2026 NHL Draft Thread

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

According to the scouts on the Athletic, Bjork is a decent but not great (by NHL standards) skater.

I don't know.

I saw a guy constantly creating separation and getting lots off odd man chances at the WJC.

Maybe elite was a stretch but he seemed like a strong skater to me.

[Roof-Daddy]

Has anyone ever gone back and looked at any of Pronman's weird rankings in the past and seen if they actually panned out long term?

Ranking McKenna 4th is hilarious.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

I don't know.

I saw a guy constantly creating separation and getting lots off odd man chances at the WJC.

Maybe elite was a stretch but he seemed like a strong skater to me.

In my viewings of Bjorck, he was the play driver of that line. He went and got the pucks, fought the board battles and made the offensive zone time happen for Sweden.

[Five-hole]

Originally Posted by dammage79

In my viewings of Bjorck, he was the play driver of that line. He went and got the pucks, fought the board battles and made the offensive zone time happen for Sweden.

Yes but that becomes exponentially harder at the NHL level where everyone is big and skates well.

At his size, you want truly elite other attributes to be drafting him in the top 10. I'm not sure he has that.

[Monahammer]

Is bjorck better than Marco Rossi at the same age? That is the size profile we are talking about here.

[shutout]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

Has anyone ever gone back and looked at any of Pronman's weird rankings in the past and seen if they actually panned out long term?

Ranking McKenna 4th is hilarious.

These are the reasons people are questioning McKenna.
Not his skills or ability to put up points, but his commitment or lack thereof to playing a team game that is conducive to winning.
The three players he has ranked higher than him have zero character concerns.
Character matters when drafting anyone let alone at the top of the draft.

He's not overly physical and can be pushed to the outside too much, and gives inconsistent efforts at even strength. He projects as a top-line winger who can run a PP1, but may frustrate his coaches at times, too.

[AustinL_NHL]

Sounds a lot like 3x Cup champ & 1x Conn Smythe winner Patty Kane to me..

I'm sold

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by Fan69

Snag one of the top three the grab two centers at the bottom of the first top of the second.

Draft could look like:
Stenberg/vaerhoff/mckenna
Beckham edwards/Rogowski/ Suvanto
Brooks Rogowski/mutryn/ Hextall

Lots of possibilities but i also like Aram-Olsen and Shcherbakov in the second as well.

Yeah, there will likely be some good options at C with their 2nd rounder.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

Is bjorck better than Marco Rossi at the same age? That is the size profile we are talking about here.

Rossi was pretty dynamic. His development got stalled by his bout with Covid but in his pre-draft year he was really compelling. 120 points in 56 games with the OHL.

I think there is a view that Bjorck is a little better. But Rossi went 9 and probably wouldn't go that high now. So he's also a bit of a cautionary tale.

I think Bjorck ends up going in the 9-13 range when it's all said and done.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

Has anyone ever gone back and looked at any of Pronman's weird rankings in the past and seen if they actually panned out long term?

Ranking McKenna 4th is hilarious.

Yup, Pronman gets more wrong than any other prospect writer, by quite a lot. I never take his stuff seriously.

[devo22]

he often falls victim to his own personal bias. I trust Wheeler a lot more than him.

[Monahammer]

IMO Button is still the best, I know people sometimes malign weird takes but I think he hits on them disproportionally to his misses.

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

Rossi was pretty dynamic. His development got stalled by his bout with Covid but in his pre-draft year he was really compelling. 120 points in 56 games with the OHL.

I think there is a view that Bjorck is a little better. But Rossi went 9 and probably wouldn't go that high now. So he's also a bit of a cautionary tale.

I think Bjorck ends up going in the 9-13 range when it's all said and done.

Over 2 ppg in the OHL is no small feat. And, he had a 60 point season in the NHL already!

That's pretty good output. If he's as good as Rossi then personally the size wouldnt be stopping me too much.

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by shutout

These are the reasons people are questioning McKenna.
Not his skills or ability to put up points, but his commitment or lack thereof to playing a team game that is conducive to winning.
The three players he has ranked higher than him have zero character concerns.
Character matters when drafting anyone let alone at the top of the draft.

There should be no concerns about Gavin's character.

[devo22]

my dream scenario continues to be drafting McKenna ... not at 1, but at 2 or 3. An apparent Flames fan lacing em up for us with a huge chip on his shoulder because teams passed on him sounds good to me.

[The EBUG's EBUG]

Going to be really interesting looking back on this season for Mckenna. Penn State are buzzing right now but I don't exactly see him surrounded by the elite talent you normally see playing with a first overall type pick.

Typically for guys coming from junior you see teams load up knowing that they probably only have this guy for one more year, so you tend to see some crazy numbers cause 1) the guy is excellent and 2) they're surrounded by elite talent. Couple examples of forwards (from more than a year or two ago given guys need time to make it):

Jack Hughes - Caufield, Zegras, Boldy, Beniers
McDavid - Strome, Debrincat, Raddysh

Obviously this isn't always the case (Lafrenière, Hischier, Bedard (so far)) but it's not uncommon to see. Meanwhile at Penn, Mckenna is playing with some quality college forwards who had good USHL careers, but I would be frankly surprised if any of them other than like maybe Cerrato became impact players in the NHL (other than our boy Luke Misa obviously).

I watched the Wisconsin game Saturday night and I saw a guy making really smart plays all over the ice, elite passing, thought he was completely fine in defensive zone although he's never going to be Bergeron, but the big thing to me is I didn't see players with enough creativity to truly take advantage of the space he was making and the plays he was creating.

I think it would be hilarious to have seen him this season with a Debrincat or a Caufield type player to get on the end of some of these passes. Fink (shoutout AJHL) is a quality player but there are levels to this.

[dino7c]

These days if you want eyeballs a controversial take is the way to go...Not drafting McKenna #1 is smartest guy in the room stuff and will end badly for someone IMO. Ranking him 4th is pure clickbait.

I wish it were true because that would give the Flames a very good chance to take him

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by shutout

These are the reasons people are questioning McKenna.
Not his skills or ability to put up points, but his commitment or lack thereof to playing a team game that is conducive to winning.
The three players he has ranked higher than him have zero character concerns.
Character matters when drafting anyone let alone at the top of the draft.

Yes, character matters. But lots of 18 year old kids struggle with commitment and such. Then they mature.

When you're drafting at the top of the list, you have to go for talent and upside.

[robertsfanatic]

if we end up drafting outside the top 2 or 3 and McKenna is still there???? sprint to the stage, don't even let the previous team finish their photo.

[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts:

Jan.28th: The Guelph Storm are a mediocre team to say the least, currently sitting 13th in the OHL standings out of 20 teams, while scoring the 10th-most goals (153). Teams who miss out on Caleb Malhotra in the first-round of the draft, might look to pick up RHC Carter Stevens in the second- he was ranked # 54 in Central Scouting's Mid-Term List of North American Skaters, and was given a "B"-grade on their Preliminary Rankings, indicating a possible second, or third-round pick. Stevens was used mostly at center last season for the Guelph Storm, but has reportedly been playing RW this season, posting 14 goals and 23 points in 30 games (which prorates to 25 goals and 41 points in 54 games). He has missed a total of 14 games this season, due to two incidents that involved awkward hits- one in early November that kept him out for more than three weeks, and one in early January (a blindside hit by the notorious Ryder Boulton that earned him a 4-game suspension) that forced him to pull out of the OHL Top Prospects Game. Though both injuries were classified as "Upper-body injuries", they were most certainly concussions.

Stevens is a volume-shooting goal-scorer and finisher, who possesses an excellent shot with a deceptive release, a willingness to compete in front of the net, and ultra-soft hands in-tight for tips and rebounds. He has a deep arsenal of shots at his disposal, an ability to shoot off the catch, and the precision to pick corners while in-flight. He will attack the net, and bring defenders with him, but understands how to find seams of open space in the offensive zone, and also knows how to draw opponents towards him in order to make room for his teammates. He can score from anywhere, with his ability to pry open shooting lanes, and he is considered to be a highly intelligent player with flashes of vision and creativity, but he's not a true offensive play-driver. While he's listed at 6'1" on some sites, Central Scouting measured him to be 6'2.25",195lbs, and he's a battler who does a lot of the dirty work in hard areas for his team, with a high-end motor and intensity. Stevens is very well-rounded, can play in all situations, and exerts a strong 200-foot game, but he's not dynamically skilled, and while he skates well- he doesn't possess high-end speed, or dynamic stickhandling. He can still drive play through transition, and is fast enough at top-speed to force defenses back on their heels. He displays good hockey sense and awareness in all areas, but needs to add a better playmaking dimension, to make himself less predictable. Stevens is hard-working and reliable in the defensive zone, diplaying solid details and awareness, as well as smart use of his stick to block lanes and deliver poke-checks- but he could stand to add another layer of physicality and snarl to his repertoire. I like this kid, and I feel he's being a bit underrated. With his size, and well-rounded game, I could easily see him in an NHL-teams middle-six.

[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts:

Jan.28th: LW Simon Katolicky (6'4",194lbs) is a very highly-regarded prospect, with some ranking him as a first-rounder, and Central Scouting has given him the rather lofty rating of "B"- meaning that they see him as a potential 2nd, or 3rd-round pick in the upcoming draft. In their Mid-Term Rankings, CS put him at #17 for European Skaters. Personally, everything I've seen from the big Czech has been a bit lackluster, and he's not having a good year over in Finland, with only 14 points in 24 games (-9) in the U20 league- I definitely wouldn't spend a first on him. There are whispers though, that he's been dealing with an injury for a good portion of the season so far.

In every scouting report you'll read on Katolicky, they will mention his poise with the puck, and the translatability of his game; I agree, but I'm not sure exactly where he will fit into an NHL lineup. He plays a very simple north-south power-forward game, devoid of any dynamism or flash- which is where some of the "translatability" comes from. He skates well for a big man, but still needs work on his overall mobility and maneuverability; he offsets this with his high workrate and hockey sense, that put him in the right place at the right time to make an impact. With above-average handling skill, and impeccable protection ability, he can barge his way through traffic, and will drop the shoulder to drive the inside- but he has the confidence to take on defenders 1-on-1 with some slick moves. Katolicky has sound instincts and solid offensive awareness, with the ability to generate chances with his vision and passing-skill, as well as his propensity to keep pucks funneling to the slot; he understands how to open space for teammates by drawing pressure, using delays and changes in pace and direction. He's a natural goal-scorer and finisher, with a good shot and a nose for the net, and he is proficient in sniffing out pockets of space around the crease. Katolicky's game is also translatable in how conscientious he is about playing solid defensively, and how well he uses his size to his advantage; he exerts his range and physicality to disrupt play and separate man from puck, while leveraging his frame to dominate along the boards. Fans who have watched him more closely over the years say he reminds them of Juraj Slafkovsky, but they too are perplexed by his lack of production. Look for him in the early second-round