The 2026 NHL Draft first round is done — and a loaded class featuring one of the most talented players seen in years at the top is now sorted into its new homes. Gavin McKenna went first overall to Toronto. Ivar Stenberg and Chase Reid headlined one of the strongest defensive and forward crops in recent memory. And the San Jose Sharks, by picking brilliantly at multiple positions, have arguably made themselves the most enviable young team in the league. Here is a pick-by-pick breakdown of every first-round selection.
Winners
San Jose Sharks — A
Picks: Ivar Stenberg (No. 2), Keaton Verhoeff (No. 9), Ryan Lin (No. 21)
San Jose executed as close to a perfect draft as any team in recent memory. Stenberg is one of the most accomplished teenage forwards to come out of Sweden in decades — a front-line winger capable of driving his own line or playing alongside Macklin Celebrini, and a realistic Calder Trophy candidate in his first season. Verhoeff fills San Jose’s most pressing need at defence, a right-shot pro-built player whose tools, pedigree, and development runway point toward a stud NHL defenceman. And Lin, the most polished and competitive defenceman in the entire class, was an extraordinary value at 21. The Sharks now have Celebrini, Michael Misa, Will Smith, and Stenberg as a forward core, Dickinson and Verhoeff on the back end, and Lin as a future top-four piece. The envy of the league.
Seattle Kraken — A-
Pick: Chase Reid (No. 7)
After five consecutive first-round picks on forwards, Seattle finally addressed their most glaring organisational gap by selecting the top-ranked defenceman in the class. Reid is a proactive offensive defenceman who joins the rush early, makes plays off instinct, and has shown steep defensive development over the past 18 months. He projects as a top-pairing offensive defenceman and future power-play quarterback. Immediate upgrade to the organisation’s defence pipeline.
Toronto Maple Leafs — A
Pick: Gavin McKenna (No. 1)
Toronto gets the most talented and dynamic player in the class — arguably one of the most gifted prospects in years. McKenna is a brilliant perimeter handler and playmaker who will bring an exciting skill set to the Leafs’ top six from Day 1. Auston Matthews and William Nylander will be competing to play with him. There will be ups and downs as a rookie, and he needs to get stronger and become more reliable away from the puck, but the talent is rare.
Winnipeg Jets — A-
Pick: Viggo Björck (No. 8)
Björck spent this season putting to bed questions about whether a 5-foot-9 forward could be one of the best players in his class. He is. Smart, strong, competitive, and skilled — with a mature understanding of how to impact games that goes well beyond his age. He projects as a genuine top-six centre who will make everyone around him better and defy the conventional wisdom about players his size.
Nashville Predators — B+
Picks: Wyatt Cullen (No. 10), Tommy Bleyl (No. 31)
Cullen is one of the most dynamic one-on-one players in the class, a major riser who shot up to 6-foot-1 while showing separator-level skill at major events. Bleyl is a smarter pick than his ranking suggests — when you skate and think the game at his level, the size concerns that doom many similarly built defencemen become far less relevant. Nashville now has two of the most purely talented teenage wingers in the game in Cullen and Ryker Lee.
Utah Mammoth — B+
Pick: Ethan Belchetz (No. 17)
The high-risk, potentially high-reward swing of the draft’s middle section. Nobody in this class combines Belchetz’s size and skill level. When his highs have been high, they have been genuinely special. He needs to put it together across a full season, but this is precisely the kind of bet that pays off when a prospect is this physically unique.
Overtime Winners
Calgary Flames — B
Picks: Carson Carels (No. 6), Jack Hextall (No. 30)
Carels was the consensus second-ranked defenceman in the class — a hard, competitive, minute-eating two-way presence who showed more offence than expected and fits perfectly alongside Calgary’s puck-moving right-handed options. Hextall is a pro-style complete centre with fair questions about ultimate offensive ceiling but a reliably likeable game.
Vancouver Canucks — B
Picks: Caleb Malhotra (No. 3), Adam Novotný (No. 24)
Malhotra belongs at the top of this class — a player driver and playmaker with legitimate skill, excellent skating, and a frame that will continue to develop. Novotný is exactly what you want from the mid-20s range: a thickly built, hard-shooting 20-goal scorer who adds speed and strength to a lineup. Vancouver needs to stay in the draft’s top tier for a couple of years, but this was a good start.
Anaheim Ducks — B
Picks: Nikita Klepov (No. 15), Marcus Nordmark (No. 28)
Klepov led the OHL in scoring and has genuine top-six and power-play upside as a crafty offensive winger. Nordmark is the most talented and most frustrating player in the class — enormous skill alongside inconsistent habits and attitude questions. The risk-reward calculation is appropriate at 28. Anaheim played from strength and took two high-skill swings worth making.
Los Angeles Kings — B+
Pick: Elton Hermansson (No. 19)
Hermansson was the top-ranked forward after the draft’s consensus elite tier — one-on-one skill rivalled in this class only by McKenna, Stenberg, and Cullen, plus the shot to finish. Strong value in the second half of the first round.
New York Rangers — B+
Pick: Alberts Šmits (No. 5)
The most NHL-ready defenceman in the class, having already proven himself against professionals in Finland and Germany as well as at the Olympics and men’s worlds with Latvia. A big, strong, instinctual two-way defenceman who could find himself playing at MSG as soon as next year.
St. Louis Blues — B
Picks: Tynan Lawrence (No. 11), Maddox Dagenais (No. 16)
Lawrence entered the draft year as the top-ranked centre in the class and still projects as a second-line pivot with good speed and a hardworking two-way game, even after an injury-disrupted year. Dagenais has top-six upside but is more likely a middle-six player — all the tools are there alongside the inconsistency.
Detroit Red Wings — B
Pick: JP Hurlbert (No. 23)
Fourth-leading scorer in the WHL, broke 40 goals, projects as a second-line winger with real skill and hockey sense. Detroit needed to prioritise skill, and they did.
New York Islanders — B
Pick: Malte Gustafsson (No. 13)
A big, mobile, effective defenceman who everyone agrees will have a long career playing significant minutes. Did not have quite enough offence to crack the top five defencemen, but was clearly first among the next tier. Minor concern about the volume of left-shot defencemen now in the organisation.
Overtime Losers
Buffalo Sabres — B-
Picks: Daxon Rudolph (No. 4), Ilia Morozov (No. 20)
Rudolph is a legitimate high-end defensive prospect — right-shot, big, skilled, proven postseason producer. A minority had him top-two among defencemen. Morozov is a safe bet to become a solid third-line centre, but a high-floor, low-ceiling pick where the fourth overall selection leaves value on the table.
New Jersey Devils — B-
Pick: Alexander Command (No. 12)
Command became the consensus fourth centre in the class by year’s end. A strong, possession-driving pivot with a long and well-paid future ahead. The question is whether the offence ultimately justifies how high he was selected.
Columbus Blue Jackets — C+
Pick: Oscar Hemming (No. 14)
A power forward in a competitive mould with room to fill out. Probably not a clear top-six skill, which limits the ceiling, but a safe and solid piece for the Blue Jackets’ rebuild.
Pittsburgh Penguins — C+
Pick: Liam Ruck (No. 22)
Smart, talented, and hardworking with 116 combined points this year. Questions about skating and slight builds are real, and not every team could accommodate the twins’ desire to play together. A late first-round swing worth respecting even with the profile risk.
Washington Capitals — C
Pick: Oliver Suvanto (No. 18)
A pro-style bottom-six centre with a long career ahead, but an uninspiring selection at 18 where more offensive upside was available.
Montreal Canadiens — C
Pick: Gleb Pugachyov (No. 26)
Projects as a third-liner for most evaluators, with some teams seeing middle-six upside. The offence to justify a first-round selection has not yet materialised consistently enough to make this feel like strong value.
Losers
Philadelphia Flyers — D
Pick: Maksim Sokolovskii (No. 27)
A hulking athletic build with limited experience and raw development make this a genuinely high-risk swing that most teams would have been comfortable making in the second round rather than the first. The upside exists — teams see Nikita Zadorov comp potential — but the risk calculus feels off at 27.
Ottawa Senators — C-
Picks: Jonas Lagerberg Hoen (No. 25), Jaxon Cover (No. 32)
Credit Ottawa for prioritising skill and taking swings rather than safe picks. The problem is the risk is real — one prospect only started playing hockey five years ago, the other barely played in his draft year. The idea is right; the round is early for both.
Vegas Golden Knights — C
Pick: Juho Piiparinen (No. 29)
Came into the draft season viewed as a surefire first-rounder, but the actual season did not live up to that profile. A good-sized summer-birthday righty who can skate, but a very vanilla prospect who projects as a third-pairing defenceman.
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