2026 NHL Draft Thread

[howard_the_duck]

He was, but more mic time for Bettman is generally bad. Still better than what we saw this year.

[devo22]

bad for the product, and obviously didn't lead to increased trade activity either. Lose-lose, really. Sucks.

[Paulie Walnuts]

It’s really not a hard concept to pull off at all. The NFL and NBA have hard zero issues and the NFL draft is one of the most talked about.

Felt like the NHL tried to purposefully sabotage the draft with the stupid add ins.

Create a green room. Get rid of the stupid stupid meet you r team virtually draft room and you have a much better experience.

We don’t need 15 minutes to tick off and watch 50 staff slow walk to the stage to have 1 guy announce the pick.

[Ashes]

Tynan Lawrence is one of the few Centers available in the top half of the 2026 draft (projected), a member of the staff for the Muskegon Lumberjacks is a family friend and they're really high on this kid. Apparently he's a very strong skater with great top-line speed - which I haven't seen mentioned in early scouting reports. Take this with a massive grain of salt but he said it's not a player comparable - but the way he ramps up his speed is similar to mcdavid. If he keeps working on it he'll be an absolute burner. He's going to have a good summer and from what I've heard they're expecting him to be a slam dunk top-10 pick. Thinks he's still growing and might be 6'1, Will get more info on him throughout the season.

A few other tidbits on some players that have gone through that program recently:

Gridin: super high skill level, deadly on the PP. Just coming into his own, will be a top-6 NHL'er in no time after a little bit of AHL seasoning and if he earns his special teams time he'll surprise alot of people.

Ryabkin: was running around drilling kids with heavy hits when he first turned up, bit of a head-case but will be in the NHL without a doubt just from the skill level. He's interested to see how he adjusts to the NHL when he's not able to throw his weight around the same way, it's gonna be real tough for his ego he thinks but not insurmountable.

[mile]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1953899454202802395

[YyjFlames]

Originally Posted by mile

https://twitter.com/user/status/1953899454202802395

I'd be surprised if that becomes anything more than a click-bait story line this year, unless McKenna has serious "no one came to his birthday party" problems. McKenna put up video game numbers in his D -1 year (he almost matched Connor McDavid's draft year production).

Verhoeff is a big, skilled defender and will get drafted highly and maybe number 2, but he benefitted and will continue to benefit from playing with Reschny, and I feel like folks will notice that more this year with them playing together in the NCAA rather than on Vancouver Island.

He's talented and big and will be an excellent defender, but McKenna is nearly generational (and I hate that term).

[Canada 02]

Team Canada's blueline for the Hlinka is insane

https://twitter.com/user/status/1953494999771004970

[Samonadreau]

^ 3 of the top 4 D are from Alberta, too.

[mile]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1954228636497903907

[Robbob]

I guess it is a good thing to be sitting on 2 first round picks so far.

[Samonadreau]

Be nice to get another 1st, then try and trade up with 2 of them. And still have 2. Lets get some high picks.

[Snuffleupagus]

Like last years Jake O'Brien a player I thought would rise over the year into the top 15 of the draft is right shot center Colin Fitzgerald, not the same player but he's a big smart competitive center with nice talent, a great shot and loves to smack players around.

Unlike O'Brien I hope his stock doesn't rise so much that the Flames have no shot at him but keep an eye out on him.

[stemit14]

Originally Posted by Samonadreau

Be nice to get another 1st, then try and trade up with 2 of them. And still have 2. Lets get some high picks.

Like the Sharks in the 2024 draft ir the Islanders in the 2025 draft, it can be a huge boost to a rebuild if you can get a pick in the top 5 and then another in 10-16 range in the same draft. You get a shot at a potential franchise player (Celebrini/Schaefer) and then can pick up a player that potentially drops out of the top 10 who has huge upside (Dickinson/Ecklund).

Not exactly in the flames control where their picks will land but it would be nice for the hockey gods to help the flames out for once with these kind of things. Vegas having a Nashville-level disappointing year would be incredible.

[Fan69]

Originally Posted by stemit14

Like the Sharks in the 2024 draft ir the Islanders in the 2025 draft, it can be a huge boost to a rebuild if you can get a pick in the top 5 and then another in 10-16 range in the same draft. You get a shot at a potential franchise player (Celebrini/Schaefer) and then can pick up a player that potentially drops out of the top 10 who has huge upside (Dickinson/Ecklund).

Not exactly in the flames control where their picks will land but it would be nice for the hockey gods to help the flames out for once with these kind of things. Vegas having a Nashville-level disappointing year would be incredible.

The pendulum has to swing is a saying i use often. It seems like any condition in any trade i can think of that would get us a better pick would never come to fruition. A lot of trades seem to get engineered to minimize value. We have lost a pile of assets lately. Ahem…. Johnny, ahem …. Dube. The ridiculous Monahan deal.

Having vegas melt down and get us a top pick would make up for a lot and return balance to the universe.

[devo22]

Originally Posted by Canada 02

Team Canada's blueline for the Hlinka is insane

https://twitter.com/user/status/1953494999771004970

the amount of good young RDs that Canada has is insane

Parekh, Yakemchuk, Brunicke and Elick drafted in 2024
Verhoeff, Rudolph and Lin in 2026
Dupont in 2027

2022 and 2023 drafts also had a few decent ones (Bonk, Gibson, Luneau). 2025 a bit of an outlier ... but especially with the two draft classes coming up, that is unreal depth for what is usually a premium position.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Fan69

The pendulum has to swing is a saying i use often. It seems like any condition in any trade i can think of that would get us a better pick would never come to fruition. A lot of trades seem to get engineered to minimize value. We have lost a pile of assets lately. Ahem…. Johnny, ahem …. Dube. The ridiculous Monahan deal.

Having vegas melt down and get us a top pick would make up for a lot and return balance to the universe.

Need the Oilers, Kings and Canucks to finish ahead of Vegas. Nobody else in this terrible division has a chance to finish higher than them. Then if the Central has another strong year they may miss the playoffs.

[Canada 02]

Top prospects today at the Hlinka
https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/20...douts-on-day-1

#3 Keaton Verhoeff, D: Verhoeff was all over the ice today. He scored in the first period and then made a great play that would have led to a 3-2 goal had it not been waved off for goaltender interference. The North Dakota commit would go on to register an assist early in the third period on the 4-2 goal. Verhoeff is a huge, skilled defender who proved to be way too much for the Finns to contain, and he only got better as the game wore on. He’ll be one of the first players taken at the 2026 NHL Draft.

#11 Tynan Lawrence, C: I loved Lawrence’s game today. He just kept driving the net, shoving guys around and generating quality chances in high-danger areas. The USHL star has always impressed when wearing Canadian colors because few players are determined to win puck battles like he does. I liked his effort on the 2-0 goal, but I’m surprised he didn’t have more offense.

#14 Mathis Preston, RW: Preston is so, so skilled. He’s so fast, and he has the hands and the hockey IQ to follow. I thought he had a decent showing at selection camp a few weeks back, but he has looked a lot more comfortable and dominant with the puck heading to Europe. He didn’t score, but he seemed involved in just about every dangerous moment his line had.

#15 Ethan Belchetz, LW: Belchetz had a goal, two assists and a (failed) Michigan attempt in a great effort for the big forward. Even ignoring his offense, I liked how miserable he made the Finnish defenders whenever he entered the zone. He’s a huge 6-foot-5 forward who gets into the zone and creates havoc, and he has the raw skill to finish just about any play.

[sureLoss]

Tynan Lawrence looks impressive at the Hlinka. And he just turned 17 a couple of weeks ago.

[Sandman]

I will have a write-up on some of the top prospects in the Hlinka very soon.

[CKPThunder]

Originally Posted by Sandman

I will have a write-up on some of the top prospects in the Hlinka very soon.

Thats awesome! Got hooked on the draft thread after reading your Hlinka write-up a few years back. Now I pick a few players that you said had a strong tournament and try and follow their progression during the year. Not the highly ranked players but players I never heard of much.

To me, the unofficial start of this thread is after your Hlinka updates. Appreciate your hard work Sandman.