2026 NHL Draft Thread

[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts:

Jan.31st: In a 4-0 shutout loss to the Saskatoon Blades tonight, RW Jonah Sivertson (6'3",194lbs) was named Third-Star of the Game, despite getting no points, 2 shots, a -1, and only a fighting major against 6'6" behemoth Hunter Laing in his stat-line. That shows how impactful a player he is on the 2nd-best team in the WHL, the Prince Albert Raiders, who were 11th in goals-for in early December, but are in 2nd-place now, with 217 tallies in 47 contests. Sivertson had only 14 points in his first 25 games, but with 22 in his last 20 tilts, he is now up to 16 goals and 36 points in 45 games- which prorates to 52 in 66. Scouts have really taken notice, and he is zooming up draft-boards lately. The Regina-native won't even turn 18 until August 27th, which makes him one of the youngest players available in the upcoming draft, and he is currently #88 for North American Skaters on Central Scouting's Mid-Term List.

Defensive-play was considered to be a "work in progress" for Sivertson last season, but he has improved this area of his game by leaps and bounds, and is even currently tied for 12th in the WHL with a +32. He now looks to be a highly impactful presence in his own-zone, wielding heads-up scanning and awareness, high-end motor and work-ethic, and a knowledge of how to use his size and stick to separate his man from the puck with physicality. He is both detailed, as well as smartly-positioned, and wins puck-battles with his brute strength and intensity. Another area of his game that was said to be a weakness was his quickness and pace, and though he has been working with a skating coach and showing noticeable improvement, he is still average (at best) in the speed department. His upright stance gives him poor balance, and he is not getting enough power out of his stride, or enough agility from his edges. His foot-speed is augmented somewhat by his high-end workrate, and his puck-protection is near-immaculate, but his ability to affect his team's transition is diminished to simple, short dish-offs to teammates in the neutral zone. Improvements must be made in this area, but Sivertson doesn't play a speed-based game anyway right now, preferring to slow the game down in the offensive zone to draw defenders in order to open space to pass into. While his feet are a bit deficient, his brain is not, as he exudes top-level offensive awareness, with solid playmaking vision and creativity to drive the attack, while providing teammates with advantages using his skilled passing. He can thread the needle through traffic, makes deft plays from below the goal-line, and continuously gets pucks to the slot from the wall. As good as he is at play-creation, his best attribute is probably his shot, which is already NHL-caliber in it's power and precision, and carries with it an elite release. A power-forward, he will drop a shoulder to lean into a defender to drive the net, shows a willingness to crash the crease for garbage goals, and seeks out open space in the slot to cause chaos in-front. Mobility issues aside, Sivertson is becoming a standout prospect- showing his value more and more this season, and will most likely be a top-96 draft-pick this summer.

[Fire]

If the Flames don't tank properly at least there are a couple of decent centers at the 6/7 spots.

[Fan69]

Originally Posted by Sandman

Draft Thoughts:

Jan.30th: RHC Tomas Chrenko (5'11",170lbs) was given a "C" by Central Scouting, but he seems destined to be a first-round pick, and perhaps a future star in the NHL. Chrenko was too good for Slovakia's U20 league (10 points in 4 games), so he has been plying his trade in the men's pro league with HK Nitra, where he leads all U-20 players with 22 points in 30 games (7 more than Adam Nemec in 5 more games). In fact, Chrenko's ppg of 0.67 is tied for 14th-best all-time in Slovakia's top league in a season for players 18-and-under with 2 or more games. Chrenko showed very well in May's U-18 Tournament as well, tying for the team lead on Slovakia's entry, with 5 goals and 8 points in 7 games. His 69 points in 45 games in Slovakia's U20 in the 2023-24 season as a 16 year-old is 13th-most all-time, and the records go on and on. In the latest installment of the World Junior Championship, Chrenko impressed for Team Slovakia, finishing 12th in tournament scoring (tied for 2nd in goals) with 5 tallies, and 8 points in 5 games- which was tops on his team by 3. He is #16 for European Skaters on Central Scouting's Mid-Term List. He's a little long in the tooth by draft standards, with a Nov.2nd, 2007 birthday.

Chrenko is not big, but he's not at all afraid of competing in all of the greasy areas of the ice, including the corners and in front of the net. A well-balanced offensive performer, he looks to be both a capable goal-scorer, as well as a creative playmaker- his hockey sense, IQ, and positioning are all elite, both with, and without possession. While he takes a high number of shots, gets inside frequently, and will drive the net to finish in-tight, he also understands space-creation through delays, and patiently draws pressure to open his passing options. He possesses the high-end vision to spot teammates through traffic, and the passing-skill to thread the needle through layers of coverage- be it over sticks, between legs, or through triangles. He is proficient at feeding the puck to the slot for high-danger opportunities, and will take shots to create chances in-front. Speaking of shots, his hard wrister was on full display at the WJC, and he proved that he can unleash rockets from difficult angles, shoot through screens, fire off the catch, and pick corners from distance- although most of his tallies came from being in the slot at the right moments. Chrenko is more quick than outright fast, and will need some work on his explosiveness and straight-ahead speed, but he is quite agile on his edges, which makes him slippery and elusive, and he handles like a dream. He has a number of ways of evading pressure when streaking up the ice, including some slick one-on-one moves, the use of deception, and rapid changes in direction; he's dynamically skilled with the puck, and a massive contributor to his team's transition through his ability to make clean exits and entries. Still, there are concerns about his pace, and his puck-protection. Chrenko drives play, and is even solid on the backcheck, but the issue here might be translatability, as well as his NHL-floor- he's perhaps a high-risk-high-reward proposition. Look for him in the late-first, or early-second.

This kid is a talent.

I am really really hoping we get another first this year.

Starting to think a draft could look like

Stenberg
Chrenko granting we get another first
Dagenais or olson
Shcherbakov.

Boy that would look good i think Dagenais is going to be a gooder.

[mile]

Brock Otten's OHL midseason rankings:
https://ohlprospects.blogspot.com/2026/02/midseason-top-50-for-2026-nhl-draft.html

1. Reid
2. Malhotra
3. Belchetz
4. Novotny
5. Rogowski
6. Mbuyi
7. Klepov
8. Cover
9. Roobroeck
10. Di Iorio

[Sandman]

Rogowski and Mbuyi ahead of Klepov? Man, I ain’t so sure about that.

Don’t like Cover ahead of Di Iorio either.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Who's gonna take Cover?

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by Sandman

Rogowski and Mbuyi ahead of Klepov? Man, I ain’t so sure about that.

Don’t like Cover ahead of Di Iorio either.

Rogowski is very interesting, very raw but also very talented for his size, his numbers don't look great but he's been injured and he plays on a dreadful team so he doesn't get much help.

[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts:

Feb.1st: Scoring has seemingly been down in the QMJHL for several years now, and by extension, the same can be said about the offensive numbers shown by their defensemen. Of the three CHL leagues, the top-20 highest scoring D in the Quebec league have the lowest average points-per-game, with 0.75, while the OHL's top-20 rearguards come in at 0.82 ppg, and the WHL's top-20 blueliners have put up a 0.81 ppg. First-time draft-eligible RD Benjamin Cossette-Ayotte (6'1",187lbs) is 11th in scoring by D in the Q, with 29 points (4 goals) in 46 games with the Val D'Or Foreurs, who are currently 10th, out of 18 teams, with the 5th-best goals-for. With 24 points in 2024-25 over 56 games, I would've expected a bit higher points-production this season. He has the distinction of being the 2nd-overall pick in the 2024 QMJHL Entry Draft by the Foreurs, but isn't getting much respect from Central Scouting, who have him as the #116 North American Skater in their Mid-Term List.

Cossette-Ayotte is a mostly solid all-around rearguard, who contributes in all three zones, as well as both special teams, and has a solid skillset to work with. His stock has plummeted from the start of the year though, as imperfections in his game have become much more prevalent with the increase in ice-time from last year, to the current campaign. While he is generally a stalwart in disrupting the cycle, his rush defense (especially against faster opponents) looks like a real weakness, because of perceived issues with his edgework, his transitions, and his backwards skating-speed; he can be beaten wide quite easily and cleanly at times. The other big issue is his decision-making, both with-and-without the puck, as he tries to connect on a lot of "hope plays", gets caught puck-watching, and sometimes passes to covered teammates. BCA is a physical defenseman who is much stronger than he appears, and competes hard against in the defensive zone, making stops with solid positioning, an active stick, and stiff body-checks. He digs in hard to win puck-battles, boxes out attackers effectively, and defends his net with snarl. Though his focus has been criticized, his poise and calmness with the puck give him the ability to escape pressure in retrievals, and make safe, clean exits by pass to kick off transition going the other way- he is also proficient at stretching the ice with some long-range feeds for advantages on the breakout at times. In the offensive-third, he keeps things quite simple, and isn't above dumping the puck in deep, but he is also a smart distributor who can make difficult passes in coverage. BCA has a bomb of a shot that he uses as a playmaking tool, but he doesn't always get it through to the net, and could use work on his precision. Cossette-Ayotte wears the "A" for Val D'Or, but was ranked "C" by Central Scouting in their Preliminary Rankings, and it may be because he is remarkably inconsistent on both sides of the puck. He skates well in a straight-line, and handles skillfully, but shows flashes of both good and bad on a shift-to-shift basis. Look for him in the middle-rounds.

[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts:

Feb.2nd: The Kitchener Rangers are currently 5th-overall in the OHL, even though their win % of .719 is third-best, and they have scored the 6th-most goals (178 in 48 games) in the league. The Rangers made some big moves before the January 9th OHL trade deadline in an effort to bolster their lineup for the playoffs, bringing in C Sam O'Reilly, F Gabriel Chiarot, F Dylan Edwards, and D Jared Woolley in separate deals, while jettisoning D Jacob Xu, and D Jakub Chromiak. They were also elevated by the return of D Matthew Andonovski from the AHL, who was their Captain last year. Since the deadline, LD Alexander Bilecki (6'2",181lbs) has posted 7 points in 9 games, to give him a total of 23 points in 47 games to date, which prorates to 33 in 67. While he has mostly been used on the third-pairing this season, he has seen a big increase in ice-time and responsibility in January, with the departure of Xu and Chromiak, forcing Central Scouting to change his "C"-rating from their Preliminary Rankings to a "B", which indicates a possible 2nd, or 3rd-round pick. He is also #38 for North American Skaters.

Bilecki is a formidable defender, and one of the best transitional defensemen available in this draft-class. He plies a solid, mistake-free puck-moving game, devoid of much dynamism or flash, and wields intelligence in all three zones. A second-round pick of the Rangers, he has his own-zone game down pat, displaying proficiency in derailing rushes with his quick feet, tight gaps, and active stick, while disrupting the cycle with sound positioning, keen awareness, and a noticeable physical edge. He defends his net vigorously, breaks up plays, intercepts passes, and blocks lanes against the cycle; he has been tasked with PK duties, and performs well in those situations. Bilecki makes a high number of recoveries, and shows a lofty panic threshold when outmaneuvering (or outrunning) pressure in retrievals, while scanning for an exit pass. He moves the puck quickly and efficiently in breakouts with remarkable confidence and poise, and is a huge part of the Rangers' transition, tilting the ice in his team's favor by pass, or by carry. Bilecki is a quick and agile skater, with the puck-protection and handling skill to rush the puck through exit and entry, while evading defenders' efforts to stop him with quick changes of pace and direction, mixed with a bit of deception. In the offensive zone, he exhibits top-tier instincts, and uses his smooth edges well to walk the line in search of open lanes for his cannon of a shot, or to pry open passing seams. He will not only join the rush, but he will lead it, and will activate into the play off the line when he sees an opprtunity. Bilecki is only now getting a real chance to flex his offensive muscle with increased ice-time, but I think his presence in the lineup made it possible to trade Xu and Chromiak. All in all, he's an incredibly well-rounded blueliner with emerging offensive flair. Look for him in the 2nd, or 3rd-round.

[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts:

Feb.2nd: On October 30th, the Brantford Bulldogs traded C Aiden O'Donnell, D Lucas Moore, D Luca Di Placido, and NINE draft picks to the Oshawa Generals, in exchange for D Zackary Sandhu, and the best player in the deal- D Ben Danford. The deal gave the Bulldogs perhaps the deepest defense corps in the CHL, already featuring Adam Jiricek, Edison Engle, Owen Protz, and RHD Vladimir Dravecky (6'0",187lbs) who, up until Danford and Sandhu came aboard, had posted 12 points in 14 contests. From that point on, Danford and Jiricek have composed the top-pairing, with Dravecky and Engle usually joined up on the second pair, with Dravecky shrinking to 12 points in 25 tilts since the new arrivals came aboard, for a total of 24 points in 39 games. In the most recent WJC, he participated in 3 games with little ice-time (no points), but put up 3 points in 5 games in last summer's Hlinka Gretzky Cup for Team Czechia. He is #40 for North American Skaters on Central Scouting's Mid-Term List, and was Brantford's 1st-pick, 50th-overall, in the 2025 CHL Import Draft, after playing the 2024-25 season in Sweden's J20 league (with an impressive 16 points in 37 contests). A citizen of Czechia, he was born in the US, but played in Slovakia, Sweden, and now Canada.

While I believe he's capable of putting up better numbers with greater ice-time, Dravecky is a prototypical puck-moving, mobile, offensive defenseman with high-end skill, a strong work-ethic, and solid two-way awareness. His skating is near-elite, with fluid mechanics, quickness in all directions, and outstanding agility on his edges- he can outrun pressure in retrievals, separate from pursuers on the rush, sidestep checks, and beat defenders wide. His hands are quick too, giving him the capacity to stickhandle smoothly in full-flight while leading the rush through the neutral zone; he also has a wide array of slick one-on-one moves to make opponents look inept, and can steer checkers in the wrong direction with his use of deception. Once installed in the offensive zone, Dravecky picks apart enemy defenses with his vision and creativity, staying active to create space, while walking the line skillfully to open passing lanes to exploit. He holds the line well to keep plays alive and extend offensive-zone time. With an acute understanding of how to shift defenses, and keen spatial awareness, he uses delays and cut-backs to draw pressure, and will fake a shot to make a pass. He is not afraid to try things, and can pull off some flashy plays, but his high-risk style can lead to throwaways and turnovers at times- it can lead to high-danger chances, as well. A high-skill distributor, he can make plays in tight spaces, drives the offense, and can connect with passes through the smallest of seams. Dravecky is also working with an NHL-caliber shot that he can get on net with good frequency to cause havoc in front, and to make plays in the form of second-chance opportunities. Defensively, his game is a work in progress, and is steadily improving all the time because of his willingness to work hard in practice (and after practice), and his desire to learn. There is good two-way potential here, with some proficiency against the rush, and a solid first-pass- but he shows inconsistencies under pressure with the puck, and some ill-advised decision-making at times. Dravecky doesn't shy away from the rough stuff, never shrinks down in puck-battles, and will engage physically when needed, but has to add strength and bulk for the next level. Look for him in the third-round.

[sch19lks]

Originally Posted by Sandman

Thanks man!

I'm becoming a bigger and bigger Malhotra fan every day it seems, and I love Tynan Lawrence. We obviously need centers, but there are some absolute studs on defense, including Reid, Smits, Carels, Lin, and Rudolph- it would really hurt to pass them up.

I think we go Malhotra or Lawrence.

What do you think?

I’m very high on Malhotra and think he ends up a top 3 guy honestly. I’m also big on Smits. I feel he’s a modern day stud D. Skates well, moves the puck, has size. But I’m still going Malhotra

[sch19lks]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

But, but, but he's a perimeter player, isn't competitive enough and has some sort of "attitude problem" made up by people for some reason and now gets parroted like it's fact

I haven’t read or heard anything about McKenna having attitude problems. But he definitely is a perimeter player. He’s an amazing talent, but he doesn’t go to the hard areas.

I don’t think that’s even argued at this point

[fotze2]

Originally Posted by sch19lks

I haven’t read or heard anything about McKenna having attitude problems. But he definitely is a perimeter player. He’s an amazing talent, but he doesn’t go to the hard areas.

I don’t think that’s even argued at this point

Not attitude but suitably arrogant is what I have heard.

[Bingo]

May as well put this in the 2026 draft string since it will add to the prospect base in 4 months.

https://twitter.com/user/status/2018315969723236862

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by sch19lks

I haven’t read or heard anything about McKenna having attitude problems. But he definitely is a perimeter player. He’s an amazing talent, but he doesn’t go to the hard areas.

I don’t think that’s even argued at this point

That doesn't matter, if he produces offense at superstar levels he can do it any way he likes.

Originally Posted by fotze2

Not attitude but suitably arrogant is what I have heard.

He's not arrogant at all from my experiences. He's a little bit of a quieter guy so can maybe come off like arrogance if you don't know him.

[Calgary4LIfe]

Hopefully some of those top 10 teams on Bingo's post above are teams that want some of the players rumoured to be available from the Flames. It seems way easier to shake-off a good prospect from a team that has many, rather than from a team with very few.


Washington being high up on the list is a true testament to how well they draft. Carolina at 10 and Pittsburgh at 11 are really interesting too - maybe Pittsburgh really is successfully rebuilding on the fly.


This is what I want the Flames to emulate - always prioritize the draft, and use it as the biggest source to remain competitive. Washington, Pittsburgh and to a lesser extent, Carolina should be the model here, not Dallas. Win some cups, and then stay winning through a 'rebuild'. If you have a down year, then lean-in to that year and draft high, sell off peripheral pieces, and then return to competing. I am really curious to see how Washington and Pittsburgh manage their transitions.


Woo hoo at Calgary being #1. A little surprised they are that high, but I was sure they were easily in the top 10 by this point.

[Jiri Hrdina]

The encouraging thing is that Calgary's ranking is not just driven by the number of depth prospects, which generally has been the case for the last few years. They have one of the highest number of expected 1st liners at 2.3.

YMMV on these rankings but they are statistically based from an objective source.

[YyjFlames]

Originally Posted by Jiri Hrdina

The encouraging thing is that Calgary's ranking is not just driven by the number of depth prospects, which generally has been the case for the last few years. They have one of the highest number of expected 1st liners at 2.3.

YMMV on these rankings but they are statistically based from an objective source.

Gridin's emergence and Wyttenbach's early NCAA dominance are huge. If they luck into one of Stenberg or McKenna, and a top line centre in 2027, they have the makings of three very good lines in a few years:

Mckenna/Stenberg - Centre next year - Coronato
Gridin - Reschny - Wyttenbach
Honzek - Stockselius/Potter - Stock/Potter/Suniev/Basha/Zary/etc.

Getting McKenna or Stenberg this year would be huge as that locks down that first line winger with hopefully a superstar, but it feels like a true #1LD (like Smits?) to pair with Parekh/Mews/Bruz may be a more pressing need this year to give him a couple of years to develop.

Regardless, the foundation of this rebuild is a lot stronger than the previous one.

[Bingo]

Rankings updated with Bukula.

Flames drop two spots in the draft order, but Vegas losing has improved their spot by one.

Ivar Stenberg 1.63
Gavin McKenna 2.13
Keaton Verhoeff 3.00

Chase Reid 4.88
Tynan Lawrence 5.25

Alberts Smits 7.75
Viggo Björck 8.63
Ethan Belchetz 9.13
Carson Carels 9.25
Caleb Malhotra 10.75

Ryan Lin 14.25
Daxon Rudolph 15.38
Oliver Suvanto 15.63
M Nordmark 15.88
X Villeneuve 15.88

Adam Novotný 16.88
Oscar Hemming 17.17
E Hermansson 17.38
Juho Piiparinen 18.75

M Gustafsson 20.57
J.P. Hurlbert 21.57
Mathis Preston 22.63
Will Håkansson 22.71

Nikita Klepov 25.33
Ilya Morozov 26.25
Yegor Shilov 28.25
Tomas Chrenko 28.50
Ryan Roobroeck 29.80
Jack Hextall 30.00
Pierce Mbuyi 30.57
Alex Command 31.50
N Shcherbakov 31.71
Adam Valentini 31.80

M Dagenais 33.17
Wyatt Cullen 34.00
Liam Ruck 34.50
N Aaram-Olsen 34.67
Casey Mutryn 35.33
Adam Goljer 35.40
Tommy Bleyl 35.67

[Roof-Daddy]

Can't see the Flames out losing the nucks, Rags, Blues and Hawks.

Going to need lottery luck either way, but with worse odds if they finish 5th last.

With our luck we'll probably finish 5th last and then get bumped a spot or two.