Who Would You Draft in the 2026 NHL Draft

[Pierre McGuire]

Gavin McKenna, the favorite to be the No. 1 pick of the 2026 NHL Draft, had a hat trick for Canada, which stayed undefeated in Group B play at 3M Arena at Mariucci on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

McKenna is the first Canada player with a hat trick since Connor Bedard and Dylan Guenther each had one against Germany in a preliminary round game at the 2023 World Juniors in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

"Obviously, that's something you dream of as a kid," McKenna said of scoring hat trick on a national stage. "Felt pretty good, and it was a lot of fun."

He’s on a different level than all these other draft eligibles and it appears to be a very wide gap

[BalotelliMassive]

Whoever is picked in the top five in 26 has a really good chance of making the team for the 26/27 season - how often does that happen?

[Younghopp1991]

Gavin McKenna, the favorite to be the No. 1 pick of the 2026 NHL Draft, had a hat trick for Canada, which stayed undefeated in Group B play at 3M Arena at Mariucci on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

McKenna is the first Canada player with a hat trick since Connor Bedard and Dylan Guenther each had one against Germany in a preliminary round game at the 2023 World Juniors in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

"Obviously, that's something you dream of as a kid," McKenna said of scoring hat trick on a national stage. "Felt pretty good, and it was a lot of fun."

He’s on a different level than all these other draft eligibles and it appears to be a very wide gap

What is your opinion in why belchetz didnt make canada? I understand they tried to put a team together and not a all star squad. But did you think he should have been in the tourny?

[Pierre McGuire]

Gavin McKenna, the favorite to be the No. 1 pick of the 2026 NHL Draft, had a hat trick for Canada, which stayed undefeated in Group B play at 3M Arena at Mariucci on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

McKenna is the first Canada player with a hat trick since Connor Bedard and Dylan Guenther each had one against Germany in a preliminary round game at the 2023 World Juniors in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

"Obviously, that's something you dream of as a kid," McKenna said of scoring hat trick on a national stage. "Felt pretty good, and it was a lot of fun."

He’s on a different level than all these other draft eligibles and it appears to be a very wide gap

What is your opinion in why belchetz didnt make canada? I understand they tried to put a team together and not a all star squad. But did you think he should have been in the tourny?

I doubt Belchetz was even involved in their discussions nor should he have been. The Canada roster was stacked and they left off some really good players, not to mention a couple of teams loaned players. Belchetz will likely get an invite to camp next year

[Younghopp1991]

Gavin McKenna, the favorite to be the No. 1 pick of the 2026 NHL Draft, had a hat trick for Canada, which stayed undefeated in Group B play at 3M Arena at Mariucci on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

McKenna is the first Canada player with a hat trick since Connor Bedard and Dylan Guenther each had one against Germany in a preliminary round game at the 2023 World Juniors in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

"Obviously, that's something you dream of as a kid," McKenna said of scoring hat trick on a national stage. "Felt pretty good, and it was a lot of fun."

He’s on a different level than all these other draft eligibles and it appears to be a very wide gap

What is your opinion in why belchetz didnt make canada? I understand they tried to put a team together and not a all star squad. But did you think he should have been in the tourny?

I doubt Belchetz was even involved in their discussions nor should he have been. The Canada roster was stacked and they left off some really good players, not to mention a couple of teams loaned players. Belchetz will likely get an invite to camp next year

Thanks for the info

[Younghopp1991]

If you are in the crowd that wants a higher draft pick, last night everyone below us that played won. Van and sea even went to OT before Vancouver brought it home. Avs tomorrow is rough. I wouldnt put it past this group to shut the avs down instead of the molly whopping they should give us.

[ManitobaBlues]

McKenna. And I'm not sure it's that close.

He has an unbelievable combination of size, stickwork, vision, edgework, and shooting accuracy.

Things can change and draft position matters. But, today, McKenna all day long.

Don’t agree with size. Barely 6’0 and a stringbean. He’s also a perimeter player who lacks intensity at times. I’m not convinced about him yet.

I'm sure the other posters would love to see a Kyrou clone. Think of the highlights!

Mckenna Hockey IQ is off the charts, Kyrou hockey IQ is about at a level of a pee wee hockey player.

[Harry S Deals]

My realistic guess for Blues draft picks this year, some one out of this group:


Malhotra
Roobroeck
Hermansson
Novotny
Nordmark

Drafting somehwere in the mid to early teens

[Bluesfan1978]

I want Lawrence if the Blues draft top 3. Outside of the top 5 Chase Reid would be number one for me. Blues Defence should be pretty much set for the future.

[Younghopp1991]

I want Lawrence if the Blues draft top 3. Outside of the top 5 Chase Reid would be number one for me. Blues Defence should be pretty much set for the future.

Have you watcged lawrence play at all? Im notbreal familiar with him. One of the write ups i saw was saying he would get a hype boost due to being one of the few true centers. Any info would be appreciated and thanks in advance.

[Bluesfan1978]

He checks all the boxes of a top line center. Some reports are comparing him to Suzuki excerpt a but bigger and quicker

[BleedingBleu]

I want Lawrence if the Blues draft top 3. Outside of the top 5 Chase Reid would be number one for me. Blues Defence should be pretty much set for the future.

Have you watcged lawrence play at all? Im notbreal familiar with him. One of the write ups i saw was saying he would get a hype boost due to being one of the few true centers. Any info would be appreciated and thanks in advance.

Thomas (26-July 1999) is looked at our only worthy Top-Line Center. Maybe Dvorsky (20-June 2005) will develop into a Top-Line Centerman. Adding a guy like Tynan Lawrence (17-August 2008) would be a very interesting development for the future.

Robert Thomas won’t be a UFA for 5 more seasons (Age 31-2031/32). In the hypothetical future, you could potentially see a situation where our future at Center is all on the NHL Roster and under the age of 30 - Thomas (29), Dvorsky (23) & Lawrence (20).

That’s assuming Holloway, Stenberg, Jecho/Stancl, Dean, or a future Transaction (Free Agent/Trade) doesn’t challenge that path.

It sounds tempting. However, I’d still love a goal scorer or a brute.

[kimzey59]

I want Lawrence if the Blues draft top 3. Outside of the top 5 Chase Reid would be number one for me. Blues Defence should be pretty much set for the future.

Have you watcged lawrence play at all? Im notbreal familiar with him. One of the write ups i saw was saying he would get a hype boost due to being one of the few true centers. Any info would be appreciated and thanks in advance.

Lawrence's skills, skating and defensive play are above average across the board(well above average in a few areas but I don't know that I'd consider him "elite" at anything), but what really separates him is his hockey sense. He's the type of player that is generally 3-4 steps ahead of the play at all times and plays with enough motor/drive that it's easy to project him as an impact player at the NHL level.

For a comparable; look no further than Robert Thomas(Suzuki, Hischier and Aho are also good ones). Lawrence is much less adverse to shooting than Thomas was at the same age(at least for right now; Lawrence has flipped his goal to assist ratio from last year), but the overall game is very similar.

[kimzey59]

My realistic guess for Blues draft picks this year, some one out of this group:


Malhotra
Roobroeck
Hermansson
Novotny
Nordmark

Drafting somehwere in the mid to early teens

1- I think Malhotra ends up in the top 10.

2- As a consolation; I would point you at Ilia Morozov as a player to watch. Kid looks every bit the part of a Jordan Staal/Eriksson Ek type shut down center.

[Younghopp1991]

I want Lawrence if the Blues draft top 3. Outside of the top 5 Chase Reid would be number one for me. Blues Defence should be pretty much set for the future.

Have you watcged lawrence play at all? Im notbreal familiar with him. One of the write ups i saw was saying he would get a hype boost due to being one of the few true centers. Any info would be appreciated and thanks in advance.

Lawrence's skills, skating and defensive play are above average across the board(well above average in a few areas but I don't know that I'd consider him "elite" at anything), but what really separates him is his hockey sense. He's the type of player that is generally 3-4 steps ahead of the play at all times and plays with enough motor/drive that it's easy to project him as an impact player at the NHL level.

For a comparable; look no further than Robert Thomas(Suzuki, Hischier and Aho are also good ones). Lawrence is much less adverse to shooting than Thomas was at the same age(at least for right now; Lawrence has flipped his goal to assist ratio from last year), but the overall game is very similar.

Thoroughly enjoyed the write up. Ill check him out

[BleedingBleu]

My realistic guess for Blues draft picks this year, some one out of this group:


Malhotra
Roobroeck
Hermansson
Novotny
Nordmark

Drafting somehwere in the mid to early teens

1- I think Malhotra ends up in the top 10.

2- As a consolation; I would point you at Ilia Morozov as a player to watch. Kid looks every bit the part of a Jordan Staal/Eriksson Ek type shut down center.

I hate to ask this question, because I don’t think it’s very fair question to ask, but Alex Turcotte‘s name was circling around here in another thread. How does Tynan Lawrence (5’-11” 170 lbs) compare to Turcotte (5’-11” 185 lbs) at Center?

I noticed both had experience in the USHL before being drafted.

Turcotte - 47 GP, 20 G, 46 A, 66 Points
Lawrence - 67 GP, 34 G, 35 A, 69 Points (nice)