on the rush too often, but to me that just means you keep him on his strong side and call it a day, probably. He’s a player that brings more offensive potential to the game than you might think, with some good slot passing ideas that popped up once in a while off deceptive skill and fluid footwork on the blueline. He’s a dependable passer, an impactful defender, a confident puck carrier, and while he’s more advanced in age than others in this range, I think there’s a solid bottom four defenseman who might be able to do a solid job killing penalties and largely go unnoticed in a good way at the NHL level.
Plante has shifted around a bit here and there but he’s right where I left him in December. Similar to Mutryn, his profile is very straightforward, and similar to Mutryn, I love it. Dissimilar to Mutryn, Plante excels on my tracking sheet in many areas, and honestly my brain constantly keeps shifting to a Zach Benson type in Plante if he really hits. The energy, forechecking ability, raw determination and ability to play bigger than his size just makes so much sense to me, even if the raw skill isn’t close to where Benson was at this age. Plante is relentless with some of the best forechecking results I’ve tracked, driving 40% of his team’s offense on the ice, with 20% of his team’s offense coming directly from Plante in scoring areas. That is an outstanding metric to work with, and he’s doing it from in front of the net more than many others out there. His playmaking is slot driven with very strong rates, completing a solid amount of those attempts, leaving him with an offensive threat metric approaching 30, indicating a scoring chance or slot pass every 2 minutes or so at 5v5 for a forward. That may not sound like much, but over a 14 minute game, that’s 7 slot pass attempts or scoring chances, all done at 5v5. Plante’s brothers have set a fantastic example for him with their efforts and Victor will be joining them in Minnesota next season where I expect him to bump, grind, and annoy his way onto the scoresheet. What’s holding him back from a higher rank? He is a bit small for his style of play, the dynamic play in his game is questionable (I’ve seen many pure speed/energy guys struggle to translate into a good role over the years), and his play on the offensive side of the game is significantly more impactful and apparent than on the defensive side. That can be improved, and if Plante takes the same kinds of strides his brothers have taken, he may turn out to be the best of the bunch.
Goljer has floated around this range into the 2nd round all season for me and the last few times I’ve seen him, I’ve been on the optimistic side of the curve in the last few months having seen him post-World Junior. He was not too notable nor impactful at that event in my viewings, but his play in Slovakia desperately trying to keep his team in the top division gives me a level of reassurance that this is still a very strong defensive player with very intriguing upside. His size, youth, reach and skating range are all exciting talents to work with, and he has found many ways to stop opponents in their tracks without overcommitting physically and falling out of position. His pass vision is largely calm, well-thought out and accurate in most games, and it’s very difficult to ascertain his true offensive impact as his team, like other defenders this year, simply did not land scoring chances whatsoever. He was responsible for 30% of the shots his team has taken with him on the ice and much to my chagrin, he’s very limited on paper with regards to shot assists, but that also may have something to do with being surrounded by one of the worst teams in Slovakia’s top division. It is nearly miraculous that he managed to keep around a 50% shot differential considering how often he was found in the defensive zone doing whatever he could to break things up on his own. He is one of the busiest and most successful defenders in that area of the game in my dataset, and I believe it. Great awareness and sense off the puck puts him in good positions for well times knockdowns or stick checks, and he gets the puck moving up the ice effectively once the turnover is generated. I’d love to see him stretch out a bit and work on strengthening every stride to improve his puck carrying potential, but there is a good set of fundamentals that hopefully can work their way into an NHL lineup once he develops a bit more strength and gets some good experience at better levels of play.
I’ve come around on Carels a bit this year, but not because I think he’s some kind of elite offensive dynamo like his production would indicate. He does have bonkers rates off playmaking attempts for a defenseman and generates a good amount of shot assists as well as peppering the net with plenty of shots of his own from the blueline, but I just don’t think that side of his game truly translates as an offensive NHL defenseman. He wouldn’t be the first productive CHL defenseman to regress into more of a solid defensive one, and I believe this very well could be the trajectory, which puts him significantly lower on my list than everyone else. The skill and explosive feet necessary for that kind of a defender just isn’t there to my eye, and a lot of his offensive attempts that aren’t point shots seem to be throwing pucks into the middle of the ice with a hope and a prayer, which is difficult to find repeatable long term. Think names like Bogosian or Ceci and you might see more of where I’m coming from. Say what you will about those players, but they’ve had long careers and keep getting jobs, yes, even Cody Ceci, for their defensive results. In Carels’ case, this has been the area that has really jumped out at me. I’m often very scared of how flat-footed and inactive Carels can be on defensive transitions, something that is often borne out in the data, but the way he monitors his lane to the net, closes gaps to opponents and erases players with physical energy is really strong, and definitely projectable. I can see why NHL teams are really interested in this player, but as I’ve said many times, my gamble this year is that the CHL has taken a big step back and will continue to do so, which may completely reshape how we evaluate players, and I’m betting that Carels might be a product of a low quality of competition, at least offensively. Defensively, I believe in him and he’s right here with the other defense-forward defenders I like from around the world, but he’s almost certainly gone before this point, and time will tell whether my gamble was a good one.
In the last few months, I’ve seen a lot of Cole Hutson, and going back to my memories of him at 17, the strengths and the issues that I noted at that time, watching Tommy Bleyl in 2026 strikes an odd amount of similar chords as Cole did. Relentless confidence, attacking opposing defenders head-on, swinging the puck around their pressure, creating chances for others as well as himself. Good knocking the puck downin the offensive zone with a killer wrist and slap shot combination, Bleyl is absolutely not shy about trying to embarrass his opposition in the offensive zone. On the other hand, similar to both Hutson brothers, his defensive game in my opinion lags the others in this class by quite a bit. He’s very slight and easy to knock off pucks in my experience, with little physical energy to speak of and a very passive, positional approach on the rush, getting caught flat-footed, out of position or beaten to chipped pucks by pure speed from quick opponents. I had him a tier lower, but the upside clearly put him ahead of that group, but I also don’t feel the same level of conviction or certainty about those ahead of him. I could see him drafted around this range and for all the doubts I have and still have, the excitement factor is still obvious, and that carries value at this point on the list. If Cole Hutson can use his feet off the puck to be a physical player now better than he did at 17, Bleyl can too, and if there is at all any truth to the two being somewhat similar in approach, we could be in for a treat watching him shred the NCAA for a little while. Beyond that, who knows…
Andersson leads this tier, and this wasn’t the case before I started putting this together. Adam Andersson might be one of the most underrated players out there this year and it’s blowing my mind people aren’t seeing what he could be in a few years and valuing him as such, especially NHL Central Scouting. Let me know if this is attractive to you: A 6’3” centre born in July who has pace, skill, slippery playmaking, and is obviously driven to be a net-front scorer on and off the puck, who on paper dominated his opposition in my sample with a 75% shot attempt percentage at 5v5, almost 80% offensive transition efficiency with almost a perfect 33/33/33 split between passes, carries and receptions, who can make good off-puck reads at both ends of the ice to break up cycles and generate turnovers. Sounds pretty good to me, and honestly if his U18 showcases what I’ve seen in the last few viewings, he very well could land even higher on my list in June. The last few games I’ve seen of Andersson, his ability to generate offensive opportunity has grown by leaps, almost as if his coaches got in his ear reminding him that he is indeed, quite good at this sport, and can be a bit more confident and daring with his possessions. The puck protection, skill level, pace of play, it’s all awesome with him. Now the growth needs to come in transition defensively, and developing a bit more of a physical edge to his game, as he can be a bit too inactive, flat-footed and hesitant to use his natural tools to his advantage. He’s young, skilled, beeg, a centre, and has clearly taken good steps this year, but if people want to keep overlooking him because he was barely over a point per game in the Swedish junior circuit, so be it, but I’ll take him.
Every single time I’ve watched this player I am simply blown away. No, not when he’s playing carpenters and painters in Division 2 playing at home (where he led his team in scoring on their way to Division 1 promotion), but in all the ice time and data I’ve tracked when he’s gone anywhere else in Sweden and beyond to play hockey. Internationally, my tracked games are stellar, and he didn’t look out of place on a line with Elton Hermansson. His loan to Växjö has borne fruit, with 9 points in 5 games at the U18 level to this point, and a goal in his only U20 game, but having seen that game and a handful of U18 games, Sörensson could easily come out with even more on the scoreboard. Electrifying, dynamic, skilled, explosive and relentlessly confident, he will take time to learn how to play at a truly high level of play, but I’m a big, big believer in this guy. For a player coming from the doldrums of Swedish hockey to a premier club in the country and look like the best player on the ice for their junior team is no small feat, let alone his international appearances. Now, I must also note that there is chatter of issues that may limit his attractiveness to the NHL (nothing to be mad about, to be clear), but from the information gleaned in those conversations, other players have overcome the exact same situation and it’s gone largely unnoticed. At this point, he’s arguably the highest pure upside bet, and the most exciting player left that I haven’t written about yet to my eye. The hands, feet, dual-threat offense but ruthless shooting ability are all great, and I’d be more than thrilled to land him with a Team Scouching pick in the 3rd round and beyond.
Another 17 year old coming out of the NCAA, Morozov is going to be interesting to watch develop over the next few years. He brings size, clear physical intensity, shutdown defensive potential, and a decently reliable transition threat that should do a decent job eating some minutes in the NHL if a team’s strategy has a role for a player like him. His offensive metrics by and large are a complete black hole, but part of that may be his surroundings. I personally am not sure I completely buy that explanation, but it’s possible. At the end of the day, the profile is simple but effective. Big, physical, decently range-y with simple and effective passing work that doesn’t really drive much in the offensive zone at 5v5, but still manages to show potential to be a bit player, and at this point in the draft, getting a decent and dependable NHLer that can stick in your lineup is a win.
The big Lithuanian shoots up to the top of this tier, but the grasp isn’t particularly strong. Similar to Morozov, but on the wings, Simas Ignativicius is a fairly straightforward but effective complimentary player who has played both sides of the ice in a fast, skilled top Swiss division. As time goes on he has certainly not looked out of place, with very smart procedural playmaking around the ice through his passing, pulling the puck around defenders and forecheckers to find lanes and options. He has a decent amount of forechecking and physical results as well, with some nice off-puck instincts around the net to get to scoring areas and look for quick shots or tips in shooting lanes. Nothing is particularly standout with Ignativicius but I mean that in a good way. He’s a decently mobile, intelligent passer who, similar to a player like Hemming could use more skill development on pass receptions especially. Too many pucks bled through him for my liking, and considering how he thrives off his awareness and pass vision, he’ll get more reps to show that off if he can settle play a little bit better than he does. He’s big, pretty physical, smart on the puck, and a good coach should be able to extract more out of him as an off-puck scoring area threat that could slot in… somewhere doing… something…
Another very straightforward and simple profile, but a good one at that, Juho Piiparinen comes in quite a bit lower than in December, but once again, it’s more that things have compressed around him moreso than him not being particularly good. Piiparinen is rarely out of position, rarely making mistakes, is fluid on his feet, and drives very efficient defensive zone results, with flashes of offense that come out in ways that, while I’m not sure he’s going to be a big time NHL scorer, are impressive nonetheless. As a depth defenseman with good range, a great mind, and a diverse array of areas where he’s comfortable, Piiparinen might be another one of those defensemen in this class who you don’t notice a ton, but next thing you know he’s played 700 games and is a millionaire. If the expectation is a minutes eater who could kill penalties, with the youth and frame that provides interesting development potential, Piiparinen could easily be a target higher than this. If you buy the potential that the offense he shows in the junior league is projectable to the NHL, then he absolutely could be a guy that flies off the board pretty quickly. I am a bit more conservative in my projection, but it’s hard to see him falling any lower than this slot for me.

Tier 5 - The Smart, Energetic, Fun Bunch

Tier 6 - The Maybes and Big Maybes

Tier 7 - What’s Your Thing?

The Watchlist

The Watchlist is a collection of players I’ve enjoyed that I may not consider actually drafting, but show enough where they may be interesting re-entry candidates or late round swings.

Thanks for checking this out! If you have any questions, takes or thoughts, let me hear them on Scouching Live, Monday nights at 8pm EST, and Thursday afternoons at 2pm EST! Subscribe to Scouching on YouTube now!

Goalies

I’m no expert, but I think it’s a pretty strong year for goaltending around the world and these are the names I’ve liked in roughly an order in which I’d prefer them:

Dmitri Borichev
Yegor Rybkin
Tobias Trejbal
William Lacelle
Vladislav Yermolenko
Ryder Fetterolf
Xavier Wendt
Harrison Boettiger
Marek Sklenicka
Brady Knowling
Martin Neckar
Gleb Peshkov
Dmitri Ivchenko
Pyry Lammi
Matvei Karbainov

The Final 2026 NHL Draft Ranking

Tier 1 - The Special Ones

#1 | Gavin McKenna | LW | Penn State Nittany Lions | Apr. Rank (2)

#2 | Ivar Stenberg | RW | Frölunda HC | Apr. Rank (1)

#3 | Tynan Lawrence | C | Boston University | Apr. Rank (3)

Tier 2 - Basically Tier 1B

#4 | Viggo Björck | C/RW | Djurgården IF | Apr. Rank (4)

#5 | Alberts Smits | RSD | Jukurit Mikkelin/Red Bull Munich | Apr. Rank (5)

#6 | Mathis Preston | W | Vancouver Giants | Apr. Rank (10)

#7 | Xavier Villeneuve | LHD | Blainville-Boisbriand Armada | Apr. Rank (6)

Tier 3 - The Fancy-Pantses

#8 | Keaton Verhoeff | RHD | North Dakota Fighting Hawks | Apr. Rank (7)

#9 | Malte Gustafsson | LHD | HV71 | Apr. Rank (8)

#10 | Chase Reid | RHD | Soo Greyhounds | Apr. Rank (9)

#11 | Adam Novotny | LW | Peterborough Petes | Apr. Rank (11)

#12 | Wyatt Cullen | RW | U.S. National U18 Team | Apr. Rank (12)

#13 | Elton Hermansson | RW | MoDo Hockey | Apr. Rank (13)

#14 | Ethan Belchetz | LW | Windsor Spitfires | Apr. Rank (14)

#15 | Caleb Malhotra | C | Brantford Bulldogs | Apr. Rank (15)

#16 | Carson Carels | LHD | Prince George Cougars | Apr. Rank (24)

#17 | Vertti Svensk | RSD/W | SaiPa | Apr. Rank (17)

Tier 4 - Bloop Singles or Home Runs?

#18 | Wiggo Sörensson | C | Boro/Vetlanda HC/Växjö Lakers HC | Apr. Rank (27)

#19 | Oliver Suvanto | C | Tappara Tampere | Apr. Rank (20)

#20 | Oscar Hemming | LW | Boston College | Apr. Rank (18)

#21 | Casey Mutryn | W | U.S. National U18 Team | Apr. Rank (16)

#22 | William Håkansson | LHD/RSD | Luleå HF/Almtuna IS | Apr. Rank (21)

#23 | Victor Plante | LW | U.S. National U18 Team | Apr. Rank (22)

#24 | Ilia Morozov | C | Miami Univ. (Ohio) RedHawks | Apr. Rank (28)

#25 | Tommy Bleyl | RHD | Moncton Wildcats | Apr. Rank (25)

#26 | Adam Andersson | C | Leksands IF U20 | Apr. Rank (26)

#27 | Adam Valentini | F | Univ. of Michigan | Apr. Rank (35)

#28 | Jack Hextall | C | Youngstown Phantoms | Apr. Rank (31)

#29 | Ryan Lin | RHD | Vancouver Giants | Apr. Rank (19)

#30 | Juho Piiparinen | RHD | Tappara Tampere | Apr. Rank (30)

#31 | Adam Goljer | RHD | HK Dukla Trencin | Apr. Rank (23)

#32 | Jonas Lagerberg Hoen | RW | Leksands IF U20 | Apr. Rank (44)

#33 | Ryder Cali | C | North Bay Battalion | Apr. Rank (49)

#34 | Tomas Chrenko | C | HK Nitra | Apr. Rank (54)

#35 | Nikita Klepov | RW | Saginaw Spirit | Apr. Rank (36)

#36 | Gleb Pugachyov | W | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod | Apr Rank (32)

Tier 5 - Neat Guys Who Do Stuff

Tier 6 - The Real Big Swings

The Watchlist

Goalies

Scouching’s 2026 Mock Draft

1st Overall - Toronto Maple Leafs

Gut Pick: Gavin McKenna | Personal Pick: Gavin McKenna

2nd Overall - San Jose Sharks

Gut Pick: Ivar Stenberg | Personal Pick: Ivar Stenberg

3rd Overall - Vancouver Canucks

Gut Pick: Carson Carels | Personal Pick: Tynan Lawrence

4th Overall - Chicago Blackhawks

Gut Pick: Chase Reid | Personal Pick: Alberts Smits

5th Overall - New York Rangers

Gut Pick: Caleb Malhotra | Personal Pick: Chase Reid

6th Overall - Calgary Flames

Gut Pick: Keaton Verhoeff | Personal Pick: Viggo Björck

7th Overall - Seattle Kraken

Gut Pick: Alberts Smits | Personal Pick: Xavier Villeneuve

8th Overall - Winnipeg Jets

Gut Pick: Malte Gustafsson | Personal Pick: Malte Gustafsson

9th Overall - Florida Panthers Ottawa Senators

Gut Pick: Tynan Lawrence Ethan Belchetz | Personal Pick: Mathis Preston Caleb Malhotra

10th Overall - Nashville Predators

Gut Pick: Viggo Björck | Personal Pick: Keaton Verhoeff

11th Overall - St. Louis Blues

Gut Pick: Ethan Belchetz Tynan Lawrence | Personal Pick: Caleb Malhotra Carson Carels

12th Overall - New Jersey Devils

Gut Pick: Wyatt Cullen | Personal Pick: Wyatt Cullen

13th Overall - New York Islanders

Gut Pick: Adam Novotny | Personal Pick: Carson Carels Mathis Preston

14th Overall - Columbus Blue Jackets

Gut Pick: Daxon Rudolph | Personal Pick: Elton Hermansson

15th Overall - St. Louis Blues (from Detroit)

Gut Pick: Oliver Suvanto | Personal Pick: Adam Novotny

16th Overall - Washington Capitals

Gut Pick: Elton Hermansson | Personal Pick: Ethan Belchetz

17th Overall - Los Angeles Kings

Gut Pick: Ilia Morozov | Personal Pick: Oliver Suvanto