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Hey guys, Levi here. Just really quick, we filmed this mock draft on Tuesday and of course just hours after we recorded. A ton of big trades happened. Thanks a lot, NHL. So, some of the team selecting will be different, but I don't think that the players being drafted will change all that much. We hope you enjoy our take, and if you want an up totheminute mock draft, be sure to hit the link in the description of the video for an article on that. Welcome into the scores official final 2026 NHL mockdraft. Levi Smith, Kyle Kushman, Josh Wegman, you two are going to be taking us through most of this.
I'm going to get out of your way because you know what you're talking about here. But we're three days away. It's Tuesday right now. Obviously, the draft's coming up on Friday. We've got tons of coverage in the app and everything. So, anyone who wants like up to the minute alerts, all that great stuff for the NHL draft, be sure to check our app. Be sure to check the articles that we're putting out. But, let's just get right into it. I don't need to waste anybody's more time. And we're doing the entire first round, all 32 picks. So, we're going to be here for a second, but you guys have picks and analysis on every single selection here. And we're kicking things
off with, of course, our Toronto Maple Leafs. First overall, Kyle, are they taking Gavin McKenna? Yes or no? Yes. And I'm curious if you guys have any question about that at this point. Like, he's a flawed player. He's an imperfect player. We've known that the entire draft cycle. He's also the most uniquely talented player in the draft. When you think about his point production upside, when you think about his power play wizardry, like he could legitimately be one of the best power players in the entire league. We talk so much about even strength value that we kind of underrate how important it is to be a great power play player. You think
about his fit offensively with the Maple Leafs in terms of what they lost most recently with Mitch Mner. He can help replace that in the coming years. There's going to be some bumps in the road. It is not going to be a great rookie season probably with a lot of ups and downs. Growing pains is a great way to describe it, but ultimately I don't think there's a single player in the entire draft with the kind of upside as Gavin McKenna. You don't pass on that at first overall. I also think there's just nothing the Leafs have said or done that would indicate they're leaning in a different direction. Like I mean they made the
trip to White Horse to visit him. They brought him to Toronto for a visit. Like I don't know if they're doing that with other top prospects. So it just seems like McKenna open and shut case here. Yeah. And I think obviously if there was any speculation about maybe they trade down or go with a defenseman that was put to rest with the Darren Radish shin and trade. Of course if they take someone else it's been a great smoke screen. Smoke screen. I agree with you guys. It's kind of one of those situations where he's done everything he can do to prove he's the best player. If he flames out and if he's a bust at that point that's Gavin McKenna's fault. That's not Toronto's fault. I'm
interesting for sure. That's going to help me sleep at night if this doesn't pan out in some I like the precope for the bust. Exactly. in some shape or form. Hey Leafs, you made the right decision. Take Gav McKenna. The one question is it such a surefire pick that he'll have his 72 on the back of his jersey? That's what I'm wondering about. Like Celerini had 71. Bard had the 98. I would love to see the 72 on the back. I would think so. They've had enough time to get this jersey prepared. All right, there we go. Leafs taking Gavin McKenna first overall. On to pick number two, the San Jose Sharks. Josh,
what do you got for us? Ivar Stenberg. I think there's a serious case to go with a D here given all the forwards they have in their system and this could be the last time they get to draft a high-end D should be but should be anyway but I think at the end of the day Mike Greer is going to say hey you know what I'm going to take the best player available and that's Ivar Stenberg who can help this group right away I love the potential fit alongside Celibbrini I mean Stenberg is such a hard-nosed like hardworking player he was so good at the world championship against men he was great in Sweden against men I think this guy can come in and make an immediate impact and be like a good defensive conscience in that forward group where
you have guys like Will Smith and Michael Misa who are maybe a little more offensively minded. He's such a great fit with Celabbrini or he's a great fit on the second line after Celibbrini bringing that similar kind of conscience like we talk so much about like his compete his defensive game. we forget like he's second in all-time Swedish League scoring rate among draft eligible players behind only Daniel Sadine and that happened 30 years ago at this point like extremely impressive offensive player as well in addition to the compete level. I don't think it's the same high-end offensive potential as McKenna which is why McKenna is still number one here. Um but I think it's extremely risky for San Jose to go the
defense option and skip on in my opinion the second best. I could see them trying to trade down but if they can I think Stenberg's the pick. I think so too. It's a situation where it's like it's kind of an embarrassment of riches where like I don't know you think back to I don't know why this is the one meth or u analogy I have. I think it's a good one though. It's it's it's reminiscent to me of when the Cincinnati Bengals took Jamar Chase okay to pair with Joe Burrow. It's like oh but defense is a problem. All you need to score eight goals a game like who cares about defenseman? They'll they'll
figure it out later on. So and I'm glad that you touched on too his scoring rate in the in Sweden. We're going to get to some names on this list. We're 33 points in 43 games for Fonda this year. There's some point totals in that league on this draft board. I couldn't believe how low they are. Yeah. So, obviously, yeah, not an easy league to score and uh he's managed to do it. So, he's kind of the surefire. That's the surefire one and two. We haven't changed that since we started doing our mock drafts. On to pick three though. This is a different one from the last time we did this exercise. Um that was back on May 6th. You got the Conucks picking somebody else. Who do you have?
Yeah. So the question here the entire draft site or basically since the Canucks fired their head coach and hired Manny Malhotra is the pick Caleb his Manny Malhotra's son. I think it is the way that the draft plays out here. If San Jose goes D, Ivar Stenberg I think is the guy for Vancouver at three. But Malhotra I don't think it's an issue with his dad being the head coach. I think the way that Manny is as a head coach, his experience in the league, the way that Caleb is as a leader, a young player, I don't think it would be an issue at all. And he's a premium center prospect who plays a two-way responsible game, who elevated, especially late in the season in the playoffs. Offensively,
he was the top scoring guy on Brford in the playoffs. And that's a team that had a top 10 pick already in Jacob O'Brien. Had other first- round picks like Jet Luchenko, who played a playoff game this year after losing in the OHL playoffs. Um, extremely impressive progression from Malhotra. Premium center prospect. I think he's the guy. I don't think that Vancouver can factor in the family relations when making a pick and pass on him for somebody else because of that. I think Malhotra is the best fit there at three for Vancouver. So, Vancouver desperately needs a
center. Malhotra is arguably the best player on the board. I think it would be absolutely insane to pass on him just because you hired his dad as head coach, right? Like that can't be the decision. NHL coaches have a life expectancy of like what, like three years maybe. So, it would be crazy to factor in a pick this high into who your coach is right now. There's a scenario where Manny's gone before like he's even done his 100%. And just the Sadines being so familiar with Manny knowing like what kind of person Caleb is. I think that plays a big part here too.
I love this pick for so many reasons. But yeah, I think the big thing is like the familiarity if anything like I know people are talking, oh that's so weird to be in the dressing room with your dad and throw away all the analytics and just look at that. I still like I it's going to help him so much to get integrated. He's already, you know, got so much experience and probably learned so much from him, but to come in together, I think it's only going to help him. I don't really think it's going to hurt him. I guess the question like the McKenna jersey question is, is Manny at the draft with his son or is he in the war room because it's decentralized?
Yeah, that's a very good question. Yeah, I'm curious about that. But yeah, the rise of Caleb Mahotra has been awesome to watch. I think he's going to be a great player for a very long time. Conucks fans just get used to cheering for a Mahra on the ice. Now you got him on as a coach, too. So, lots of malras going on in Vancouver. Pick number four, the Chicago Blackhawks. Who do you have them going with? I've got them going Carson Carl. This is where the draft for me really opens up. I think Chase Reed could be a pick here.
They could also go forward, but I think Carlson Carl's the best two-way defenseman in this draft. Best defensively, I think highest floor of any of the D. Like, he's an exceptional skater. Really sound two-way game. [snorts] Physical. Like, physical. He's like definitely going to be a top four D. Like the offense is kind of the question with him. like will he be a big offensive producer or like will he be a Miro Hkin in or will he be somewhat less of that? the funny thing about like the offense as well is like his offensive production this year best scoring rate for a WHL defenseman since Scott Neermmeer. Crazy which when the offense is the question and he did that like junior hockey obviously getting
like a little worse talent pool but still very impressive. Hey we're also talking '90s hockey there. I love the potential top pairing down the road of Carson Carl and Ardum Lev. Like that would just be awesome cooking. Yeah, I think this is a situation kind of opposite to the Sharks where it's like there's obviously not a Steenberg on the board, but they would love to just load up on offense, but at some point you kind of got to figure things out and go with defenseman. My question is, so when we did this exercise last, we had Chase Reed as the first defenseman off the board, and we had him at three actually at the Canucks. Is
Carl's do you guys both genuinely agree that he's surpassed? Because I mean over the course of the last year or so it was Reed. First it was Verhoff, then it was Reed, and now all of a sudden we've got the top defenseman being Carl's. What's the rationale there? Why has he taken such a leap? Yeah. So, for me, like I think it's neck and neck for Carlson Reed. And I think we can get to the next pick as well because the next pick is Chase Reed, which is a great fit for New York. I think they're thrilled to have Chase Reed fall essentially to five here because a lot of people think he could go two. He's a decent fit at three and he's a good fit at four. Um, the reason I think that Chicago could potentially
lean Carl's over Reed is I think it's pretty close in terms of like their upside. Reed, I think, more the offensive guy. Carl's more the two-way physical guy, left-handed versus right-handed. They've got a couple righties in the system already that you hope to be those top end guys. That maybe isn't the best tiebreaker, but I think it's a good fit for Chicago. It definitely plays a part um and for New York here to get a defenseman with the upside of Chase Reed, who could be one of, if not the best player in the draft in a handful of years because of his skating profile, because he is like 6'2 and a half or something like that, 6' three. Um, and he's been on just this rocket ship of development. Like a year
and a half ago, he was cut from the USHL. He ends up in the Sue uh in the OHL, takes off there, and is this really impressive defenseman who looked great at the World Juniors as well. He's going to Michigan State. He's kind of on this development line that we see with a lot of defenseman that go the NCAA route where it's like a year or two in the NCAA and then straight into the NHL as an impact player. That's a great timeline for the Rangers. Yeah, absolutely. And I think there's just something poetic about the New York Rangers having a big American defenseman.
American. Yeah. Ryan Mcdana and then Jacob Trouba. The pipeline's going to continue on to chase Adam Fox. You know, Adam Fox was there. Yeah. So I think I still there for right now. Sorry. Still there. Uh it just unless you know something we don't. It makes too much sense. Yeah. Actually, honestly, Chase Reed is the Adam Fox replacement you heard to hear first. On to pick number six. Calgary Flames. Josh, we talked about this guy already as well. going Katon Verhoff. Uh so we talked about Chase Reed being on this type of ascension. Verhoff's been like a little more down. Like there was talks of maybe he's a top three pick going into this year, maybe even
challenging for number one. Stock falls a bit. Some question marks about his skating decision-m, but at the end of the day, this is still a 6'4 right-handed D who was played really well in the NCAA this year. Like I think that's maybe hurting his stock a little bit because if he went back to junior, maybe he lights it up and goes a little higher in the draft, but this is ultimately better for his development. I think he could step in and play maybe in a year or two. And I think I love the fit of having Zayn Perk as a righty anchoring some offensive pair and then you have Katon Verhoff behind him on a more of a shutdown role. I think that's how you build a team properly. I love the fit.
Really good duo there to build around your defense core long term. like the conversation about him potentially being a junior this year is so fascinating because if he's putting up like 25 plus goals in the WHL with that frame with that pedigree, how close is the conversation versus Reed or Carl's? Like it's a really interesting one and he's a better player for going to the NCAA and playing there. It's very hard to be a 17-year-old defenseman in the NCAA. So, this could be a steal for the Flames at six. Yeah. And 20 points in 36 games in the NCAA. Nothing to scoff at. He's not playing like top pairing managers cuz I got some veteran guys there in North Dakota. So, he's still putting up
production in like smaller roles. The end of the season, the NCAA playoffs was a bit rough for him, which is kind of why it's trended down a little bit wasn't amazing. Like the blow you away at the U8s as well. Some of the reasons why he maybe slipped a little bit more like some people have him even lower than this. I think six to seven is kind of his floor here. Yeah. And then for Calgary like Perk pairing him with another great defenseman like this something for them to look forward to which they haven't had a whole lot uh to look forward to the last couple years. So Katon Verhoff is going to the Flames
pick number seven the Seattle Kraken. Yeah. So I think this is where this is a point in the draft where things could shake up a little bit. Yes. Um the Kraken have never seen before. Yeah. The Kraken have never drafted a defensive this year. They got to do it this year. And I've got a bit of a different name here. Malt Gustoson a late riser in the draft cycle. uh really impressive U8s with Sweden 6'4 and a half defenseman, mobile, great defensive profile. And when I think of a couple of other defenseman in this range that we'll get to shortly, I think he's the one that has the best defensive profile. I think he's the one that has the most like
well-rounded kind of like in terms of his skating size profile, all of that. And I would not be shocked to see a team like Seattle jump on him here at seven because the couple other defenseman, I'll just say Albert Schmidz and then Daxon Rudolph either bit more offensive, a bit more aggressive, kind of like puck handler types. I think Gusson is a different flare as a defenseman and I could see a team preferring that here. I've seen [snorts] a lot of comps to Matias Akholm for multi-gus. I'm sure a more recent one that I think of is Simon Edmonson who ended up going six to Detroit. Yeah. So, this is the first, like I said, I alluded to before, a month and a bit ago, we did this just with top 10
picks. This is the first guy uh who was not even in that top 10. You've got him going seven now. Do you think it's it's it's fit? You think he's done enough to really rise? I think there's an he has the profile, he has the end of the season to have the stock rise, and he had, like I mentioned, like he has the pro profile um that I think a lot of teams really like in this range of the draft. And again, no disrespect to Gustoson, but when I was alluding to the Stenberg numbers, this is one of the ones that jumped off the page. Defenseman obviously, but three assists in 2017. It is hard to play and put up points in
that league, which is why Stenber is at two. Yes, exactly. Okay, on to pick number eight. The Winnipeg Jets who after a few great years going to the playoffs and stuff, they President Trophy, President's Trophy just two years ago, and now here they are drafting eighth. Who do you have them taking, Josh? I've got Vgo Bork. Uh this guy has also just been on the rise it feels lately. Uh only a 5'9 center but man he plays way bigger than that size doesn't he? Like he really battles for pucks. He can fight off the probably the best motor in the draft.
Yeah absolutely. Oh man he's really fun to watch and I think he can stick at center despite that smaller frame and that would be huge for the Winnipeg Jets cuz they need a center so badly. He proved it in the World Championships. I think like he has the talent to potentially play in the NHL next season. Absolutely. Maybe he starts on the wing, then eventually moves to center. But yeah, I think this would be a great fit for Winnipeg. Best forward available at this point in the draft, I think, bar none. On talent, probably higher than this.
Shout out to Logan Stanovven, who definitely helped his draft stock here, being a second line center, smaller than him, uh for the cup winners. The Logan Stanovven effect. Yeah, there you go. Love to see it. I love this fit and I love this pick here. Yeah. Where else What other mock drafts are they talking about? The Logan Stanovven effect for the eighth overall pick. I [snorts] like I like to I like what you guys have going on. So, we're eight picks in. You've got four forwards, four defenseman. So, very balanced draft so far. On to pick number nine, the Ottawa Senators, who are now looking to replace Yes. Uh, their captain, Brady Kachchuck. Just moved
into the ninth pick here. This looks like a guy who might be able to replace Brady Kachchuck. Who do you got going here? An absolute monster. Ethan Belchett. He's even bigger than Brady Kachchuck. 6' 5, 230. And he's been that age since I think he was 3 years old, I think, is the way that it goes. Um, look, he's not as mean as Brady Kachchuck. like he's not that kind of fighter. I think that you can have that aggressive side kind of progress in his game as well. But I the thing that excites me is that he has that size, but he has the skill and playmaking to be a legitimate like offensive player in the
NHL. Like you think of like maybe what a Matthew N has done with maybe a bit more playmaking to his game. Really intriguing fit. Um had a great season in Windsor before an injury as well, like over 30 goals this season, a former first overall pick in the OHL. I think that's a really good fit in the top 10 here for the Ottawa Senators. They really like they're so set down the middle. They have some pretty good D coming up, but yeah, they the wings are just barren right now. So, I love that idea. Maybe he plays one year in the NCAA. Maybe he's ready for the NHL in a year.
I love this fit and obviously physically type progression potentially. Yeah, he's maybe not as polished quite yet as Brady Kachchuck. It'd be hard for a rookie to be like that after he spent eight years. But in terms of like kind of recouping like if they land this pick or land sorry Belchett with this ninth overall pick like that is the perfect return um for a guy like Brady Chuck just and that's if they keep the pick they could still flip it for somebody. They could still flip it for someone. But yeah, for those of you I've I've been on my soap box since the day that this show started about Ethan Belch.
Hit him with the comp. The next Eric Lindros. There we go. Go watch some highlights. This is the next Eric Lindross. will be saying it until he's out of the NHL. Uh yeah, very fun player and for might be like Leaf Serendross though, right? Yeah, maybe. Maybe right now, but uh get excited about him. Sans fans will say some leeway. Yeah. On to pick 10. Nashville Predators. Who do we got? I got Daxon Rudolph. For me, it came down to Rudolph or Albert Smith, who we also talked about. To me, these are by far the two best players on the board.
Both guys who could easily go much like a few picks higher, but like six like Yeah. Like all these D are I think really close, but Rudolph I essentially went with him because right-handed over left-handed. I think that Nashville might prefer that. Little more offense in his game. Little more vision, maybe a bit more of a project than Smiths, but I think Nashville would swing for the upside here. Lettest WHL team in regular season scoring and playoff scoring. Really, really impressive type um offensively this season.
There we go. Okay, pick number 11, St. Louis Blues. We just spent a bunch of time talking about this guy, but who is it, Kyle? Albert Schmidz. Uh Latvian defenseman. played at the Olympics, played well against like Team USA. He's a guy that I could see going like five in this draft. Like he slips a little bit. Very aggressive defenseman both offensively and defensively. Booming shot, too. Fun player. Really fun player. Like Latafian played in Finland, played in Germany this season. Bit of a different profile type
than some other guys. He's a guy that I could see going a lot earlier than this. And the Blues are thrilled to take him here at 11. Like maybe some questions about his vision, right? But yeah, hockey sense is the concern with all the physical traits that he has. And we saw like I think he was the only guy that really had any chance to improve his stock, which is funny because we've got him falling in this mock draft. But he played in the Olympics and he looked great and fit right in. So a perfect guy to come in and I think play almost as soon as he can. Pick number 12, New Jersey Devils.
I got them going Alexander Command. Uh really smart two-way center. I think he's about 6'1, 185 pounds. Like I think he could step in the NHL in a few years and be a really effective sort of middle of the lineup presence. Maybe some Nikicoisher insurance here just in case. Very interesting. An interesting name like uh he's again like think about these Swedes that are going here. A lot of them finish the season really well at the U8s. Yeah. So and there's no rationale after the high strong defenseman draft that the Devils have had to take another guy in the back end. You don't uh Yeah, makes sense. All right, on to pick 13. New York Islanders.
Wyatt Cullen. one of the biggest literal growers in the entire NHL draft. He entered the NCDP a couple years ago at 5'5, 120 lbs. He's now listed at 6'1, 180. Um, like that kind of growth is just like very difficult to deal with just generally speaking, let alone Yeah. Let alone as a hockey player. He has that small skill and now he's growing into a bit of like a pro frame. Um, easily the most skilled player at the NTDP this season. I think a really intriguing like upside bet cuz he could end up being one of the best offensive players out of this draft and you're getting him at 13. That growth kind of reminds me of Beckett Senica like small guy hands but in a big guy body
and he's a guy that could sneak up the board a lot more than we expect. Yeah, I like it a lot for New York Islanders. Pick 14, the Blue Jackets. I'm glad that you get this pick Josh because this is a name he's going to call him out. Yeah, unfortunately I have to. There was talks about this guy going first overall. Yeah, within last year. Yeah, mid-season. He is now at 14th in our latest mock. He was at nine in our last one and now down to 14. Uh, but I'll let you dig into it. Obviously, you know how to preach for this guy better than anybody, I think. Yeah, I've got Tinan Lawrence. I mean, I really like this
player. Obviously, I had him going one in our mid-season mock draft. Obviously, yeah, that didn't age too well, but he was having an excellent season in the USHL. Makes the mid-season jump to the NCAA. Doesn't go quite as well. There's some growing pains there. really struggles out of the gate, but I think you got to almost applaud like we talked about Verhoff, applaud the player for taking on a greater challenge like that. But I yeah, this player absolutely amazing skater. Uh I think he's absolutely going to stick at center. Could be a really good two-way player. The offense, I mean, we'll see. But at the very least, I think you're getting like a Ryan Mloud type of player.
Yeah, that's a really intriguing player type there. Um like the concern for me is like the NCAA wasn't great and then he wasn't dominant at the U8s. like but this is a guy that at 16 years old won USHL MVP in the playoffs. Um so you've got that pedigree there and again if he stayed in the USL he's probably going a lot higher than the top. So that's an interesting debate. I'll cut Josh some slack because that was said when we when he said you know there's a world where he skyrockets to one if he's a stud in the NCAA or he slips a bit if he if it takes him a little bit to get his if he jumps to the NCAA puts up
point per game. We're probably talking about him at three instead of 14. Exactly. So, I'll cut Josh some slack and Blue Jackets fans, whoever lands uh a Lawrence here. I think I think his stocks down right now. I think this is a very good player. You're going to be very happy with him and I think that yeah, someone's going to get him and it's going to be a steal regardless is the way I'm looking at it. Um pick 15. We got the St. Louis Blues once again. Yeah, I think they would love Lawrence to follow one more pick to them. Um I've still got them going as center here.
Oliver Suanto, a two-way big center. Um, doesn't have like the sexiest stat line by any means playing in Finland's Pro League. Um, but he's just that prosize two-way type that you feel good about being that third line center type and you hope develops the offensive game to become a second line type. Yeah, this type of profile typically always goes higher than 6' three center, good, responsible defensively. So, I like to pick that. I like that. And so that now is probably a good time to ask you guys where your gauge is on really how deep this draft is. If we're talking about Lawrence and we're talking about Savvantto going at picks 14 and 15 here. Um is this a super
deep draft? Like how does it stack up against some of the more recent ones? What do we think? It's it's an interesting one because like there's like a group and like that like you that top 14 there's a lot of players I like. I don't know how many players I truly love in terms of like their huge upside. there's enough players there and then past like once we get to like this point in the draft starts to get a lot more thin for me in terms of guys that I truly get excited about. But every time you say that, there's always guys that slip through the cracks that become like really impactful players. And as we go through like the back half of this first round, there's still a lot of players here that
we're going to get to and I'm going to rave about. I think yeah, after that last of the group of D, that's where to me it falls off a little bit. like Smiths was our last guy, but obviously it could be Gustoson or Rudolph, but that's where to me there's a bit of a drop off after that top group of D is gone. Yeah, there's that like top four clear projection. There's that top six clear projection. Once you get to that point in the draft, it becomes a bit murkier for those players. Makes sense. All right, pick 16, Washington Capitals. I got Ryan Lynn. So, we talked about that first group of D being all off the board. This is where it really opens up for that second tier of D. I've got Ryan Lynn. Undersized,
but really smart, two-way player. Yeah, 5 foot 11. That's the key, right? Like if he's 6'1, we're probably talk about him in that first tier. Really smart player. All right, pick 17. LA Kings. We'll start picking things up a little bit. Uh Oscar Heming. He's a guy that had a late start to the season because his move to the O was blocked by his Finish League club. He didn't play until December, went to the NCAA. Hard-hitting finish forward. I think he's a strong fit for what LA likes to add to the system.
Yeah, perfect. Okay, we'll get things cooking a little bit here. We got pick 18, the Washington Capitals. Again, two picks uh in three selections here. I hear you got them taken. Yeah, second of three picks. I love mixing it up. They get the D in Ryan Lynn and now they're getting a center in Madx Dejane. 6'4. I mean, this guy could be really good middle of the lineup center. 6'4, 200 lb point per game in the queue. Definitely pretty good profile. You'll take that. Capitals. Uh, pick 19, Utah. Yeah, I talked about Heming there at 17.
How about the Russian version of Heming? Essentially at 19 here to Utah, Gleb Pukachev, a guy that's a big riser this year. Some second round grades. I think he's going to go higher than expected. Just an absolute wrecking ball. Very speedy winger type. Didn't have amazing numbers in the Russian Junior League, but Utah is a great fit here. Yeah, Utah's not afraid to take the Russians. Lot lots of Russians and Russians in the system. Yes, absolutely. Yeah, I like that pick a lot. Uh Sabres at 20 off of the best year they've had in a very, very long time.
Trading up for this pick essentially. Basically trading up. Yeah. What do they do here to bolster this team that they've got? I've got them taking Adam Noatne. Uh really skilled winger, really good shot, really good speed. Uh I think it's a great fit. They got a lot of guys coming up like that. I think he could be really complimentary piece for that. Fits with a lot of what they've drafted. Yeah, I like it a lot. Uh Philadelphia Flyers, another playoff team. We're getting into the playoff teams now. Uh Philadelphia Flyers here at pick 21.
Feels like every year the Flyers take a center and they're going to do it again here in Ilia Morosev. Youngest player in all of college hockey last season. Didn't have an amazing season the year before in the USL, but kind of had like a really impressive season this year in the NCAA. Had a wicked combine. Yes. Like amazing offense. And like big center types again are always going to go in this range again. Yeah. Like I'll say it again.
The measurable 63 205 20 points in the NCAA in 36 on not like a great team either in Miami. Miami Ohio. Yeah. So that's that's very suitable and especially for a team that's just went to the postseason's probably going to continue to desperate for center prospects every year. They need something. And yeah, Marose, I like it a lot. Pick 22. Uh obviously the other Pennsylvania team here, Pittsburgh Penguins. I got Elton Hermanson. Uh really speedy Swedish winger. uh can really score. This kind of just screams like a Kyle Dubis pick to me. Like not afraid to go someone a little smaller maybe, but like really skilled offensively. And hey, you were talking about the lack of scoring in the Swedish leagues. He
played in the second tier to be fair, but he had over 20 points against them this season. Yeah. Honestly, he had some very solid numbers there. Uh pick 23, Boston Bruins. Okay, we're going back to those Swedish guys that Levi doesn't like because they don't put up any points. William Hackinson. The Bruins so badly need defense prospects. Like their best defense prospect is Frederick Brune, who looks like a fine third pairing guy at best. Um, they desperately need deep prospects. Hackinson, again, not like a flashy type, but looks like a good defensive profile, potential top four guy.
Anytime a guy from Sweden goes now, all it is it's like credit to him. First round pick we have him mocked out as, but it's Stenberg. Stenberg praise, but pretty much. So, yeah. Hey, I'll toss Borc in there as well. I love me some VGO Buork. Two assists, 22 games in the Swedish Elite League there. On to pick 24. Vancouver Conucks back again. Who we've got them taking here? I've got them taking, and this is maybe my favorite pick of the draft. Liam Ruck. Oh, hell yeah. one half of the Ruck Twins, which who better to take them than the Sadine Twins. So, also BC natives.
Yeah, Liam is more of the Daniel per se. He's more of the scorer. So, maybe they can loop back at some point in the second round, take Marcus and pair up the Twins. 33 overall if he makes it there. Uh Liam definitely the goal scorer of the bunch, 45 goals this season. They finished one, two in WHL scoring. Uh it would be really cool to see a team be able to land them as well as like Vancouver being able to do it. Come on. Absolutely awesome. Like they know how to Yeah. make that work. This is an awesome pick. They take a brother and then with their pick that they've already taken is just a guy who dad played there already. I like what the Canucks are cooking here probably means
that they'll go to the Stanley Cup finals uh with what they got. They're they're just copying that formula. So yeah, but like I mean 104 points in 68 games in the W is certainly nothing to scoff at. So not a bad pick there. The value that the Canucks are getting at 24 pick 25. It's the Sands the other pick that they acquired in the Brady Kachchuck trade in this draft. Who do you got them taking this time? Yeah. So, we just talked about like a smaller, not great skating forward with big offensive upside. Let's go a completely opposite player type here. Maxim Sakalovski, only eight points this year in London. Um, 6'7, 240 lbs defenseman who
can skate. He fights. He's physical. He's mean, too. Probably the most violent player in the draft. The He's like, how do you not find a closer player comp than Nikita Zidorov? Exactly the name I was going to bring up. Yeah, Nikita Zidorov type defenseman if he hits, of course. Um and the cents have another very violent defenseman in the system in Gabriel Elias. They use him with a second round pick. So they clearly like that player type and Sakalovski I think is clearly a better prospect than what Elias has become. Sakalovski at 25. So then the combination you're getting out of the Brady Kachchuck combination there is 67 Sakalovski and 65 Belch.
Oh my. They're just recreating uh Brady Kuck in the aggregate literally money ball big guy. I love that. I love that pick and that's honestly probably I'm sure every OHL player from the season could say because it's a finesse league. You know, you like the touch and stuff. A six He probably the scariest guy any of those guys have ever played against. 6'7 in the OHL. 240 is Yeah, that's quite something terrifying. I like I love this draft for the Senators. I truly love this draft. Uh pick 26. Back to the Rangers. I've got them taking Casey Mutrin. Uh right winger, really rugged player. I think he's big, 6'3. Uh yeah, physical. Well, I feel like this is a guy who's like 100% playing NHL games.
Just a matter of how high his offensive ceiling gets. But it feels like a guy who could be a middle six winger. I love these the this run of players that were having here the forwards who are like all 6'2 63 with like close to points per game. Like teams love those player types in the first round. Yeah, I it doesn't always play. I'll say that. We've seen bust happen before at that size, but the upside's there at least. So, you can start with that. San Jose Sharks are picking again at pick 27. Who do we have them taking? Okay. Well, not 6'2, 6'3. Uh they pass on defenseman at two. They're going to take the upside play at 27. Tommy Blile, unbelievable QMJHL season this year with Monton. One QMJHL defenseman of the year
as a rookie. Um he's under six foot, but a great skater right-handed. I think if you pass on the defenseman at two, you got to take one of the high-end potential defenseman at 27. Take that risk. And I think BL fits it perfectly there for 20 uh at 27 for San Jose. Yep, that works for me. Pick 28. But we were just talking about size, weren't we? We were. Who do we have here? I got the Montreal Caning Brooks Regowski, 6'7, right-handed center. Remember Michael McCarron, former Montreal first round pick. I see a bit of comparisons there. Uh, this guy doesn't have quite the mean streak of a Sakalovski, but uh, he's definitely
playing some NHL games. Whether he's a fourthline center or third line center is to be seen, maybe even second line center, foot seven center. Are you kidding me? He's a pretty good skater, too. Like, yeah, he gets around the ice well enough for his size. like he's 100% playing in the NHL. You [clears throat] you mentioned like the McCarron one. The more recent like pick that I think of in this range is like the Dean Lerno pick with Boston where like his first year in college was terrible and then this year he really
found his groove as like this giant offensive type that maybe isn't the most physical. Like I'm curious how his progression looks. Like he had a really good year in Ashawa. Again like a team that's good already. You can take a swing on a player at 28th overall and to get a 6'7 center. I don't think I'd ever be upset about that regardless of how he turns Big need for Habs to down the middle. Just get more centers in that system. Yeah, absolutely. Uh pick 29, the Blues third pick of the first round. Who do we have them taken? Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned that because anytime a team has three first round picks, the first two you kind of go like a D forward split and then the
third one is when you maybe get a little bit creative or take that swing in the first round. I've got Yonas Leerberg Hone going here. A guy that maybe doesn't have like as many first round grades because he hasn't played since October. Blew out his knee in October. Was playing in the Swedish Junior League. But hey, you don't like those Swedish League numbers. How about the Junior League numbers? Nine goals, 16 points in nine games before he got hurt. The year before he had over 25 goals and like 38 games along those lines. Extremely impressive scorer with that like 6'3 frame. Can fill out of course at like 178 pounds I think he was at the combine. But I look at his profile with that big upside as a guy
that the Blues kind of jumped the line on to take that big swing on in the first round. Yeah, I love it. Uh, pick 30. Another team returning to a second pick in the first round. Three picks to go here. Calgary Flames at 30. Who do you got, Josh? Yeah. So, so obviously had the D in Verhoff earlier. Now they're addressing the forward group and Igor Sheilov. Really small, skilled, highly productive forward. Could really be a difference maker, potentially a center. Reminds me a little bit of that Matt Vreeden pick a couple years ago that has looked really good.
Yeah, there we go. All right, two picks left. Uh, first one here at 31, Stanley Cup champion, Carolina Hurricanes. What are they doing to bolster this team? They have a type and they're going to stick to that type. Nikita Klepov here led the OHL in scoring this season again as a rookie. Really impressive what some of these guys have done stepping into these junior leagues in their first years. Uh born in USA, uh raised in Russia, so he has that like dual nationality, but fits in terms of Carolina drafting a lot of Russians over the years, but again has that scoring profile, power play type that I think Carolina typically takes um either with
their late first round picks or in the second round as these kind of upside plays. How in the world does the OHL leading scoreer fall to 31? because he's an averagesized winger who's more offensive and doesn't skate in terms of like high-end skating. Is this Marco Rossi 2.0 when he did? He's not as small as Rossy. Rossi was like 5'9. He would be more of that VGO Bork type, which hey again. And Rossy was like 120 points or something like that. Points. I remember that was like the first time I was like, "Oh, maybe not everything translates." It's another interesting thing in terms of like the junior leagues and like calibrating how good they still are because there's a lot of top end talent
that have left those leagues to go to the college route in recent years. Yeah, very good point. Last but not least, it's the Ottawa Senators once again drafting 32 to close out this first round. The last pick in our mock draft, Josh, who you got them taken? And I've got them really swinging for some upside here with Jackson Cover. This guy, such a cool story. We don't really know where he's going to go exactly, but yeah, this guy grew up on the Cayman Islands playing roller hockey. [snorts] So awesome. He's only been playing ice hockey, I think, for four or five years. Really great one-on-one like individual skill. Still kind of almost learning how to look like a roller hockey player. Yeah. But like the one-on-one skill cannot be
denied. And I think yeah, it's just really fascinating to see where this guy's going to go given his lack of experience. But I think tons of upside here. Yeah, he's only played ice hockey for five seasons. Like it's really crazy. Like impressive rookie season in the OHL and a teammate of who went at 25, Maxim Takalowski. So sends maybe watching a couple London nights skates this year. Yep. We were talking to this guy before. Nod to David Leven. That's me flexing my puck my puck knowledge who played some roller hockey before he went first overall of the OHL. What a story.
Cayman Islands roller hockey to first round in the NHL draft to close out our 2026 mock draft. But yeah, there we have it. Again, we're filming this on a Tuesday, 3 days before the draft on Friday. So, if anything changes, if any trades happen with these picks, this is when we're filming it. So, obviously, we can't account for that quite yet, but super fired up for it, man. 3 days away, we're going to have tons and tons of coverage. Again, we got articles coming out. We're going to have reactions to the draft after it happens on Friday. So, for all your NHL draft needs this year, obviously stay tuned to the score and we will see you guys in the next episode. Thanks for watching. If you like this video and
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