Prospect Info: 2026 NHL draft thread

[HoweFan]

I'd maybe trade up if a roobroeck or someone else was there

Maybe the London dman sokolovskii ? Bear's teammate? A few guys I like not home atm so cant take quick peak. Just someone with big upside regardless forward or d but I'd try forward

The London dman is huge and still 17 so I'd take a shot at him

I like Somolovskii at 47 if he is there. Later on I would like to see us draft Alexander Carmonov. A 6:08 and a 7:00 dman combo would be awesome

 

[wingsfannnn9191]

Vanhanen 180 … maybe I missed it but didn’t see wiggo sorenson

More dmen and goalies for us yayyyy we definitely need more dmen in our pipeline ( make a trade for Lukas Fischer ) but we also need elite centers and just guys who can go off for 80+ pts . Be nice if someone threw us a 3rd for 50% retained compher and our other scraps

Heard of Preston and didn’t hate the big Russian dman later but I think he’s an overager

Pronman 7 round mock

https://t.co/S3w9L6rR2q

 

[wingsfannnn9191]

Wasn’t he projected #2 for so long

Man if he was actually there 5-7 and we had a chance to trade up and grab him I would. Kid literally just turned 18 this month

 

[Henkka]

Thankatron has Tomas Chrenko at 47. Center from Slovakia, played all season against man , solid numbers. Not going to complain if we get him

Also got him at Finnish mock.

 

[lilidk]

Vanhanen 180 … maybe I missed it but didn’t see wiggo sorenson

More dmen and goalies for us yayyyy we definitely need more dmen in our pipeline ( make a trade for Lukas Fischer ) but we also need elite centers and just guys who can go off for 80+ pts . Be nice if someone threw us a 3rd for 50% retained compher and our other scraps

Heard of Preston and didn’t hate the big Russian dman later but I think he’s an overager

Pronman 7 round mock

https://t.co/S3w9L6rR2q

Wonder if Vanhanen still available at 47, definitely will take him there.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

Wonder if Vanhanen still available at 47, definitely will take him there.

I would take him in the third round, but not before then.

 

[wingsfannnn9191]

So sure a lots heard of the 7’1 dman by now karmanov… when’s he taken? 7’1 280 man …just that reach alone should keep him in the league if he could skate one would think. I think someone actually bites before rounds 6-7

If we landed a 4th id even take him then even if the chances of him making it are slim. Might as well risk it + we need to draft some left dmen cause all we have now is Keenan and Buium I believe

Alexander Karmanov - Stats, Contract, Salary & More

Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Alexander Karmanov, 2008-03-22 Chisinau, MOL Moldova. Most recently in the OHL with North Bay Battalion. Complete player biography and stats.

www.eliteprospects.com

 

[lilidk]

Get 3-5 17 years old. Not a good draft year.

 

[Debrincat93]

So sure a lots heard of the 7’1 dman by now karmanov… when’s he taken? 7’1 280 man …just that reach alone should keep him in the league if he could skate one would think. I think someone actually bites before rounds 6-7

If we landed a 4th id even take him then even if the chances of him making it are slim. Might as well risk it + we need to draft some left dmen cause all we have now is Keenan and Buium I believe

Alexander Karmanov - Stats, Contract, Salary & More

Eliteprospects.com hockey player profile of Alexander Karmanov, 2008-03-22 Chisinau, MOL Moldova. Most recently in the OHL with North Bay Battalion. Complete player biography and stats.

www.eliteprospects.com

using a pick on him is like throwing cash in a blender.

just no point. 0.00001 he pans out. hes too tall, those knees and legs will have issues. If not those, his back. Imagine that back after a season in the pros.

no worth it,

 

[Debrincat93]

He was also a 17-18 yr old kid … what made kienan Draper so special we had to pick him with one of our 2 7ths? We all know it was cause of Kris … chase bradley?

I’m not too worried about stats in the later rounds , I’d rather take a flyer on a young players and hope he wakes up the following year or 2 .. if we took Liam Lefebvre round 7 we’d all be saying it was a great pick right now

Obviously drafting isn’t easy . Didn’t work out with our 7th last yr but he was an August bday, I’d personally like to see moves like that and see what happens

lots of bad drafting.

 

[Realgud]

using a pick on him is like throwing cash in a blender.

just no point. 0.00001 he pans out. hes too tall, those knees and legs will have issues. If not those, his back. Imagine that back after a season in the pros.

no worth it,

Why would it matter more at 7'1 than a Chara at 6'9 for example? Just curious as I have no idea, does it happen in other sports where super tall players get those types of injuries?

 

[Debrincat93]

Why would it matter more at 7'1 than a Chara at 6'9 for example? Just curious as I have no idea, does it happen in other sports where super tall players get those types of injuries?

just IMO. I read some stuff where his skating is dog shit, his skills arent refined enough to be drafted. He's 7'1 which is intriguing but IMO not worth it.

but to each their own. this team has drafted worse.

 

[Realgud]

just IMO. I read some stuff where his skating is dog shit, his skills arent refined enough to be drafted. He's 7'1 which is intriguing but IMO not worth it.

but to each their own. this team has drafted worse.

Ah ok I was specifically wondering about the injury stuff but that's fair. I like him as a super project, but yeah, he's not NHL quality right now.

 

[HoweFan]

Yes I heard his skating is dogshit. As for hockey sense…well there is a reason teams wear different coloured sweaters just so he knows who to punch. If he can’t fight I don’t care. All he has to do is sit on them

 

[Oddbob]

Yes I heard his skating is dogshit. As for hockey sense…well there is a reason teams wear different coloured sweaters just so he knows who to punch. If he can’t fight I don’t care. All he has to do is sit on them

If you freeze that dogshit though and sharpen enough it could turn out pretty good. At least there might be brown streaks on the ice to help you know where he has been.

 

[Run the Jewels]

My Final Top 50 OHL Players for the 2026 NHL Entry Draft - Part 2: 20-1

The second and final part of my 2026 rankings release. Everyone always asks, so how do you view this class as a whole from the OHL? I think ...

ohlprospects.blogspot.com

These guys he has ranked between 6 and 15 all sound like they could be interesting for us.

I really like Bilecki. Roobroeck just screams Anthony Mantha. I can't see drafting him after McLellan made his rant last season about guys who are 'just jerseys'. He's also an older player with size, so if he's struggling at the OHL level that's not a great sign.

 

[Frk It]

I really like Bilecki. Roobroeck just screams Anthony Mantha. I can't see drafting him after McLellan made his rant last season about guys who are 'just jerseys'. He's also an older player with size, so if he's struggling at the OHL level that's not a great sign.

I guess I’d be curious how a guy with that much offensive skill was under .5 ppg in the OHL this year?

I didn’t really have a chance to watch any prospects this year, so struggling to see why that might have been.

But yeah, based on Brock’s write up he sounds very appealing.

 

[Realgud]

My top 100 + 50 HMs. Not a big fan of this year's draft, but this is my list based on shift-by-shift videos and catching/recording games on streams. Just for fun, and I try to make it personal and have as little outside influence as possible.

Spoiler: My top 100

1. Gavin McKenna - 6'0 LH Winger
2. Wyatt Cullen - 6'1 LH Forward
3. Keaton Verhoeff - 6'4 RH Defenseman
4. Ivar Stenberg - 6'0 LH Forward
5. Caleb Malhotra - 6'2 LH Center
6. Alberts Smits - 6'3 LH Defenseman
7. Chase Reid - 6'2 RH Defenseman
8. Viggo Bjorck - 5'9 RH Center
9. Carson Carels - 6'2 LH Defenseman
10. Wiggo Sorensson - 5'11 LH Forward
11. Jonas Lagerberg Hoen - 6'2 RH Winger
12. Nikita Klepov - 6'0 LH Forward
13. Malte Gustafsson - 6'4 LH Defenseman
14. Gleb Pugachyov - 6'3 LH Winger
15. Ilia Morozov - 6'3 LH Center
16. Daxon Rudolph - 6'3 RH Defenseman
17. Casey Mutryn - 6'3 RH Center
18. Jack Hextall - 6'1 RH Center
19. Marcus Nordmark - 6'2 LH Winger
20. J.P. Hurlbert - 6'0 RH Forward
21. Mathis Preston - 5'11 RH Forward
22. Ethan Belchetz - 6'5 LH Winger
23. Liam Ruck - 6'0 RH Forward
24. Ryder Cali - 6'2 LH Center
25. Jakub Vanecek - 6'2 LH Defenseman
26. Alexander Command - 6'1 LH Center
27. Tomas Chrenko - 5'11 RH Center
28. Nikita Shcherbakov - 6'5 LH Defenseman
29. Markus Ruck - 6'0 LH Forward
30. Maksim Sokolovskii - 6'8 LH Defenseman
31. Adam Novotny - 6'1 LH Winger
32. Beckett Hamilton - 5'11 RH Center
33. Matias Vanhanen - 5'11 LH Winger - (D+1)
34. Nils Bartholdsson - 5'11 RH Winger
35. Tynan Lawrence - 6'1 LH Center
36. Jaxon Cover - 6'1 LH Winger
37. Oliver Suvanto - 6'3 LH Center
38. Zac Olsen - 6'1 RH Forward
39. Oscar Holmertz - 6'1 LH Center
40. Oscar Hemming - 6'4 LH Forward
41. Jakub Floris - 6'3 RH Defenseman
42. Ryan Lin - 5'11 RH Defenseman
43. Adam Goljer - 6'2 RH Defenseman
44. William Hakansson - 6'4 LH Defenseman
45. Brooks Rogowski - 6'6 RH Center
46. Tommy Bleyl - 6'0 RH Defenseman
47. Xavier Villeneuve - 5'11 LH Defenseman
48. Mikey Berchild - 5'10 LH Winger
49. Mans Josbrant - 5'11 LH Winger
50. Victor Plante - 5'10 LH Winger
51. Axel Elofsson - 5'11 RH Defenseman
52. Elton Hermansson - 6'1 RH Winger
53. Ben MacBeath - 6'2 LH Defenseman
54. Michal Jakubec - 6'1 LH Center
55. Pierce Mbuyi - 5'11 LH Winger
56. Ryan Roobroeck - 6'4 LH Forward
57. Giorgos Pantelas - 6'2 RH Defenseman
58. Tobias Trejbal - 6'4 RH Goalie
59. Lavr Gashilov - 6'2 LH Center
60. Filip Novak - 6'1 LH Forward
61. Morgan Anderberg - 5'11 LH Forward
62. Juho Piiparinen - 6'3 RH Defenseman
63. Simas Ignatavicius - 6'3 RH Forward
64. Evan Jardine - 6'0 LH Forward
65. Samu Alalauri - 6'2 RH Defenseman
66. Adam Valentini - 5'10 LH Forward
67. Connor Davis - 6'0 RH Winger - (D+1)
68. Anders Miller - 6'2 LH Goalie - (D+1)
69. Lukas Sawchyn - 5'10 RH Winger - (D+1)
70. Ethan MacKenzie - 6'1 LH Defenseman - (D+2)
71. Ola Palme - 6'2 LH Defenseman
72. Brek Liske - 6'2 RH Defenseman
73. Viktor Fyodorov - 5'11 LH Center
74. Aaron Obobaifo - 5'10 LH Center - (D+1)
75. Niklas Aaram-Olsen - 6'1 LH Winger
76. Kalder Varga - 5'11 RH Forward
77. Luke Schairer - 6'3 RH Defenseman
78. Alexander Bilecki - 6'2 LH Defenseman
79. Blake Zielinski - 6'0 RH Forward
80. Yegor Shilov - 6'1 LH Center
81. Parker Trottier - 6'1 LH Forward
82. Marek Sklenicka - 6'4 LH Goalie
83. Adam Andersson - 6'4 LH Center
84. Jonah Sivertson - 6'3 RH Forward
85. Vertti Svensk - 6'1 LH Defenseman
86. Parker Snell - 6'2 LH Goalie
87. Anthony Thomas-Maroon - 6'0 LH Winger
88. Emil Saaby Jakobsen - 6'4 LH Defenseman
89. Jiko Laitinen - 6'0 LH Center
90. Reese Hamilton - 6'0 LH Defenseman - (D+1)
91. Dayne Beuker - 5'10 RH Center
92. Dmitri Borichev - 6'3 LH Goalie
93. Julien Maze - 5'9 LH Forward
94. Jayden Kurtz - 6'3 RH Defenseman
95. Cohen Harris - 5'11 RH Forward
96. Alan Shaikhlislamov - 6'1 LH Winger
97. Lucas Zajic - 5'11 RH Winger
98. Vladislav Mishin - 6'4 LH Center
99. Andreas Klove Mogensen - 6'0 LH Winger
100. Tobias Tomik - 6'1 LH Forward

Spoiler: 50 HMs (alphabetical order)

Hunter Aura - 5'11 LH Defenseman
Carl Axelsson - 6'4 LH Goalie - (D+1)
Joby Baumuller - 5'11 RH Forward - (D+1)
Harrison Boettiger - 6'2 LH Goalie
Lucas Brauer - 6'1 LH Center
Maddox Dagenais - 6'4 LH Center
Louis-Antoine Denault - 6'8 LH Goalie - (D+1)
Alessandro Di Iorio - 6'1 RH Center
Vladimir Dravecky - 6'0 RH Defenseman
Beckham Edwards - 6'1 LH Center
Valter Elisson - 6'3 LH Defenseman
Liam Elofsson - 5'11 RH Forward - (D+1)
Joe Erickson - 6'5 RH Center
Samuel Eriksson - 6'5 LH Defenseman
Yaroslav Fedoseyev - 6'2 RH Defenseman
Ryder Fetterolf - 6'0 LH Goalie
Tomas Galvas - 5'10 LH Defenseman - (D+2)
Justin Graf - 6'1 LH Center - (D+1)
Chase Harrington - 6'1 LH Forward
Joe Iginla - 5'10 RH Forward
Matvei Karbainov - 6'1 LH Goalie
Mikael Kim - 5'11 LH Center
Cohen Klassen - 6'0 LH Forward
Nikita Koltsov - 5'10 LH Center
Noah Kosick - 6'0 LH Center
Matvei Kotkov - 5'11 LH Forward
Kirill Kutuzov - 6'0 LH Winger - (D+1)
Noel Lundell - 6'3 LH Center
Yanis Lutz - 5'11 LH Center
Andrei Maltsev - 6'1 LH Defenseman
Ivan Matta - 5'11 LH Forward
Adam Nomme - 5'11 RH Winger
Michal Orsulak - 6'4 RH Goalie - (D+1)
Patriks Plumins - 6'3 LH Goalie
Daniel Reidzans - 6'1 RH Forward
Dominik Ripa - 5'10 LH Center
Stefans Rots - 6'2 RH Winger
Timofei Runtso - 6'3 RH Defenseman - (D+1)
Filip Ruzicka - 6'8 LH Goalie
Yegor Rybkin - 6'7 RH Goalie
Mikhail Shebyakin - 6'1 RH Forward
Jere Somervuori - 6'0 LH Winger - (D+1)
Patrick Sopiarz - 6'0 RH Forward
Lars Steiner - 5'10 RH Winger
Dmitri Timashev - 6'2 LH Defenseman - (D+1)
Anttoni Uronen - 6'1 LH Forward
Atte Vuori - 5'10 LH Center
Cooper Williams - 6'1 LH Forward
Jonas Woo - 5'9 RH Defenseman - (D+1)
Carson Woodall - 6'0 LH Defenseman - (D+2)

 

[Run the Jewels]

I wrote up a very long article with 12 suggested prospects for Detroit and where I would select them between picks #47 and #207.

Here's the link: Red Wings 2026 NHL Draft Primer

Here's the TL/DR version

Pick #47
Adam Valentini
Yegor Shilov
Alexander Bilecki
Samu Alalauri

Top 50-100 picks
Matias Vanhanen
Måns Gudmundsson
Adam Andersson
Axel Elofsson

100-200 picks
Yaroslav Bryzgalov
Noah Kosick
Adam Levac
Chad Lygitsakos

 

[Holden Caufield]

Interesting. Definitely makes CHL players slightly more appealing now.