The 2026 NHL trade deadline has come and gone, and the playoffs are just about one month away. There are tons of interesting races both at the top and the bottom of the standings, except for the two endpoints in the Colorado Avalanche and the Vancouver Canucks, who are shoo-ins to finish first and 32nd, respectively. It’s time for the 2026 NHL draft rankings.
With the World Juniors wrapped up, and junior seasons entering their homestretches around the globe, a clearer picture of the 2026 draft class is emerging.
A look at the 2026 NHL draft class
This year’s draft is touted as one of the deepest in many years. There is a ton of value to be had even into deeper rounds, and teams have known this for a while. 2026 first-round picks were a very prized commodity, and instead of seeing those bartered at the frequency we’ve come to expect, second-rounders were flying around instead.
The prize was thought to be no-doubter number one pick, Gavin McKenna. That has changed.
McKenna has had a phenomenal draft year in the NCAA. Other worthy number one picks have emerged in Ivar Stenberg, Keaton Verhoeff, and Chase Reid. McKenna is no longer a slam-dunk first overall selection.
In terms of our rankings, three players received number one votes, a surprising third in Chase Reid, who got his first number one vote from Cory Pronman. Five players received top-two votes, 11 received top-five votes, 17 received top-10 votes, and 61 players received top-32 votes. This is down from 72 players with top-32 votes last year, so we may see a more predictable group of players taken in the first couple of rounds.
Consolidated draft rankings
Our rankings include those from Scott Wheeler, Cory Pronman, Foley on Hockey, Upside Hockey, Peter Baracchini, Sam Cosentino, Steven Ellis, Tony Ferrari, Jason Bukala, McKeen Hockey, Smaht Scouting, Craig Button, and EliteProspects.
A moment to mourn the shutdown of Future Considerations, the best hockey prospect ranking resource we’ve ever seen. Their work is missed dearly.
If any notable rankings were missed, please let me know, and I will adjust the consolidated rankings accordingly.
A trimmed mean is used to remove the highest and lowest ranks for each player.
Without further ado, here’s the full list.
| Rank | Player | Trimmed Mean | Position | Team | League | DOB | HT | WT | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivar Stenberg | 1.5 | LW/RW | Frolunda HC | SHL | 29-Sep-07 | 6’0″ | 181 | L |
| 2 | Gavin McKenna | 1.8 | LW | Penn State Univ. | NCAA | 19-Dec-07 | 6’0″ | 170 | L |
| 3 | Keaton Verhoeff | 3.4 | D | Univ. of North Dakota | NCAA | 18-Jun-08 | 6’4″ | 212 | R |
| 4 | Chase Reid | 4.4 | D | Soo Greyhounds | OHL | 29-Dec-07 | 6’2″ | 187 | R |
| 5 | Tynan Lawrence | 6.5 | C | Boston Univ. | NCAA | 02-Aug-08 | 6’0″ | 185 | L |
| 6 | Alberts Smits | 7.0 | D | Jukurit | Liiga | 01-Dec-07 | 6’3″ | 205 | L |
| 7 | Carson Carels | 7.7 | D | Prince George Cougars | WHL | 22-Jun-08 | 6’2″ | 194 | L |
| 8 | Caleb Malhotra | 8.7 | C | Brantford Bulldogs | OHL | 01-Jun-08 | 6’2″ | 183 | L |
| 9 | Viggo Bjorck | 8.9 | C/RW | Djurgardens IF | SHL | 11-Mar-08 | 5’10” | 172 | R |
| 10 | Ethan Belchetz | 10.1 | LW | Windsor Spitfires | OHL | 29-Mar-08 | 6’5″ | 227 | L |
| 11 | Oscar Hemming | 12.5 | F | Boston College | NCAA | 12-Aug-08 | 6’4″ | 198 | L |
| 12 | Daxon Rudolph | 13.3 | D | Prince Albert Raiders | WHL | 05-Mar-08 | 6’2″ | 203 | R |
| 13 | Adam Novotny | 14.6 | LW/RW | Peterborough Petes | OHL | 12-Nov-07 | 6’1″ | 205 | L |
| 14 | Oliver Suvanto | 15.5 | C | Tappara | Liiga | 02-Sep-08 | 6’3″ | 209 | L |
| 15 | Ryan Lin | 16.2 | D | Vancouver Giants | WHL | 17-Apr-08 | 5’11” | 176 | R |
| 16 | Marcus Nordmark | 16.6 | RW | Djurgardens IF U20 | U20 Nationell | 03-May-08 | 6’2″ | 187 | L |
| 17 | Xavier Villeneuve | 17.3 | D | Blainville-Boisbriand Armada | QMJHL | 28-Sep-07 | 5’11” | 157 | L |
| 18 | Elton Hermansson | 17.6 | RW/LW | MoDo Hockey | HockeyAllsvenskan | 04-Feb-08 | 6’1″ | 174 | R |
| 19 | Malte Gustafsson | 18.6 | D | HV71 U20 | U20 Nationell | 10-Jun-08 | 6’4″ | 201 | L |
| 20 | J.P. Hurlbert | 20.1 | F | Kamloops Blazers | WHL | 10-Apr-08 | 6’0″ | 183 | R |
| 21 | Ilia Morozov | 21.3 | F | Miami Univ. (Ohio) | NCAA | 02-Aug-08 | 6’3″ | 205 | L |
| 22 | Juho Piiparinen | 21.3 | D | Tappara | Liiga | 09-Aug-08 | 6’3″ | 203 | R |
| 23 | Nikita Klepov | 24.8 | F | Saginaw Spirit | OHL | 26-Jun-08 | 6’0″ | 181 | L |
| 24 | William Hakansson | 25.0 | D | Lulea HF | SHL | 07-Oct-07 | 6’4″ | 207 | L |
| 25 | Mathis Preston | 27.1 | F | Spokane Chiefs | WHL | 20-Jul-08 | 5’11” | 176 | R |
| 26 | Alexander Command | 28.2 | C | orebro HK U20 | U20 Nationell | 15-Jun-08 | 6’1″ | 185 | L |
| 27 | Egor Shilov | 29.1 | C | Victoriaville Tigres | QMJHL | 29-Apr-08 | 6’1″ | 181 | L |
| 28 | Wyatt Cullen | 29.2 | F | U.S. National U18 Team | NTDP | 07-Sep-08 | 6’0″ | 172 | L |
| 29 | Tomas Chrenko | 29.7 | C | HK Nitra | Slovakia | 01-Nov-07 | 5’11” | 170 | R |
| 30 | Markus Ruck | 30.0 | F | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 20-Feb-08 | 6’0″ | 168 | L |
| 31 | Ben Macbeath | 30.5 | D | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 03-Mar-08 | 6’2″ | 181 | L |
| 32 | Liam Ruck | 31.5 | F | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 20-Feb-08 | 6’0″ | 176 | R |
| 33 | Ryan Roobroeck | 31.9 | C | Niagara IceDogs | OHL | 24-Sep-07 | 6’4″ | 216 | L |
| 34 | Jack Hextall | 32.0 | C | Youngstown Phantoms | USHL | 22-Mar-08 | 6’0″ | 185 | R |
| 35 | Maddox Dagenais | 32.1 | C | Quebec Remparts | QMJHL | 26-Mar-08 | 6’4″ | 196 | L |
| 36 | Casey Mutryn | 35.3 | F | U.S. National U18 Team | NTDP | 04-Jul-08 | 6’3″ | 201 | R |
| 37 | Brooks Rogowski | 35.4 | C | Oshawa Generals | OHL | 27-Jun-08 | 6’6″ | 231 | R |
| 38 | Niklas Aaram-Olsen | 36.4 | RW/LW | orebro HK U20 | U20 Nationell | 18-Apr-08 | 6’1″ | 187 | L |
| 39 | Simas Ignatavicius | 36.6 | C/F | Genève-Servette HC | NL | 21-Oct-07 | 6’3″ | 198 | R |
| 40 | Nikita Shcherbakov | 37.1 | D | Salavat Yulaev Ufa | KHL | 22-Oct-07 | 6’5″ | 187 | L |
| 41 | Dmitri Borichev | 37.5 | G | Loko-76 Yaroslavl | MHL | 18-Jun-08 | 6’3″ | 198 | – |
| 42 | Adam Goljer | 38.5 | D | HK Dukla Trencin | Slovakia | 06-Jun-08 | 6’3″ | 194 | R |
| 43 | Adam Valentini | 39.0 | F | Univ. of Michigan | NCAA | 10-Apr-08 | 5’11” | 185 | L |
| 44 | Lavr Gashilov | 40.0 | C | Avto Yekaterinburg | MHL | 22-Sep-07 | 6’2″ | 170 | L |
| 45 | Jonas Lagerberg Hoen | 40.0 | RW | Leksands IF U20 | U20 Nationell | 23-Oct-07 | 6’2″ | 176 | R |
| 46 | Jaxon Cover | 40.5 | LW | London Knights | OHL | 12-Feb-08 | 6’1″ | 185 | L |
| 47 | Pierce Mbuyi | 44.0 | LW | Owen Sound Attack | OHL | 16-Apr-08 | 5’11” | 159 | L |
| 48 | Alessandro Di Iorio | 44.8 | C | Sarnia Sting | OHL | 16-Mar-08 | 6’1″ | 190 | R |
| 49 | Vilho Vanhatalo | 45.0 | RW/LW | Tappara U20 | U20 SM-sarja | 17-Jan-08 | 6’4″ | 198 | L |
| 50 | Gleb Pugachyov | 45.5 | RW/LW | Chaika Nizhny Novgorod | MHL | 24-Mar-08 | 6’3″ | 198 | L |
| 51 | Samu Alalauri | 45.7 | D | Pelicans U20 | U20 SM-sarja | 30-May-08 | 6’3″ | 205 | R |
| 52 | Tomas Galvas | 46.5 | D | Bili Tygri Liberec | Czechia | 10-Feb-06 | 5’10” | 168 | L |
| 53 | Victor Plante | 48.0 | F | U.S. National U18 Team | NTDP | 09-Mar-08 | 5’10” | 157 | L |
| 54 | Vladimir Dravecky | 48.3 | D | Brantford Bulldogs | OHL | 18-Dec-07 | 6’0″ | 187 | R |
| 55 | Tommy Bleyl | 48.7 | D | Moncton Wildcats | QMJHL | 30-Nov-07 | 6’0″ | 170 | R |
| 56 | Braidy Wassilyn | 49.0 | F | London Knights | OHL | 27-May-08 | 5’11” | 194 | L |
| 57 | Giorgos Pantelas | 50.5 | D | Brandon Wheat Kings | WHL | 23-Apr-08 | 6’2″ | 214 | R |
| 58 | Axel Elofsson | 50.7 | D | orebro HK U20 | U20 Nationell | 02-Jun-08 | 5’11” | 165 | R |
| 59 | Thomas Vandenberg | 51.5 | C | Ottawa 67’s | OHL | 07-Sep-08 | 6’0″ | 181 | L |
| 60 | Mikey Berchild | 51.7 | F | U.S. National U18 Team | NTDP | 15-Feb-08 | 5’10” | 181 | L |
| 61 | Oscar Holmertz | 51.8 | C | Linkoping HC U20 | U20 Nationell | 20-Mar-08 | 6’0″ | 192 | L |
| 62 | Filip Novak | 52.0 | F | HC Sparta Praha U20 | Czechia U20 | 06-Mar-08 | 6’1″ | 198 | L |
| 63 | Lars Steiner | 52.3 | RW | Rouyn-Noranda Huskies | QMJHL | 11-Nov-07 | 5’10” | 176 | R |
| 64 | Beckham Edwards | 52.8 | C | Sarnia Sting | OHL | 05-Jan-08 | 6’1″ | 181 | L |
| 65 | Ryder Cali | 53.0 | C | North Bay Battalion | OHL | 05-Sep-08 | 6’2″ | 209 | L |
| 66 | Charlie Morrison | 53.7 | D | Quebec Remparts | QMJHL | 11-Oct-07 | 6’3″ | 198 | L |
| 67 | Adam Nemec | 54.0 | F | Sudbury Wolves | OHL | 17-Oct-07 | 6’1″ | 176 | L |
| 68 | Vertti Svensk | 57.0 | D | SaiPa U20 | U20 SM-sarja | 08-Nov-07 | 6’1″ | 168 | L |
| 69 | Luke Schairer | 57.2 | D | U.S. National U18 Team | NTDP | 29-Jan-08 | 6’3″ | 201 | R |
| 70 | Brady Knowling | 57.5 | G | U.S. National U18 Team | NTDP | 08-Mar-08 | 6’5″ | 203 | – |
| 71 | Landon Nycz | 59.0 | D | Univ. of Massachusetts | NCAA | 03-Oct-07 | 6’3″ | 205 | L |
| 72 | Casper Juustovaara Karlsson | 59.0 | C/LW | Lulea HF | SHL | 24-Oct-07 | 5’9″ | 168 | L |
| 73 | Tobias Trejbal | 59.5 | G | Youngstown Phantoms | USHL | 08-Nov-07 | 6’4″ | 190 | – |
| 74 | Viktor Fyodorov | 60.0 | C | Chaika Nizhny Novgorod | MHL | 20-Feb-08 | 5’10” | 176 | L |
| 75 | Jakub Vanecek | 60.3 | D | Tri-City Americans | WHL | 24-Feb-08 | 6’2″ | 194 | L |
| 76 | Chase Harrington | 60.5 | F | Spokane Chiefs | WHL | 29-Oct-07 | 6’0″ | 201 | L |
| 77 | Blake Zielinski | 60.5 | F | Des Moines Buccaneers | USHL | 04-Mar-08 | 6’0″ | 187 | R |
| 78 | Landon Hafele | 62.0 | F | Green Bay Gamblers | USHL | 17-Sep-07 | 6’0″ | 187 | L |
| 79 | Brek Liske | 63.0 | D | Everett Silvertips | WHL | 08-Jan-08 | 6’2″ | 187 | R |
| 80 | Alexei Vlasov | 63.0 | LW | Victoriaville Tigres | QMJHL | 01-Feb-08 | 5’9″ | 179 | R |
| 81 | Olivers Murnieks | 65.8 | C | Saint John Sea Dogs | QMJHL | 30-Jul-08 | 6’1″ | 194 | L |
| 82 | Nils Bartholdsson | 69.0 | RW | Rogle BK U20 | U20 Nationell | 24-Apr-08 | 5’10” | 174 | R |
| 83 | Ethan MacKenzie | 70.0 | D | Edmonton Oil Kings | WHL | 01-Sep-06 | 6’0″ | 174 | L |
| 84 | Max Isaksson | 73.5 | C | Vaxjo Lakers HC U20 | U20 Nationell | 27-Jan-08 | 6’0″ | 183 | L |
| 85 | Cooper Williams | 75.0 | F | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 17-Feb-08 | 6’1″ | 159 | L |
| 86 | Yaroslav Fedoseyev | 75.0 | D | Belye Medvedi Chelyabinsk | MHL | 04-Nov-07 | 6’2″ | 187 | R |
| 87 | Colin Fitzgerald | 77.0 | C | Peterborough Petes | OHL | 31-Mar-08 | 6’2″ | 207 | R |
| 88 | Ludvig Andersson | 80.0 | C/RW | orebro HK U20 | U20 Nationell | 23-May-08 | 5’11” | 192 | R |
| 89 | Jean-Cristoph Lemieux | 82.5 | C | Sudbury Wolves | OHL | 18-Jun-08 | 6’0″ | 187 | L |
| 90 | Landon Amrhein | 86.0 | F | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 05-Apr-08 | 6’4″ | 192 | R |
| 91 | Timofei Runtso | 88.0 | D | Victoria Royals | WHL | 05-Jul-07 | 6’2″ | 187 | R |
| 92 | Alexander Bilecki | 91.0 | D | Kitchener Rangers | OHL | 08-May-08 | 6’2″ | 181 | L |
| 93 | Simon Katolicky | 93.0 | LW/RW | Tappara U20 | U20 SM-sarja | 23-Jul-08 | 6’4″ | 198 | L |
