Ranking the 10 NHL Prospects to Watch at the 2026 World Juniors Championship

It's the most wonderful time of the year once again: World Juniors season. I hope you saved snack food from Christmas if you celebrate, and I hope you stocked up if you don't, because the hockey schedule is about to be full of (approximately) 17-20-year-olds fighting for their lives against each other and against fans on social media.

All jokes aside, this is one of my favorite times of the year for a lot of reasons. We get to see a huge pool of international prospects compete solely against their draft class and the ones sandwiching them. People make wild pronouncements about those prospects that absolutely are not backed up with facts, and everyone watching finds at least one new hockey player to put on their list of guys to care about.

Here are the top 10 players I think you should be paying attention to in this tournament. If you disagree, I'd love to hear it—I probably left your favorite guy off the list solely because I don't have specific questions I want answered about his play, but I'm glad you're going to bat for him.

10. Sascha Boumedienne (Winnipeg Jets)

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Winnipeg Jets defensive prospect Sascha Boumedienne is the first Swede on this list. There are other Swedes I could recommend you watch, for no other reason than that they'll be key to their team or that they're fun. But Boumedienne is on this list because I've really enjoyed watching his trajectory over the last few years, and I really want to see how he looks head-to-head with his own age group.

His transition from the USHL to NCAA hockey wasn't the smoothest, but as the season progressed, you could see him improving in key areas. For one thing, he looks more comfortable in high-pressure situations, particularly with the puck. He's currently scoring at a slightly higher per-game rate than last season, which is an area that I really wanted to see progress in as we moved into his second NCAA season.

I don't think he'll ever be a high-scoring style defenseman, but it is nice to see him contributing. His skating mechanics are still a bit awkward, but I'm at the point where I've accepted that's just going to be a thing. He's quite effective even so. He's carrying heavy minutes at Boston University, and I'm excited to see how Sweden uses him.

9. Adam Benak (Minnesota Wild)

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I know we've all been talking about the Minnesota Wild for other reasons lately, but ignore the Quinn Hughes of it all and zoom in on Czech forward Adam Benak with me.

The Brantford Bulldogs center was drafted in the fourth round by the Wild last June, but his offensive skills have really caught my eye to the point that he's one of the guys I'm looking most forward to seeing play during this year's tournament. He's got high-end playmaking skills, and I feel pretty good about saying that part of why he fell so far was size; he's 5'8" and 163 pounds.

He's currently sitting at 43 points in 26 games, including 15 goals, during his first OHL season (Benak played last season with the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL). Right now, he's on pace to break the 100-point mark; join me in sticking around to see if he does.

For the tournament itself, we all know Czechia pushes hard every single year, giving their opponents grief at every opportunity. I expect no different from Benak, who has a nonstop motor.

8. Will Horcoff (Pittsburgh Penguins)

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Will Horcoff has been perhaps my favorite surprise out of the Pittsburgh Penguins' 2025 draft class, and I was quite fond of their 2025 draft class overall. For those of you who just felt very old, yes, that is Shawn Horcoff's son, the former Edmonton Oiler and current Detroit Red Wings assistant general manager/Grand Rapids Griffins general manager.

A sophomore at the University of Michigan, Horcoff is a standout player on an already strong team. He was named National Forward of the Month by the Hockey Commissioners Association for November and led the NCAA in goals during that month. Twenty games into the NCAA season, he has 28 points. Nineteen of those are goals. His play so far this season makes me confident he'll play a key role in Team USA's offense. Part of me is physically beaming for Team USA head coach Bob Motzko, my wish for him to play with Boston College left wing Teddy Stiga, because I think their styles would mesh very well. We'll see if that works.

7. Chase Reid (2026 Draft-Eligible)

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Speaking of exciting, intelligent defensemen, let's talk about an American draft-eligible. And yes, I know we just talked about Chase Reid in my mock draft, but humor me, alright? I expect to have him in my top five next time we do a draft board here at Bleacher Report, and it's for good reason: the kid is unreal.

Sidebar: he's a Michigan State University prospect, and I'd like those of you watching World Juniors this year to watch him and Porter Martone and imagine them on the same team. Enjoy that.

As Team USA tries for an unheard-of-for-the-program third gold medal in a row, Reid will likely be a key part of the blue line.

But Hannah, you may say, Team USA has a glut of right-shot defensemen with five, and surely the older and more experienced guys will have seniority over Reid?

To that I say: yeah, initially, I'm sure. But one of Team USA's biggest issues last year (she says, knowing they won gold anyway) was that for many guys on the team, their style of play depended on driving through the neutral zone, and opponents noticed and started clogging that up. Reid's skill in the middle of the ice could be a useful tool if that happens again.

6. Zayne Parekh (Calgary Flames)

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How does one respond to a pretty audacious snub?

By going out and killing it on the ice to prove the people who snubbed you wrong, and being named to the team the following year.

Zayne Parekh is one of my personal favorite prospects, and while he's only played 11 games for the Calgary Flames this season (he suffered an upper-body injury in early November), a solid World Juniors should give him a boost going into the second half of the season.

So what are we looking for from Parekh at this tournament? He will undoubtedly need to be one of Hockey Canada's leaders on this team, as one of the older and more experienced players (though this is his first WJC). He's got that dynamic, smooth-skating, intelligent defensive style that I and others love so much, and used correctly, he could make his opponents' lives miserable throughout the tournament. 

Given how Canada looked last year, they're probably hoping for that and for his offensive touch to boost their scoring. Parekh's hockey sense allows him to manipulate opponents like no one you've seen, and he can dictate the flow of a game. If he's used correctly, I expect him to be a big difference-maker for the Canadians.

5. Cole Eiserman (New York Islanders)

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Cole Eiserman is a player I frequently worry about, in that he reminds me far too much of other (ironically, also New York Islanders draftees) USNTDP products, Oliver Wahlstrom and Kieffer Bellows. He sometimes comes off as one-dimensional, leaning on his goal-scoring ability.

The fact that he leads Boston University in goals with 8 but has only 12 points in 14 games is kind of a perfect example of that. I'm not writing him off or anything, obviously, but rather using this to illustrate what I'm watching for from him during this tournament. 

Eiserman is a returning member from last year's gold-medal-winning roster, and if you can have a chip on your shoulder in a positive way, you can bet he's got one. Team USA is going to be counting on that goal-scoring ability, but what would be even more useful is for him to rediscover that playmaking that we've only seen flashes of up till this point.

His offensive instincts are good; I just need to see them put into practice for more than just firing the puck off receiving a great pass (which he admittedly is very good at).

4. Porter Martone (Philadelphia Flyers)

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Ah, Porter Martone. My scouting nemesis. We meet again.

I'm kidding. I love watching Martone play, no matter how much I end up yelling at the screen in frustration. He's a really special player, and if he reins in some of his worst habits, I fully expect to see him win the Hart Trophy down the line somewhere. My usual complaints (floating around the outside instead of diving into the middle of the play, etc.) still apply, but I like what he's putting together lately nonetheless.

He's off to a pretty solid start in his freshman year playing for Michigan State University, with 20 points in 16 games, and is one of the best freshmen in NCAA hockey right now. Before the draft, he got the chance to play for Canada at the World Championships (where he looked pretty darn good for a draft-eligible skater).

He's undoubtedly still smarting from Canada's exit at last year's World Juniors, and Martone plays with a chip on his shoulder as it is. I'm excited to see how he channels it. (Please don't channel it into bad hits. I'm begging.)

3. James Hagens (Boston Bruins)

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Team USA forward and Boston Bruins prospect James Hagens faced similar criticism last season to what Gavin McKenna is facing this season. While I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about Hagens falling to seventh overall, I do think the critiques he received were much more valid than what McKenna is hearing, and that Schaefer going first overall was the correct choice. (Source: my eyes, watching Schaefer tear up the NHL this season).

But Hagens is a good hockey player, and I think people let last year's discourse cause them to lose sight of that a bit. I'm still a very big fan of his game overall, but I have the same qualms as I did last year — I want to see him drive play more, and I want to see his production increase.

He's at 18 points in 16 games right now (ironically, same as McKenna). Ten of those points are goals, which, I'm going to be frank, is not what I'm used to seeing from Hagens, despite really liking his shot. His processing speed is so quick, and I want to see him utilize that more to create. This tournament could be a good boost on that front, depending on who he's played with.

2. Ivar Stenberg (2026 Draft-Eligible)

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As always with European prospects, my viewings of 2026-eligible Ivar Stenberg are more limited than my viewings of his North American counterparts.

But that's one reason I'm so excited to see him competing against players his own age at World Juniors. He's been playing with Frolunda's SHL team against men and is more than holding his own; that in itself is deeply impressive. He's almost at a point-per-game pace as an 18-year-old, with 24 in 25, and the SHL hasn't had a draft-eligible player hit 50 points in its history. I really think Stenberg can do it. I also expect his scoring in this tournament to be on the high end compared to other draft-eligibles playing.

Unfortunately, Canada and Sweden are in different groups, so we get a matchup between Stenberg and Gavin McKenna. But who knows what will happen after that? Major thing to look out for with Stenberg: excellent playmaking skills driven by high-end hockey sense. His play in transition is also superb, and he's no slouch in his own end either.

To me, he's the only player that is in the same ballpark challenging the next guy for the No. 1 overall selection.

1. Gavin McKenna (2026 Draft-Eligible)

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You had to know this one would top the list.

We're reaching the point in the season where narrative shifts are brewing, and some have already started turning hardcore against former consensus top prospect Gavin McKenna. You could set your watch by this; it happens so often. I've even seen people ranking him fourth overall. I need everyone to calm down.

There are a lot of valid questions about certain aspects of Gavin McKenna's game as it pertains to his sole development (as opposed to his standing in the rankings). His engagement level off the puck has been less than ideal.

He's currently got four goals and 18 points in 16 games with Penn State — not the level of production people want to see from a first overall pick. And then there was that own goal against Sweden recently, which, thank god, was only in a pre-tournament game (otherwise the discourse would've been suffocating). 

But he's just 18 years old (literally days ago) and has just changed teams and leagues to a place with brand-new teammates and a completely different style and level of competition. He may be getting outplayed by other guys in college hockey, at least points-wise, but he's not getting outplayed by anyone else in his draft class.