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2026 NHL Draft Thread

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PerryTurnbullfan

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Sep 30, 2006
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Thought I would start a 2026 NHL Draft thread... It really looks strong to me. Not as strong at Center or goal, but 3 rounds of solid talent. Many D are very good value RH and LH

Early Highlight Players w/ potential no particular order
Novak
Katolicky
Vanhatolo
Suvanto
Pilparinen
Smits
Alalauri
Fyodoroiv
Shaikhlislamov
Gashilov
Pugachyov
McKenna
Verhoeff
Valentini
Roebroeck
Belchetz
Reid
Novotny
Edwards
Di lorio
Wassilyn
Hemming
Fitgerald
Mbuyi
Villenueve
Murnieks
Steiner
Dagenais
Shilov
Nemic
Chrenko
Goljer
Stenberg
Bjork
Nordmark
Hemansson
Knights
Aaram-Olsen
Hakansson
Gustafsson
Homertz
Elofsson
Dravecky
Bartholdsson
Lawrence
Berchild
Schairer
Hextall
Zielinski
Mutryn
Preston
Lin
Rudolph
Carels
Tomik
Hurlbert
Williams
Ruck, Liam
Vanecek
Pantelas
 
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1- At least for right now; I'm not particularly inclined towards taking a D man. I want to see how Broberg, Mailloux, Lindstein and Jiricek develop this year. It's entirely possible that we have a pretty darn good top 4 brewing in the system.

2- Center appears to be weak at the top of the Draft, but there is a pretty strong group that starts to emerge in the second half of the first round(Holmertz, Edwards, Wassilyn, Di Iorio, Fyodorov, Chrenko, Hextall, Malhotra(playing for Brantford with Jiricek), Gashilov(already at 6 points in his first 2 games in the MHL for Yekaterinburg), Murnieks, Valentini, Hurlbert).

I'm not going to ignore the other positions; but this is the group I'm focused on at this point(really wish I could see more of the two Russians, stupid Ukraine War is ruining my prospect porn).

3- Important to note that we have no 2nd round pick, but we have two 5th round picks(5th round wouldn't be a bad place to snag a goalie to develop alongside Harenstam).

Also important to note that Ottawa has a forfeited 1st round pick this year(Dadonov sanction).
 
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When was the Ottawa penalty announced? I missed that. I had been under the impression no one really got in trouble for that fiasco.
 
Stupendous Yappi said:
When was the Ottawa penalty announced? I missed that. I had been under the impression no one really got in trouble for that fiasco.
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The penalty for that fiasco was the loss of a first in '24, '25 or '26(team discretion). Ottawa chose to keep their pick in '24 and '25. Ergo, they lose their '26 pick.
 
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So how do we draft Stenberg and make them the next Sedins, except with winning in the playoffs? xD
 
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kimzey59 said:
1- At least for right now; I'm not particularly inclined towards taking a D man. I want to see how Broberg, Mailloux, Lindstein and Jiricek develop this year. It's entirely possible that we have a pretty darn good top 4 brewing in the system.

2- Center appears to be weak at the top of the Draft, but there is a pretty strong group that starts to emerge in the second half of the first round(Holmertz, Edwards, Wassilyn, Di Iorio, Fyodorov, Chrenko, Hextall, Malhotra(playing for Brantford with Jiricek), Gashilov(already at 6 points in his first 2 games in the MHL for Yekaterinburg), Murnieks, Valentini, Hurlbert).

I'm not going to ignore the other positions; but this is the group I'm focused on at this point(really wish I could see more of the two Russians, stupid Ukraine War is ruining my prospect porn).

3- Important to note that we have no 2nd round pick, but we have two 5th round picks(5th round wouldn't be a bad place to snag a goalie to develop alongside Harenstam).

Also important to note that Ottawa has a forfeited 1st round pick this year(Dadonov sanction).
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I think you will have a few centers come out of the woodwork this year. There are plenty of kids with size, speed, and skill, but lacked opportunity on scoring lines with clogged junior hockey. I think the college CHL agreement will alleviate some of this problem. Watch out for Suvanto. Very impressive at the Hlinka.
 
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PerryTurnbullfan said:
Thought I would start a 2026 NHL Draft thread... It really looks strong to me. Not as strong at Center or goal, but 3 rounds of solid talent. Many D are very good value RH and LH

Early Highlight Players w/ potential no particular order
Novak
Katolicky
Vanhatolo
Suvanto
Pilparinen
Smits
Alalauri
Fyodoroiv
Shaikhlislamov
Gashilov
Pugachyov
McKenna
Verhoeff
Valentini
Roebroeck
Belchetz
Reid
Novotny
Edwards
Di lorio
Wassilyn
Hemming
Fitgerald
Mbuyi
Villenueve
Murnieks
Steiner
Dagenais
Shilov
Nemic
Chrenko
Goljer
Stenberg
Bjork
Nordmark
Hemansson
Knights
Aaram-Olsen
Hakansson
Gustafsson
Homertz
Elofsson
Dravecky
Bartholdsson
Lawrence
Berchild
Schairer
Hextall
Zielinski
Mutryn
Preston
Lin
Rudolph
Carels
Tomik
Hurlbert
Williams
Ruck, Liam
Vanecek
Pantelas
Click to expand...
Nice list. Lots of names I’m not familiar with yet.

I put together a preliminary list a couple weeks ago after watching the WJSS in person and some of the U18s on paper. I’m sure it’ll be way different in June but want to write this down so I can compare it to months from now.

1. McKenna
2. Stenberg
3. Verhoeff
4. Lawrence
5. Roobroeck
6. Belchetz
7. Lin
8. Bjork
9. Suvanto
10. Rudolph
11. Nordmark
12. Preston
13. Novotny

Also liked Olivers Murnieks and Oscar Hemming of what I’ve seen of them.

Agree on Suvanto having the ability to rocket up boards. Seems very skilled and he’s only eligible for this draft by a couple of weeks. Very late birthday.
 
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STL fan in MN said:
Nice list. Lots of names I’m not familiar with yet.

I put together a preliminary list a couple weeks ago after watching the WJSS in person and some of the U18s on paper. I’m sure it’ll be way different in June but want to write this down so I can compare it to months from now.

1. McKenna
2. Stenberg
3. Verhoeff
4. Lawrence
5. Roobroeck
6. Belchetz
7. Lin
8. Bjork
9. Suvanto
10. Rudolph
11. Nordmark
12. Preston
13. Novotny

Also liked Olivers Murnieks and Oscar Hemming of what I’ve seen of them.

Agree on Suvanto having the ability to rocket up boards. Seems very skilled and he’s only eligible for this draft by a couple of weeks. Very late birthday.
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I want the 7 footer!
 
PerryTurnbullfan said:
I want the 7 footer!
Click to expand...
Attempt at humor aside; there's not a lot of "giants"(6'6" and up) available this year(unless Russia has some secret stash that they've yet to reveal). I'm really only seeing 3 players in that size bracket, and one of them is a goalie(Rybkin).

Of course, there also don't seem to be too many "mighty mites"(5'10" or under) either(a few very notable ones at the top end of the Draft but not too overly many beyond that). Most of this class seems to fall in the "average height"(5'11'-6'4") range of the spectrum. It's actually a bit odd to not have more size disparity in a draft class.
 
kimzey59 said:
Attempt at humor aside; there's not a lot of "giants"(6'6" and up) available this year(unless Russia has some secret stash that they've yet to reveal). I'm really only seeing 3 players in that size bracket, and one of them is a goalie(Rybkin).

Of course, there also don't seem to be too many "mighty mites"(5'10" or under) either(a few very notable ones at the top end of the Draft but not too overly many beyond that). Most of this class seems to fall in the "average height"(5'11'-6'4") range of the spectrum. It's actually a bit odd to not have more size disparity in a draft class.
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We joked about drafting Chara when the draft was in St. Louis. Jokes on us rather have him than Marty Reasoner. Haha
 
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Are their any players catching your eye early this season?
I watched a London game and they have this monster D named Maxim Sokolovksy 6'8" and skates and moves like he's 6'2". I wouldn't be surprised if he isn't in late 1st conversation by the end of the year. Looks much better than some of the monsters that were drafted last year. I haven't seen him listed on any draft boards of yet. I wasn't impressed of yet by Cover or Hawery who are getting some draft attention.

I caught a Brantford game and was impressed by a center Caleb Malhotra. Skates well, has skill, and plays an aggressive game that could make him a bottom six center that can put up some points. Aiden O'Donnell a winger looks like he may be a late round pick. Skates well and has some potential. I can't say I was impressed by Vladimir Dravecky puck moving D. It may take him time to get acclimated. I don't see a high pick of yet.

Jett Kwajah of the Madison Capitols RHD caught my eye. He is a project, but he can really skate. Made some plays. Doesn't shy away from contact. A little small and thin now, but 4-5 years from now, he may be a 3-6 D man.

From the Soo, Chase Reid is a 1st round pick. He can do a lot of things. I don't think he is a top pair defenseman though. He has some work to do especially managing larger players. It's like he doesn't have a game plan to win that battle. They need to get rid of one of the Brady Smiths...that's too confusing. I can't say how he was. Croskery LHD I don't see a player there. Smallish can skate, but I think he taps out in the AHL.

From Sarnia, I caught Lukas Fischer's first game back and he wasn't very good defensively. He left his post way too often and gave up several chances for the opposition. He had two assists, but not a good defensive showing. I can't say any of the draft eligibles impressed me including Beckham Edwards. Sudbury just isn't very good. I think they are waiting for some players to get cut.
 
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PerryTurnbullfan said:
Are their any players catching your eye early this season?
I watched a London game and they have this monster D named Maxim Sokolovksy 6'8" and skates and moves like he's 6'2". I wouldn't be surprised if he isn't in late 1st conversation by the end of the year. Looks much better than some of the monsters that were drafted last year. I haven't seen him listed on any draft boards of yet. I wasn't impressed of yet by Cover or Hawery who are getting some draft attention.

I caught a Brantford game and was impressed by a center Caleb Malhotra. Skates well, has skill, and plays an aggressive game that could make him a bottom six center that can put up some points. Aiden O'Donnell a winger looks like he may be a late round pick. Skates well and has some potential. I can't say I was impressed by Vladimir Dravecky puck moving D. It may take him time to get acclimated. I don't see a high pick of yet.

Jett Kwajah of the Madison Capitols RHD caught my eye. He is a project, but he can really skate. Made some plays. Doesn't shy away from contact. A little small and thin now, but 4-5 years from now, he may be a 3-6 D man.

From the Soo, Chase Reid is a 1st round pick. He can do a lot of things. I don't think he is a top pair defenseman though. He has some work to do especially managing larger players. It's like he doesn't have a game plan to win that battle. They need to get rid of one of the Brady Smiths...that's too confusing. I can't say how he was. Croskery LHD I don't see a player there. Smallish can skate, but I think he taps out in the AHL.

From Sarnia, I caught Lukas Fischer's first game back and he wasn't very good defensively. He left his post way too often and gave up several chances for the opposition. He had two assists, but not a good defensive showing. I can't say any of the draft eligibles impressed me including Beckham Edwards. Sudbury just isn't very good. I think they are waiting for some players to get cut.
Click to expand...

Really wish I could get some better views of him; but Lavr Gashilov's numbers are eye popping.
6'2" center at 2 points per game(14 points in 7 games) in the MHL(tied for the League lead in scoring).
It's only a matter of time before he gets called up to the KHL and I'm sure the production will slow once that happens, but he's doing everything right to earn a spot in the 1st round.
 
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kimzey59 said:
Really wish I could get some better views of him; but Lavr Gashilov's numbers are eye popping.
6'2" center at 2 points per game(14 points in 7 games) in the MHL(tied for the League lead in scoring).
It's only a matter of time before he gets called up to the KHL and I'm sure the production will slow once that happens, but he's doing everything right to earn a spot in the 1st round.
Click to expand...
The few reports that I have found on him say he's a very good skater and plays physical. That would have to put him in 1st round consideration. Totally agree and have been trying to find more on him.
 
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PerryTurnbullfan said:
Half of those players aren’t centers. The one black hole in the draft, but lots of talent and size at d and on the wings
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Late 1st and early second(the area I expect us to land) has a pretty decent crop of centers.
The early indication is that the majority of them are closer to Zach Dean level than anything else, but there's a fair number of them in that range.
 
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kimzey59 said:
Late 1st and early second(the area I expect us to land) has a pretty decent crop of centers.
The early indication is that the majority of them are closer to Zach Dean level than anything else, but there's a fair number of them in that range.
Click to expand...
I don’t disagree. It’s still early. Flo sports is keeping me hopping….
 
PerryTurnbullfan said:
Half of those players aren’t centers. The one black hole in the draft, but lots of talent and size at d and on the wings
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2025 - 15
2024 - 13
2023 - 13
2022 - 16
2021 - 10
2020 - 14

That's the number of centers drafted in the top 40 of each of the last 6 drafts. On average, that's 13.5 centers in the top 40 per draft, which is less than half. Ellis' list has 18, which would be around +2 standard deviations. He's far from the authoritative voice on prospects, and there's so very much hockey left to be played, but based on this one preseason ranking, yes it's a good draft for centers.
 
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