2026 NHL Draft Round 1: A Full Pre-Lottery Mock, All 32 Picks

The round 1 field, pre-lottery

Pick order below reflects the current reverse-standings order per Tankathon, with the caveat that the May 5 lottery will almost certainly shuffle picks 1 through 16. Prospects assigned using a synthesis of Foley's midterm top-100, Tankathon's big board, and NHL Central Scouting's final North American and international rankings. Scouting summaries are original; the rankings are consensus.

Updated after May 5. Updated again on draft night.

The picks

1. Vancouver Canucks — Gavin McKenna, LW, Penn State (NCAA)

Consensus #1. Elite playmaker and skater, 129 points as a 17-year-old in the WHL last year, split 2025-26 between Medicine Hat and Penn State. A franchise forward in the Backstrom/Marner archetype.

2. Chicago Blackhawks — Ivar Stenberg, LW/RW, Frölunda (SHL)

Second on every serious list. Swedish winger with dual-threat offense, already holding his own in SHL games as an 18-year-old. Arrives NHL-ready faster than most of the board.

3. New York Rangers — Chase Reid, RD, Soo Greyhounds (OHL)

Highest-ranked North American defenseman on most boards, 6-foot-2 right shot, plays a modern transition game. Reid Cunningham comps are a stretch, but the projection is top-four.

4. Calgary Flames — Keaton Verhoeff, RD, North Dakota (NCAA)

Bigger than Reid at 6-foot-3, 208, already playing NCAA minutes. The right-shot D class is thin after these two names, which is why both go early.

5. Toronto Maple Leafs — Viggo Björck, C/RW, Djurgårdens IF (SHL)

Assuming the Leafs keep their pick (41.8% per the lottery math), Björck is the cleanest fit. Elite passing, plays center with wing versatility, fills the exact hole Toronto has been trying to fill since Marner left. If the pick drops to Boston, they probably take him here instead.

6. Seattle Kraken — Carson Carels, LD, Prince George (WHL)

Heavy left-shot D with puck-moving legs, fits Seattle's organizational profile. The top-5 cutoff is arbitrary; Carels is grouped with Reid/Verhoeff on some lists.

7. Winnipeg Jets — Caleb Malhotra, C, Brantford (OHL)

6-foot-1 center, strong on the dot, 200-foot game. Winnipeg's middle depth thins if Ehlers walks in July; Malhotra is a long-term bet on the position.

8. Florida Panthers — Tynan Lawrence, C, Boston University (NCAA)

NCAA forward with late-bloomer profile and top-six upside. Florida rarely goes off-consensus, and Lawrence is a consensus top-10.

9. San Jose Sharks — Oscar Hemming, LW, Boston College (NCAA)

6-foot winger with above-average shot and strong zone-entry tracking. San Jose adds to a pool that's already one of the deepest in the league.

10. Nashville Predators — Alberts Smits, LD, Jukurit (Liiga)

Latvian left-shot defenseman playing pro hockey in Finland. Smooth skater, advanced reads for his age. Drafts higher than the ranking number because NHL scouts love Liiga-tested 18-year-olds.

11. St. Louis Blues — Oliver Suvanto, C, Tappara (Liiga)

Finnish center, 6-foot-1, plays both ends of the ice. Tappara's reputation for developing pro-ready forwards gives him a smaller boom-or-bust range than most picks in this tier.

12. New Jersey Devils — Daxon Rudolph, RD, Prince Albert (WHL)

6-foot-2, 206. Right-shot D with physical finish. New Jersey's organizational depth chart on the right side gets thin past John Marino; Rudolph starts the next wave.

13. New York Islanders — Adam Novotný, LW/RW, Peterborough (OHL)

Czech winger with the size (6-foot-3) the Islanders typically draft for. High-end shot, developmental runway on the defensive details.

14. Columbus Blue Jackets — William Håkansson, LD, Luleå (SHL)

Tall, angular Swedish left-shot D. Plays bigger than his weight suggests. Columbus continues its trend of drafting European blueliners with pro experience.

15. St. Louis Blues (from DET) — Ilya Morozov, C, Miami OH (NCAA)

Russian center playing NCAA, which is a rare-enough combination that scouts have been watching closely. Two-way game with improving offensive creation.

16. Washington Capitals — Ethan Belchetz, LW, Windsor (OHL)

Bigger power forward archetype; Belchetz fits a Capitals system that has leaned into size on the wing for a decade.

17. Los Angeles Kings — Marcus Nordmark, RW, Djurgårdens (SHL)

Swedish right wing, plays alongside Björck at Djurgårdens. Strong shot release, underrated skater. LA's pipeline keeps getting Scandinavian.

18. Washington Capitals (from ANA) — Elton Hermansson, RW/LW, MoDo (HockeyAllsvenskan)

Second-tier Swedish league is a harder read than SHL, but Hermansson's tools are first-round grade. Capitals double up on wingers with two first-round picks.

19. Utah Mammoth — Nikita Klepov, RW, Saginaw (OHL)

Russian winger, OHL import, 6-foot frame, quick hands. Utah's front office has been willing to go Russian in recent drafts.

20. San Jose Sharks (from EDM) — Juho Piiparinen, RD, Tappara (Liiga)

Finnish right-shot D playing pro. Projects as a second-pair two-way defender with PK value. San Jose's second first-rounder.

21. Philadelphia Flyers — Xavier Villeneuve, LD, Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL)

Mobile left-shot D, dynamic with the puck. Quebec-league flavor for a Flyers front office that has dipped into the Q with success lately.

22. Pittsburgh Penguins — J.P. Hurlbert, LW, Kamloops (WHL)

WHL winger with scoring touch, not yet a defensive player but has the tools. Pittsburgh's organizational forward depth is famously thin; Hurlbert is a bet on top-six upside.

23. Boston Bruins — Malte Gustafsson, LD, HV71 (SHL)

This is Boston's actual first-round pick (separate from the conditional Leafs 2026 claim). Gustafsson is a puck-moving SHL defender with second-pair projection.

24. Vancouver Canucks (from MIN) — Simas Ignatavicius, C/F, Genève-Servette (NL)

Lithuanian-Swiss forward playing in the top Swiss league at 17. Two-way center with size. Vancouver's second first-rounder after McKenna — deep draft haul.

25. Montreal Canadiens — Yegor Shilov, C, Victoriaville (QMJHL)

Russian center in the Q. Creative offensive player, needs reps on the defensive side. Montreal has been active in the Q.

26. Seattle Kraken (from TB) — Ryan Lin, RD, Vancouver Giants (WHL)

Right-shot D, smooth skater, projects as a third-pair defender with PP utility. Seattle stacks D after Carels.

27. New York Rangers (from DAL) — Adam Goljer, RD, HK Dukla Trenčín (Slovak)

Slovak right-shot D. Less exposure than CHL equivalents, but scouts who travel to central Europe have him top-30. Rangers' second first-rounder.

28. Calgary Flames (from VGK) — Mathis Preston, F, Spokane (WHL)

WHL forward, versatile, strong off the puck. Calgary's second first-round pick in this draft.

29. Buffalo Sabres — Ryan Roobroeck, C, Niagara (OHL)

6-foot-3 OHL center, long stick, physical engagement. Buffalo has been drafting for size on the center line for two straight years.

30. Carolina Hurricanes — Tomáš Chrenko, C, HK Nitra (Slovak)

Slovak center playing top-flight men's league in Slovakia. Carolina's scouting has leaned European for most of the Rod Brind'Amour era.

31. St. Louis Blues (from COL) — Jack Hextall, C, Youngstown (USHL)

Hextall name matters, but the player's résumé is solid on its own — Youngstown center with NCAA commitment, two-way profile. St. Louis lands three first-rounders.

32. Ottawa Senators — Wyatt Cullen, F, USDP U-18 (NTDP)

US National Team Development Program product, versatile forward, rounds out the round with a tooled-up flier Ottawa can develop at its own pace.

What to watch on lottery night

Three names shift if the lottery moves picks around. If Vancouver loses the top pick, McKenna could slide to whichever team jumps; most likely Stenberg drops into the subsequent slot. Toronto at #5 becomes either a kept-pick bet on Björck or the start of Boston's alternate first-round script. And the middle of the round — picks 10 through 16 — gets reshuffled as playoff bounces resolve late in April.

This mock gets rewritten once on May 5 and once on June 26. Watch the draft page for the post-lottery version.