2026 NHL Draft Thread

[sureLoss]

Tynan Lawrence's NCAA season is over but he will be playing for Canada at the U18 World Championships.

18gp 2g 5a 7pts -1 in the NCAA this season.

[Caged Great]

I’d rather take Reid

[Wedge]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

Even then, you need two guys on your top pairing. Parekh is only one.

Basically, at this point, the Flames need everything they can get.

Unless we get a top two pick, my vote goes for a d man with our first pick this year. I get the impression there are a handful of top pairing defensemen, but zero top line centers (although I find Bjorck intriguing). 2027 and 2028 look to have clear cut centers, and we will still be in the conversation for first overall those two years.

[YyjFlames]

I’m typically always, always BPA in the top 10, but this is an interesting draft after the top two wingers are gone for the Flames if they’re drafting at 3.

Perhaps, they trade down to six and get another 1st and still draft one of Carrels/Smid or Malholtra. They may see an obvious number 3 in this draft and just take him, but they do have a little luxury here — and there are a number of teams that have a couple first rounders in this draft. Boston could be really intriguing, possibly drafting at 6 with the leafs’ pick and 20ish.

They could then potentially package that pick with the Vegas pick or one or two of their second rounders and jump back into the top 12-15.

Could end up with Smid/Carrels/Malholtra and a guy like Bjorck in that #12 range.

[Caged Great]

Originally Posted by Wedge

Unless we get a top two pick, my vote goes for a d man with our first pick this year. I get the impression there are a handful of top pairing defensemen, but zero top line centers (although I find Bjorck intriguing). 2027 and 2028 look to have clear cut centers, and we will still be in the conversation for first overall those two years.

This draft is also a little D heavy, so getting a few with out 8 picks in the top 66 will help also to stack the deck a little.

In my mind, it makes more sense to take defenders now because it takes them longer to develop. We see how top end forwards work, you pretty much just throw them in there and you're good from day one.

So if we get a D-man this year, it'll still likely take 2 years for them to be in the NHL as a regular (giving the same path as Parekh) and that way we can still get the good forward/center next year and the year after as we are going to be bad for a few years.

Makes a lot more sense to be absolutely stacked at all the important positions so that way when we air lift high end forward guys into the lineup then we can be ready to roll into contender mode shortly thereafter.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Quality over quantity, please.

They could trade three seconds for a first and if that pick turns out to be a better nhler than the three then it's worthwhile.

We already have a ton of prospects, and soon to add a big batch more of them.

What's missing in the pool is top end.

By the same logic if they happen to keep all those picks I hope they use the seconds and onward on high risk/high reward players.

When you have quantity at your disposal, celling should be the selling point on the players you select.

We might not need too much more low ceiling/high floor types with all the pickups recently acquired (castagna, gross, curran). Flames have a TON of B/mid level talent. Maybe enough to fill out two future bottom sixes.

Time to swing for the fences with potential.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

They could trade three seconds for a first and if that pick turns out to be a better nhler than the three then it's worthwhile.

That's actually a mighty big ‘if’.

Somewhere in all the discussion on this topic, there was an interesting argument between two posters about the value of draft picks. Perri's pick value calculator is based on the history of trades for picks made by NHL GMs over the years. There's another table, I forget by whom, based on the history of players drafted over the years. I looked them up at the time. The two curves are somewhat different.

If you compare the two sets of values, you will find that GMs significantly over-value 1st-round picks compared to all later rounds. For instance, the Perri calculator shows that pick #21 is almost exactly equal in value to #34 + #37. But your odds of getting a star NHLer are noticeably better if you take 34 and 37, and the career production you can expect from a 34 and a 37 pick are significantly greater than you can expect from a 21 pick.

I suspect GMs overvalue 1st-round picks partly because they have too much confidence in their scouts' ability to spot probable NHL players, and partly because having a 1st and picking on day 1 of the draft is good for PR. Good PR makes money for the owners, and that is naturally bound to influence the decisions made by their hired managers.

I favour whatever combination of picks gives you the best overall odds of landing a star player. If three 2nds give you better odds than a mid-1st, I'd rather have the three 2nds – even if the probability for each individual pick is rather low.

[mile]

https://twitter.com/user/status/2033279568401113186

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

That's actually a mighty big ‘if’.

It's just a hypothetical proposition.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

It's just a hypothetical proposition.

Well, if it’s hypothetical, then hypothetically you could draft three stars with three 2nds, and benefit your team much more than by drafting one star with a single 1st.

Seriously, as between one player taken in the second half if the 1st and three taken in the 2nd, there’s a pretty good chance the best player of the four will be one of the three 2nds.

[Sandman]

Mar.16th: "A" rated RW Elton Hermansson (6'1",181lbs) was another player I liked at the Hlinka, tying for second in scoring with 6 goals and 11 points in 5 games- second only to teammate Marcus Nordmark. In league play this season, his production in the J20 has been rather pedestrian for a player with his profile (only 9 points in 13 games), but his numbers in the Allsvenskan with MoDo are stellar, with 21 points in 38 games- which ranks as the 4th-most points by a U-18 player in a season in league history. Central Scouting has him #4 for European Skaters in their Mid-Term Rankings.

While he lacks any meaningful physicality, and plays too much on the perimeter at times, Hermansson is one of the most skilled players in this draft class. Few players have the kind of elite stickhandling skills that he has, and even fewer can steal the puck from him when he is weaving through small-spaces. He can deke and dangle through triangles and between feet, and plies sublime deception to manipulate defenders in to making them miss their checks- he also shields the puck well from enemy sticks when in close-quarters. His puck-control is exemplary, and he maintains tight possession while at top-speed, when changing direction and pace, and even when under physical pressure. Though he's not a speedster per se, he skates well enough to push pace, and the agility he gets from his smooth edges gives him an extra layer of elusiveness in traffic- at only 181lbs, he is obviously physically underdeveloped, and should become more explosive and faster in a straight-line as he develops his lower-body strength.

Hermansson's high-end puck-skill gives him a soft-touch in his passing, and he can thread the needle through bodies at times to teammates across the ice, showing acute vision and awareness, with a proficiency in making plays from the wall to the slot. While he understands how to open space by playing keep-away to shift defenses, and can slow the game down to wait patiently for options, he isn't really a dynamically creative playmaker, and gets into trouble when trying to get too cute with the puck. At most levels that he's played at, he has historically had more goals than assists, and I think it would be safe to say that he's more of a sniper than a facilitator; he displays a lethal shot that he can pick corners with, and owns soft mitts to beat goalies in-tight, but needs to get to the middle more often. From what I've read, Hermansson has increased his battle-level, is learning contact-skills, and is playing with a bit more physicality- even finishing his checks at times, which is encouraging. He gets involved defensively, and works hard in this area, but his impact varies- he must work to shore up this area of his game. High-end offensive potential- look for him in the top-20 this summer.

[TOfan]

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/710...-draft-scouts/

Piece on McKenna this morning. I think he goes 1OA. Some interesting takes from scouts and executives here.

One thing that most seem to land on is that this years draft seems strong at the top but there isn’t a Bedard, Celebrini, Schafer on the board. One scout in this article states he doesn’t think McKenna gets to a Patrick Kane franchise level player.

I’ve seen/heard recent comparisons to Artemi Panarin. Still a player the Flames should jump at given the opportunity.

[Sandman]

Draft Thoughts:

Mar.16th: A player I really appreciate is "B"-rated LW Chase Harrington (6'0.5",195lbs) of the Spokane Chiefs, who was lurking around the end of the first-round/ early second in most mocks earlier in the year. Harrington should be well above a ppg this season, based on his 2024-25 production of 50 points in 68 games, as well as the fact that he's a little older, sporting an Oct.30th Birthday, but as it stands- he has only managed to post 54 points in 58 games (a pace that would put him at 56 points in 61 games). He was riding shotgun with highly touted RW Mathis Preston, who had the same trouble putting up offense (they occupied the top-two spots in scoring for Spokane), but Preston was traded to the Vancouver Giants (with a 2nd in 2029) just before the January 9th trade deadline for C Tyus Sparks, D Marek Howell, and a 1st-round pick. While some may have thought he would struggle without Preston, Harrington has caught fire recently, posting 13 points in 10 games between February 13th and March 6th, with the Chiefs improving to 11th in the standings since his linemate left- but they are still 14th in goals-for (214 in 65). He is #32 for North American Skaters in Central Scouting's Mid-Term Rankings.

Harrington is a rambunctious power-forward who never passes up the opportunity to dish out a thunderous hit, pushes back in post-whistle scrums, and wins the majority of his puck-battles- his 103 PIM show how mean he is. His motor is sky-high, his board-game is hard and heavy, and he supplies his team with boundless energy, with a good deal of his three-zone impact being predicated on his ability to outwork, and outpace the opposition. The reason he's rated so highly though, is the fact that he's quite skilled with the puck, skates very well, and is a balanced, two-way competitor- and though he was often seen supporting Preston's efforts in the first half of the season, he is showing more often that he is capable of driving play himself. Harrington is a pesky, disruptive presence for the opposition through every step of their attack with how diligent he is in hounding pucks relentlessly, and he is a brilliant forechecker who can strip pucks from his adversaries on the breakout, and cause uncontrolled play to re-start his team's cycle. His sharp awareness in the defensive zone helps him to position himself intelligently; he attacks puck-carriers aggressively, forces turnovers, and will throw hits to dislodge pucks. With well-developed puck-skill, he handles smoothly, protects tightly, and maintains firm control of the puck in his carries, with an ability to pass through tight-spaces by either fighting his way through contact, or by deking and dangling around in traffic. Though he mostly tries to keep his touches short and sweet, and keeps his game relatively simple, he can look quite dynamic at times in transition. Harrington has an NHL-caliber shot, the ability to find and attack space, and a fearlessness in driving the net to clean up garbage in the crease, with the soft-mitts to beat goalies in-tight. As a playmaker, he has the vision and craftiness to put his teammates in advantageous situations, and can open passing seams by drawing pressure, or by skating routes designed to force defenders to shift; he may lack high-end creativity though, and can skate himself into a corner when he tries to do too much by himself. This is a player who I believe is much better than his stats this season- look for him in the second-round. I'm a big fan of this kid.

[mile]

https://twitter.com/user/status/2033498014887649717

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by TOfan

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/710...-draft-scouts/

Piece on McKenna this morning. I think he goes 1OA. Some interesting takes from scouts and executives here.

One thing that most seem to land on is that this years draft seems strong at the top but there isn’t a Bedard, Celebrini, Schafer on the board. One scout in this article states he doesn’t think McKenna gets to a Patrick Kane franchise level player.

I’ve seen/heard recent comparisons to Artemi Panarin. Still a player the Flames should jump at given the opportunity.

And scouts still have concerns about his entitlement and maturity. If the Flames have the choice, I’m more comfortable with Sternberg.

[Canada 02]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

Quality over quantity, please.

They could trade three seconds for a first and if that pick turns out to be a better nhler than the three then it's worthwhile.

We already have a ton of prospects, and soon to add a big batch more of them.

What's missing in the pool is top end.

By the same logic if they happen to keep all those picks I hope they use the seconds and onward on high risk/high reward players.

When you have quantity at your disposal, celling should be the selling point on the players you select.

We might not need too much more low ceiling/high floor types with all the pickups recently acquired (castagna, gross, curran). Flames have a TON of B/mid level talent. Maybe enough to fill out two future bottom sixes.

Time to swing for the fences with potential.

100% agree with quality over quantity. With 8 picks on the top ~65, there are many combinations of picks that could be packaged together to move up

To draft Michael Hage, the Habs traded #26, #57, and #198 to Los Angeles in exchange for the #21 pick

If there is a cluster of prospects from 10 to 16, could the Vegas 1st (#19) and the Ottawa 2nd (#50ish) get you into that cluster?

There is also a cluster in the 20s (23-29). Could you package a couple seconds to get into that cluster?

I'd expect Conroy to make 4 or 5 picks in the top 65, not 8

[Iniggywetrust]

Originally Posted by mile

https://twitter.com/user/status/2033498014887649717

Crazy to see Malholtra all the way down at 20.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Couple thoughts on the Rucks:

(1) I wonder why Liam is ranked a fair bit higher than Marcus when Marcus is the centre?

(2) I also wonder where both would be ranked if they would have played this current season with Gavin McKenna on their left side.

[Vinny01]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

Couple thoughts on the Rucks:

(1) I wonder why Liam is ranked a fair bit higher than Marcus when Marcus is the centre?

(2) I also wonder where both would be ranked if they would have played this current season with Gavin McKenna on their left side.

I thought both were wingers and Basha was their centre?

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

I thought both were wingers and Basha was their centre?

Well, that would explain it haha. I haven't seen any Medicine Hat games this season, just going by hockeydb.