Craig Button early 2026 top 10 mock

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Don’t agree with you on Lin. If he can surpass the 6’0 mark, he absolutely has the skillset for a top-10 pick. Im not sure if you’re basing this on the U-17 only; he’s been dominant at times in the WHL as a 16 year old. A lot to sort out before next year of course, but the talent is there.

He’s 5’11 right now. And I’d actually say the magic number is 6’1. If you look at the 2024 draft, 6’1 vs. 6’0 seemed to matter a lot as opposed to 6’0 vs. 5’11. Maybe that won’t become a trend every draft, but 6’0 is technically a little undersized for a defenseman in today’s NHL. Maybe he’s the next ASP or someone like that, but I’m not seeing it right now. I think at this point if you are a defenseman under 6’1 you better be elite outside of the size, and I see a very mature game but not elite tools outside of size from Lin.