2026 NHL Mock Draft: Organizational Needs for Team Picking in Top 5
Building an NHL prospect pool is a lot like trying to do a crossword puzzle with half the words blanked out in every clue. General managers and scouts are trying to fill in blanks that they know the shape of, but not the precise identity.
Fortunately none of them are building from scratch, and looking at what they do have pretty easily highlights what they don't. Some teams have dug themselves into a pretty significant hole. Others are barely being dragged up the rankings by one or two standout prospects. For this year's lottery teams, the mix is across the board—top prospect pools, bottom of the ladder prospect pools, and a couple in between.
Goalies are a perennial need for any team, because there are so few available and the position is so often filled through trades or free agency signings rather than growing your own at home. We're looking outside of that. For teams at the top of the prospect pool list, at this point it's all about shaping the future rather than filling glaring needs. Everyone else does have glaring needs, and it's about finding the best guy available to fix them.
Spoiler alert: the best guy available to fix those needs is, for most teams, the best guy available at their draft spot period.
As a refresher: our latest mock draft.
Updated 2026 NHL Mock Draft
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1. Toronto Maple Leafs: Gavin McKenna, LW, Penn State (NCAA)
2. San Jose Sharks: Chase Reid, D, Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds
3. Vancouver Canucks: Ivar Stenberg, LW/RW, Frolunda HC (SHL)
4. Chicago Blackhawks: Caleb Malhotra, C, Brantford Bulldogs (OHL)
5. New York Rangers: Carson Carels, D, Prince George Cougars (WHL)
6. Calgary Flames: Keaton Verhoeff, D, University of North Dakota (NCAA)
7. Seattle Kraken: Viggo Bjorck, C/RW, Djurgardens IF
8. Winnipeg Jets: Alberts Smits, D, Jukurit (Liiga)
9. Florida Panthers: Tynan Lawrence, C, Boston University (NCAA)
10. Nashville Predators: Daxon Rudolph, D, Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
11. St. Louis Blues: Ethan Belchetz, LW, Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
12. New Jersey Devils: Oscar Hemming, F, Boston College (NCAA)
13. New York Islanders: Adam Novotny, LW/RW, Peterborough Petes (OHL)
14. Columbus Blue Jackets: Ryan Lin, D, Vancouver Giants (WHL)
15. St. Louis Blues (via DET): Oliver Suvanto, C, Tappara (Liiga)
16. Washington Capitals: Nikita Klepov, LW, Saginaw Spirit
17. Los Angeles Kings: Elton Hermansson, RW/LW, MoDo Hockey (Hockey Allsvenskan)
18. Washington Capitals (via ANA): Malte Gustafsson, D, HV71 (SHL)
19. Utah Mammoth: Ilia Morozov, F, Miami University (NCAA)
20. San Jose Sharks (via EDM): Egor Shilov, C, Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)
21. Philadelphia Flyers: Juho Piiparinen, D, Tappara (Liiga)
22. Pittsburgh Penguins: Xavier Villeneuve, D, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (QMJHL)
23. Boston Bruins: JP Hurlbert, C, Kamloops Blazers (WHL)
24. Vancouver Canucks (via MIN): Marcus Nordmark, RW, Djurgardens IF U20 (U20 Nationell)
25. Montreal Canadiens: Wyatt Cullen, LW, USNTDP
26. Seattle Kraken (via TBL): Liam Ruck, RW, Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
27. New York Rangers (via DAL): Mathis Preston, RW, Vancouver Giants (WHL)
28. Calgary Flames (via VGK): Maddox Dagenais, C, Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
29. Buffalo Sabres: Jack Hextall, C, Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)
30. Carolina Hurricanes: Jaxon Cover, LW, London Knights (OHL)
31. St. Louis Blues (via COL): Adam Valentini, LW, University of Michigan (NCAA)
32. Ottawa Senators: Ryan Roobroeck, C, Niagara IceDogs (OHL)
1. Toronto Maple Leafs
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There's no way around it: the Toronto Maple Leafs have one of the worst prospect pools in the league, and their drafting strategy over the last few years has felt very ostrich-with-its-head-in-sand about it. They have a rare opportunity to change direction this year (rare despite the fact that it happened 10 years ago too), and they have a new team in charge: general manager John Chayka and senior executive advisor of hockey operations Mats Sundin. While there's no way beyond mind-reading to truly know what Chayka and company are planning, one can hope that they won't galaxy brain this.
Selecting Canadian winger Gavin McKenna first overall gives their prospect pool an immediate upgrade. His particular player archetype — that truly special playmaker who is almost preternaturally good at identifying his options, a real franchise-changer — is one that they lack in any shape or form. You're probably saying what team isn't missing that kind of player, and outside of a select few you'd be correct, but the goal is always to get as close to that as possible. The Leafs don't even have someone close right now.
Easton Cowan is arguably the Leafs' best prospect right now. None of this is meant as Cowan slander. It's just that he's a very different kind of player than McKenna. Cowan's game is driven by tenacity and determination, rather than by hockey IQ and elite playmaking instincts. You need all types of players on the roster at the end of the day, so there's nothing wrong with that. But the Leafs are very heavy on bottom-half-of-the-lineup projections, and very light on players who project as being top line or top defensive pair guys.
2. San Jose Sharks
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Unlike the previous team, the San Jose Sharks have been building like a team extremely aware of their position, and it's paid off. They have one of the top two prospect pools in the league, with who could be argued is one of the best forward prospects in an organization right now—Michael Misa. So what do you need when you're a team that already has everything?
While it's not a category in which the cupboards are bare, it would benefit the Sharks to go after high-end intelligent and mobile defensemen. (This is a good idea for any team, frankly, and extremely easy advice, but we're looking solely at the current state of their prospect pool.) First of all, you can never have enough of this kind of player. It's an archetype that comes with higher risk, and the more chances you give yourself the greater the possibility that one of them pays off.
The Sharks are also in that interesting position of not being contenders yet, but being able to just barely see a future in the distance where they are. They have to build properly to reach that future. As it draws closer, some of the incredible prospects that make up their top-two pool are going to have to be dealt in order to get effective roster players to surround their young stars, and when that happens it's always ideal to deal from a place of wealth. Hoard as many players who you think can keep up with guys like Celebrini and Misa as possible, so that when some of them inevitably leave to bring in useful, experienced (and hopefully on the younger side) vets, you've still got more in the wings.
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3. Vancouver Canucks
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The Leafs were at the bottom of the league for prospect pools; the Sharks were at the top. The Vancouver Canucks land somewhere in the middle. The general vibe of their prospect pool is "good but definitely not great". Landing a player who can come in and be a gamebreaker sooner than later is a crucial move for them this year, and while it had to have been disappointing to fall in the draft lottery yet again, it's still possible.
The Canucks are selecting third overall. In terms of their prospect pool, they're fairly even positionally, so they can focus on taking simply the best player available. This year at third that's going to be a forward, whether it's Swedish winger Ivar Stenberg or Canadian center Caleb Malhotra. Of the two, Stenberg is much more likely to come into the NHL and make a difference soon, while Malhotra will need a little more time. He's better all-around. He has experience playing against men and not just holding his own, but excelling.
For those reasons and too many more to count (see our recent draft board or his scouting report), Stenberg feels like the most logical choice. But very often NHL teams will still gravitate toward a center over a winger, if given the choice between the two of them, so don't be surprised if it's Malhotra instead.
4. Chicago Blackhawks
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The Chicago Blackhawks are that other "top two prospect pool", and just barely edge out the Sharks for the number one slot. With the fourth overall pick this really is just a case of the rich getting richer. Since they want to get back to contender status sooner than later, this is good; it puts them in a position of both drafting and dealing power. Much like the Sharks, it's now about shaping the players of the future and ensuring they have enough top-tier assets.
The Blackhawks can afford to be choosy with who they target because you really have to dig in deep to find a niche player type they're actually "lacking". Their prospect pool is pretty solid across the board. And yet the best move here is still to go after the best player available. (You'll find that 9.5 times out of 10, that's always the best move.)
Who will that be when they pick? Great question. Most likely it'll be one of Chase Reid, Ivar Stenberg, and Caleb Malhotra. Unless everyone before them galaxy-brains their picks and goes entirely off the board and Gavin McKenna is still available, but let's be honest—the odds of that happening are worse than Vancouver's recent lottery luck.
5. New York Rangers
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The New York Rangers are nominally floating somewhere in the middle of the league with the Canucks when it comes to prospect pool rankings. The Rangers are also being dragged by their hair up from a lower position by Gabriel Perreault, without whom their pool would be much less well thought of, and a couple other interesting guys (Liam Greentree is a fun one, to be clear). This is not to slight any of the players they've drafted, but when the best that many pundits can say about a good chunk of your prospect pool is "he should make a good pro player" without specifying which pro league they're talking about, you've got some shoes to fill.
Or skates, as it were.
Funnily enough, the archetype of their top prospect—a winger—highlights their most glaring missing piece: the lack of any true top-six potential center. Yes, there are centers in the Rangers' system. But none of them rise to the level of being that top-line star power kind of guy. At best they're going to be very effective bottom-six centers; at worst they're going to end up playing in an Eastern European league in a few years. And while there's nothing wrong with that—get you a career wherever you can, that's awesome—it doesn't help the Rangers.
If Caleb Malhotra is available at fifth overall, the Rangers need to snap him up without giving themselves time to overthink it. If he isn't, well, that's showbiz, baby. Just grab the best player available and load up on centers in the second round.
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