2026 NHL Draft Thread

[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts:

Mar.1st: The Portland Winterhawks have been in a free-fall for the last three months- they were sixth in the WHL Standings at the beginning of December, but have tumbled all the way down to 13th-place. In early-January, just before the trade deadline, the 'Hawks sold off their top defenseman, Carter Sotheran, to the Edmonton Oil Kings for 20 year-old D Niko Tsakumis and two picks, and then traded forward Tyson Yaremko for another two picks two days later. Though he was instantly given more ice-time and responsibility with the departure of Sotheran, the move did nothing for LD Will McLaughlin, who was second on the team in scoring by D at the time, as he went the next 10 games after the trade without a point. Thankfully, he has been able to rebound somewhat, with 6 points in the last 10 matches, for a grand-total of 8 goals and 27 points in 59 contests- which prorates to 31 in 68. He is #91 for North American Skaters in Central Scouting's Mid-Term Rankings.

The "C"-rated McLaughlin (6'1.75",188lbs) seems to have settled in nicely to life in the WHL in this, his rookie season- after spending the whole of 2024-25 with the AJHL's Drumheller Dragons. The Canmore-born rearguard has shown himself to be a poised, responsible, two-way presence; he is first on the team, with a +11. McLaughlin is not a very physical player, preferring to do most of his business with smart positioning, constant scanning, and an active stick. He is a smooth, projectable skater, but he could use upgrades to his acceleration and top-speed, although he comfortably carries the puck up-ice with poise and confidence, and is an excellent puck-mover with his accurate passing skill. His edges are strong, and give him good agility and maneuverability to transition quickly, pivot effortlessly, and surf across the ice laterally to seal off lanes. Defensively, he is good against the rush, and highly aware in shutting down opposing teams' top players; he is used on the PK, and in a match-up role. McLaughlin reads the play acutely to position himself well, and takes away time and space from attackers effectively. In the Hlinka, McLaughlin was the second-highest scoring D for Team USA, with 3 points in 5 games; he displays a willingness in league-play to join the rush, and will pinch into the zone to keep the puck alive, attack open space, or look for passing seams. While he keeps things relatively simple, without the high-end creativity to make many high-end, fancy plays, he is well-versed in deception to manipulate defenders, owns good instincts and passing vision, and will use cut-backs and delays to throw-off opponents, or to draw pressure to open space. He does a good job of quarterbacking the play from the line, and possesses a hard shot that he can get on-net with good frequency. It seems that when he tries to do too much, he either runs into a wall, or turns the puck over. Hopefully, he keeps the offensive numbers flowing, in order to avoid being labelled too "vanilla", and he needs to get his battle-level up in order to win more 50/50 contests. Look for him in the middle-rounds.

[3thirty]

Anyone know anything about a Johnny Hicks, undrafted goalie in the NCAA?

Looks to be pretty small, but posting video game numbers since the WHL playoffs playing with Reschny last year in Vancouver and now Denver this year.

https://www.eliteprospects.com/team/...2025?tab=stats

[bigrangy]

I know nothing but am also fascinated by his #s this year.

[SvenTastic47]

Originally Posted by 3thirty

Anyone know anything about a Johnny Hicks, undrafted goalie in the NCAA?

Looks to be pretty small, but posting video game numbers since the WHL playoffs playing with Reschny last year in Vancouver and now Denver this year.

https://www.eliteprospects.com/team/...2025?tab=stats

Victoria, not Vancouver. He is an agile, smart goaltender. Positionally, very sound. He joined Victoria via Brooks in the BCHL after the NCAA rule change, took the reins from the Royals #1 last year (Kraus). A few years prior, he played for Merritt, and single handedly stole games for them as a 16-year-old. Considering the Flames signing of Say (another BCHL product), I would say they have definitely taken a look in his direction. He has excelled at every jump he’s made.

[Sandman]

The other 2 goalies that have played there don’t have NEAR as good numbers as he does.

[YyjFlames]

Originally Posted by 3thirty

Anyone know anything about a Johnny Hicks, undrafted goalie in the NCAA?

Looks to be pretty small, but posting video game numbers since the WHL playoffs playing with Reschny last year in Vancouver and now Denver this year.

https://www.eliteprospects.com/team/...2025?tab=stats

He came to Victoria in the back half of the 2024/25 season just before the trade deadline. Royals other backup was rough and moved to the BCHL.

I didn’t see a lot of him live, but he was quite good in Victoria and stole the net in the playoffs and then lost it in the final series… which may have ultimately contributed to the royals not moving past Spokane, because Hicks was probably the better goalie than Victoria’s main starter.

He was already committed to going the college route when he signed with the royals (he was an older player), and probably signed with the team becuase the new ncaa transfer rules allowed him to play WHL at that point.

I don’t think he’s a late bloomer, he’s skilled but small and his size has probably held him back—even so far in college. Looks like he only recently got the net in Denver in January after Montreal Canadiens goalie prospect Quentin Miller got injured.

Not sure if nhl teams would ever take the risk on a goalie that small despite his numbers. But he regularly outperforms expectations and a team may eventually sign him during or later in his college career.

He will be an interesting guy to keep an eye on. Nice find.

[SvenTastic47]

Originally Posted by YyjFlames

He came to Victoria in the back half of the 2024/25 season just before the trade deadline. Royals other backup was rough and moved to the BCHL.

I didn’t see a lot of him live, but he was quite good in Victoria and stole the net in the playoffs and then lost it in the final series… which may have ultimately contributed to the royals not moving past Spokane, because Hicks was probably the better goalie than Victoria’s main starter.

He was already committed to going the college route when he signed with the royals (he was an older player), and probably signed with the team becuase the new ncaa transfer rules allowed him to play WHL at that point.

I don’t think he’s a late bloomer, he’s skilled but small and his size has probably held him back—even so far in college. Looks like he only recently got the net in Denver in January after Montreal Canadiens goalie prospect Quentin Miller got injured.

Not sure if nhl teams would ever take the risk on a goalie that small despite his numbers. But he regularly outperforms expectations and a team may eventually sign him during or later in his college career.

He will be an interesting guy to keep an eye on. Nice find.

Injured against Spokane, didn’t lose the net.

[3thirty]

Thanks for the info on him!

[mile]

Top 100 mid-season list with descriptions for the top 64
https://gabrielfoley.substack.com/p/...dRedirect=true


1. McKenna
2. Stenberg
3. Reid
4. Bjorck
5. Verhoeff
6. Lawrence
7. Hemming
8. Carels
9. Malholtra
10. Suvanto

[Fan69]

Originally Posted by mile

Top 100 mid-season list with descriptions for the top 64
https://gabrielfoley.substack.com/p/...dRedirect=true


1. McKenna
2. Stenberg
3. Reid
4. Bjorck
5. Verhoeff
6. Lawrence
7. Hemming
8. Carels
9. Malholtra
10. Suvanto

Suvanto in the top ten is interesting.

[Fan69]

Originally Posted by mile

Top 100 mid-season list with descriptions for the top 64
https://gabrielfoley.substack.com/p/...dRedirect=true


1. McKenna
2. Stenberg
3. Reid
4. Bjorck
5. Verhoeff
6. Lawrence
7. Hemming
8. Carels
9. Malholtra
10. Suvanto

Boy he has some wild variations off of a lot of lists. Chrenko in the third? Dagenais bottom of the second? Just no on this one. Mutryn in the first. Lin in the almost second. Villeneuve in the second. Frolo in the second, dont mind this one.


Some pretty wild variance.

[YyjFlames]

Probably not the right place to put this but Scott Wheeler with the athletic is going to start rolling out his prospect team rankings.

Probably won’t see Calgary’s system until late March, and it’ll be interesting to see some shifts if a big prospect or two gets traded.

[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts:

Mar.2nd: If you watched the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, then you probably came away with an appreciation for "C"-rated LW Pierce Mbuyi's game in very limited minutes. Though he was only able to produce 1 assist in 4 games, and he only measures 5'10",160lbs, he made his presence felt with his relentless motor, boundless energy, and tenacity in puck-battles. He was in his opponents' faces for the duration of every shift, disrupting the play, and keeping attackers off-balance with his constant physicality and pitbull-like compete. In 2024-25, with the then-16th-placed Owen Sound Attack, Mbuyi tied for the 58th-best season by a U-17 player in the last 35 years in the OHL, with an impressive 52 points in 63 games; his efforts earned him Rookie of the Year honors. His 29 goals in the same season are tied (with Mason McTavish, Quinton Byfield, and Michael Misa) for 24th-best by a U-17 player in the last 35 years of OHL play. With the Attack currently in 13th-place, it's a bit puzzling as to why he has only managed to put up 63 points in 60 games this season- which is tied for 17th in the scoring race; I would've expected higher numbers, and I believe he's better than his stats- even though he leads his team in scoring by 9 points. Central Scouting likes him too, as they ranked him #44 for North American Skaters on their Mid-Term List. He is committed to Penn State for next season, which means he will have time to work on his game.

Mbuyi's speed is augmented by his high-end workrate, but further upgrades must be made to his explosiveness and separation speed; he is quite strong on his skates though, and hard to knock off the puck. He keeps his feet pumping hard on fluid, projectable mechanics, shows agility and maneuverability on his edges to wind through small spaces, and manages to push pace. A pocket-sized power-forward, he is able to play through contact, and seeks out contact of his own- laying hits, and winning puck-battles against bigger opponents by getting low and outworking them; he sports a massive chip on his shoulder, playing with plenty of bite and ferocity, amassing 79 PIM. Mbuyi never quits on a play, attacks puck-carriers on the forecheck to turn pucks over, and wields intensity with solid details on the backcheck to pressure attackers- he is smart and aware all over the ice, and is defensively responsible. Known as a dual-threat offensively, he can deceive defenders to make some deft cross-seam plays in traffic, and owns sublime instincts, but he does most of his damage through his tunnel-vision to the net, and his high-end sniper's release. His shot is lethal and well-placed, capable of picking corners while in-motion, and he has silky mitts to beat goalies in-tight, with a propensity to arrive in the low-slot at the exact right time to capitalize on second-chances, or receive high-danger passes. A large number of his tallies seem to come from just inside the hash-marks, off of laser-sighted one-timers and catch-and release bullets; with 17 goals and 30 points coming via the PP, he is money on the man-advantage, but must work to improve his space-creation ability, as well as his 5-on-5 impact. Mbuyi struggles with getting pucks off the wall, is too often playing on the perimeter, and gets a lot of his points from the weak-side on the PP- for this reason, I feel like he may have to wait until the third-round.