2026 NHL Draft Thread

[TOfan]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

The Flames will be just as bad next year, maybe even worse. lets be honest competitive by the 2027-28 season is a pipe dream.

I think you're right.

Competitive by the new arena seems pretty far fetched. For that to have been the case the Flames would have needed to be far more aggressive last season, probably earlier.

At this point, I think being competitive is 3-4 years from the start of next season.

[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts:

Jan.23rd: In Sweden's U20 circuit, Orebro is tied with Frolunda for first in the Sodra (Southern) Division, both teams are tied for second-overall behind Brynas, and both teams are tied for the most goals-for in the league. Orebro is chock-full of talent, with 3 players in the top-10 of the scoring race, and 5 in the top-15, including first-time draft-eligibles C Alexander Command, RW Ludvig Andersson, and LW Niklas Aaram-Olsen (all tied for 7th in scoring), as well as D Axel Elofsson (tied for 12th). Aaram-Olsen has been climbing the draft charts all year, and is now #18 for European Skaters on Central Scouting's Mid-Term Rankings, with a chance of being picked in the late first-round this summer. The young Norwegian is currently in a 4-way tie for second in goals, with 17, and has earned 11 games in the SHL, with no points. In the 2024-25 season, he managed to post 23 goals and 41 points in 42 games as a 16 year-old, which leads me to believe that he could be slightly underperforming this year.

LW Niklas Aaram-Olsen (6'1",183lbs) is a power-forward whose ceiling and overall projection are in question, but he's a fairly well-rounded player overall. First of all, he's a strong skater with a smooth, projectable stride, and a touch of explosiveness in short-bursts, whose straight-line speed is amplified by his intensity and high-motor. As he gets stronger, he should add an extra gear to his top-end, but he can already push pace. His handling is well-developed, and when combined with his mobility, it makes him capable of rushing the puck through neutral zone coverage to achieve controlled exits and entries. NAO's most prominent asset is his deep array of NHL-caliber shots, including a laser of a snapper with a stunning release, a one-timer that explodes off of his blade, and a curl-and-drag wrister that he can fire through a screen. He is inside-driven, unafraid to drop a shoulder to take the puck to the net, willing to crash the crease, and intuitive in finding open pockets of space around the net to sneak into- he owns soft hands to beat goalies in-tight, cash-in on second-chance opportunities, and convert tips. Where it gets muddy is that his playmaking vision and ability to drive play have come into question at times over the course of the year, but he is showing more flashes of clever play-creation lately with give-and-go passing in the offensive zone; his high-volume shooting, and inside-drive facilitate chances for teammates as well. NAO is a hard-working, industrious winger, who does well in board-battles, competes hard in the trenches, and will throw his weight around, while applying a mostly straight-line approach. He is physical and disruptive on the forecheck, and does more of the same on the backcheck, with a sound 200-ft game. There are some who have questioned (at least in the first few months of the season) if he's going to make a solid bottom-six player in the show, or if he'll be able to handle second-line responsibilities in the future. Look for him in the second-round, with a chance of being picked in the late-first.

[PeteMoss]

So as of today - our 1st round picks

Calgary's pick - 3rd (11.5% of getting 1st overall - not really sure the impact of Ottawa's pick forfeit and how they allocate the their lottery 'points')

Vegas - 24th by point percentage (22nd by actual points) - subject to change if they advance to conference finals.

Still a ton of games left - but Flames are likely to finish somewhere between 2nd and 6th as Nashville is 5 points up on them.

Vegas pick has a bunch for space to move because they have played fewer games than most teams around them and they are 8 teams between 56 and 65 points.

[PeteMoss]

My assumption for the lottery is that Ottawa stays in the lottery and everyone just moves up 1 spot depending on their result.

So I think the 3rd worst team would then have 11.9% odds of 1st pick (but the 1st and 2nd place teams odds also improve.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by TOfan

I think you're right.

Competitive by the new arena seems pretty far fetched. For that to have been the case the Flames would have needed to be far more aggressive last season, probably earlier.

At this point, I think being competitive is 3-4 years from the start of next season.

And that may be best case scenario. Most of the vets will be gone, so it will depend largely on whether the plethora of draft picks pan out to some very good degree. And the draft picks from now over the nest 2-3 year likely won't be contributing much by them, absent an elite early pick that hits immediately.

To me, competitive means where San Jose and Chicago are this year. They likely aren't making the playoffs, but they play a good game most nights and can beat anyone sometimes, but not on a regular basis. But you can see they are headed in the right direction. If the Flames can reach that level in 4 years, we should be very happy. This will not be quick. Wolf taking a step back this year is a bit concerning going forward. Hopefully just a blip.

[TOfan]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

And that may be best case scenario. Most of the vets will be gone, so it will depend largely on whether the plethora of draft picks pan out to some very good degree. And the draft picks from now over the nest 2-3 year likely won't be contributing much by them, absent an elite early pick that hits immediately.

To me, competitive means where San Jose and Chicago are this year. They likely aren't making the playoffs, but they play a good game most nights and can beat anyone sometimes, but not on a regular basis. But you can see they are headed in the right direction. If the Flames can reach that level in 4 years, we should be very happy. This will not be quick. Wolf taking a step back this year is a bit concerning going forward. Hopefully just a blip.

Well, as much as the focus is on the draft these days I also suspect the Flames will gradually move into a spot of looking to add vets by trade or signings as well.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

So as of today - our 1st round picks

Calgary's pick - 3rd (11.5% of getting 1st overall - not really sure the impact of Ottawa's pick forfeit and how they allocate the their lottery 'points')

Vegas - 24th by point percentage (22nd by actual points) - subject to change if they advance to conference finals.

Still a ton of games left - but Flames are likely to finish somewhere between 2nd and 6th as Nashville is 5 points up on them.

Vegas pick has a bunch for space to move because they have played fewer games than most teams around them and they are 8 teams between 56 and 65 points.

The key thing for the VGS pick is whether or not they win the division.

Win the division: 27-32 OA (-1 for OTT)

Don't win division: 22-28, unless they make the cup final

First: we hope the don't win the division
Second: if they do, we might as well root for them to win the Cup

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

The key thing for the VGS pick is whether or not they win the division.

Win the division: 27-32 OA (-1 for OTT)

Don't win division: 22-28, unless they make the cup final

First: we hope the don't win the division
Second: if they do, we might as well root for them to win the Cup

You mean win the division in the playoffs right?

Because yeah if they make it to the conference finals then they are locked in at 28-32.

Then at that point we might as well be cheering for them to win the cup. Would rather the 28 pick move up 32 spots, than worry about this year's pick falling 3-4 spots.

[Bingo]

long overdue update ... xmas, mexico, sick

Updated Button, Constentino and Wheeler.

Vegas improving in the standings moving pick #2 in 1st round down.

1 Gavin McKenna LW 1.92
2 Ivar Stenberg RW 2.08
3 Keaton Verhoeff RHD 2.75

4 Tyn Lawrence C 4.50

5 Chase Reid RHD 6.42

6 Ethan Belchetz LW 8.33
7 Alberts Smits LHD 9.08
8 Carson Carels LHD 10.42

10 Viggo Björck C 11.67

11 Ryan Lin RHD 13.09
12 Caleb Malhotra C 14.00

13 E Hermansson RW 15.92
14 Xav Villeneuve LHD 16.17
15 Oliver Suvanto C 16.18
16 Daxon Rudolph RHD 16.75
17 Adam Novotný LW 17.08
18 Marc Nordmark LW 17.09

19 Mathis Preston RW 18.50

20 Juho Piiparinen RHD 19.58
21 M Gustafsson LHD 19.80
22 Oscar Hemming LW 20.00
23 J.P. Hurlbert LW 20.67

24 Will Håkansson LHD 22.60
25 Nikita Klepov LW 22.63

26 Ryan Roobroeck LW 24.11
27 Jack Hextall C 24.89

28 Yegor Shilov C 26.20
29 Ilya Morozov C 27.18

30 N Aaram-Olsen LW 30.25
31 Tomas Chrenko C 30.86
32 Alex Command C 31.67
33 M Dagenais C 32.50
34 Adam Valentini C 33.67
35 B Rogowski C 33.89

36 Casey Mutryn F 34.83
37 Beck Edwards C 35.00
38 N Shcherbakov LHD 35.75
39 Pierce Mbuyi LW 36.63
40 Ales Di Iorio C 38.60

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

You mean win the division in the playoffs right?

Because yeah if they make it to the conference finals then they are locked in at 28-32.

Then at that point we might as well be cheering for them to win the cup. Would rather the 28 pick move up 32 spots, than worry about this year's pick falling 3-4 spots.

32: cup winner
31: cup finalist
29-30: conference finalists
25-28: division winners regular season (excluding any team included above)
17-??: remaining playoff teams

[TheIronMaiden]

Happy to see a grouping of Centres near the end of the 1st round top of the 2nd.

[Niemo]

For the most part and on the safe side, under the assumption that the Flames will pick 4th overall and assuming McKenna, Stenberg, Verhoeff are gone, do the Flames take Lawrence or Malhotra (or someone else)?

What does Lawrence project to be?
What does Malhotra project to be?

I keep hearing this is a strong draft. Would they be 1C's? Just NOT franchise level?

Thanks,

[Tbull8]

Originally Posted by Niemo

For the most part and on the safe side, under the assumption that the Flames will pick 4th overall and assuming McKenna, Stenberg, Verhoeff are gone, do the Flames take Lawrence or Malhotra (or someone else)?

What does Lawrence project to be?
What does Malhotra project to be?

I keep hearing this is a strong draft. Would they be 1C's? Just NOT franchise level?

Thanks,

Funny enough both have been compared to Suzuki. I see them very similar

[HitterD]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

32: cup winner
31: cup finalist
29-30: conference finalists
25-28: division winners regular season (excluding any team included above)
17-??: remaining playoff teams

Ok so if im understanding this correctly, best outcome for the Vegas 1st (short of them missing the playoffs) is not winning the pacific division, and being eliminated in the first 2 rounds. I can get behind that but it would be preferable if the team that leapfrogs them for the division isnt Edmonton.

[sureLoss]

Scott Wheeler in his latest mailbag for the draft calls the 2026 draft an average to below average draft.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/699...shared_article

This is also his ranking of the top 5 picks of 2025 and 2026

1. Matthew Schaefer
2-4: Ivar Stenberg, Gavin McKenna, Michael Misa
5-6: Keaton Verhoeff, Chase Reid
7-9: Anton Frondell, Caleb Desnoyers, Tynan Lawrence
10. Brady Martin

[Enoch Root]

I think McKenna is a clear cut above Misa, personally.

[Fan69]

Sandman:

Evry time i run the sim on tankathon it gives us beckham edwards in the second round . Do you have a read on him?

[Monahammer]

McKenna-Shilov pretty pretty please.

[Fan69]

So found this on him and may be slotting him in on the second round pick.

Size, good skater, nhl level shot already, center, younger for the draft, seems to have a great attitude, and can play the wing? Ya i could be happy with that.



https://youtu.be/sQ_7kREa4xc?si=0mTgPRKIjeG1uXy-

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Scott Wheeler in his latest mailbag for the draft calls the 2026 draft an average to below average draft.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/699...shared_article

This is also his ranking of the top 5 picks of 2025 and 2026

No Malhotra.