Latest 2026 NHL Mock Draft Expert Predictions for 1st-Round Prospects

Draft week has officially arrived, NHL fans! The first round is scheduled to take place on Friday evening, while the rest of the draft will unfold on Saturday. By Sunday, all mystery shrouding the 2026 class will have dissipated.

We now have just days to go, but there's still plenty we don't know about how even the early first round will unfold. Penn State's Gavin McKenna is widely expected to be the Toronto Maple Leafs' selection at No. 1 overall, but there's some uncertainty over how the next few selections will unfold.

Of course, the draft experts do have their opinions.

Here, we'll dive into some recent first-round mocks from around the web and dive into any late-breaking trends as draft week gets underway.

Mock Top 10 Comparisons

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Gavin McKenna

Scott Wheeler, The Athleteic

1. Maple Leafs: Gavin McKenna, LW, Penn State (NCAA)

2. Sharks: Ivar Stenberg, LW/RW, Frolunda HC (SHL)

3. Canucks: Caleb Malhotra, C, Brantford (OHL)

4. Blackhawks: Carson Carels, D, Prince George (WHL)

5. Rangers: Chase Reid, D, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)

6. Flames: Alberts Šmits, LHD, Munchen (DEL)

7. Kraken: Keaton Verhoeff, D, North Dakota (NCAA)

8. Jets: Viggo Björck, C, Djugarden (SHL)

9. Panthers: Daxon Rudolph, D, Prince Albert (WHL)

10. Predators: Ethan Belchetz, LW, Windsor (OHL)

Hannah Stuart, Bleacher Report

1. Maple Leafs: Gavin McKenna, LW, Penn State (NCAA)

2. Sharks: Ivar Stenberg, LW/RW, Frolunda HC (SHL)

3. Canucks: Caleb Malhotra, C, Brantford (OHL)

4. Blackhawks: Chase Reid, D, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)

5. Rangers: Carson Carels, D, Prince George (WHL)

6. Flames: Tynan Lawrence, C, Boston University (NCAA)

7. Kraken: Viggo Björck, C, Djugarden (SHL)

8. Jets: Keaton Verhoeff, D, North Dakota (NCAA)

9. Panthers: Alberts Šmits, LHD, Munchen (DEL)

10. Predators: Wyatt Cullen, LW, NTDP (USHL)

Corey Pronman, The Athletic

1. Maple Leafs: Gavin McKenna, LW, Penn State (NCAA)

2. Sharks: Ivar Stenberg, LW/RW, Frolunda HC (SHL)

3. Canucks: Caleb Malhotra, C, Brantford (OHL)

4. Blackhawks: Chase Reid, D, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)

5. Rangers: Carson Carels, D, Prince George (WHL)

6. Flames: Viggo Björck, C, Djugarden (SHL)

7. Kraken: Keaton Verhoeff, D, North Dakota (NCAA)

8. Jets: Alberts Šmits, LHD, Munchen (DEL)

9. Panthers: Daxon Rudolph, D, Prince Albert (WHL)

10. Predators: Malte Gustafsson, D, HV71 (SHL)

Still Some Mystery at No. 2

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Ivar Stenberg

At this point, it'll be a massive surprise if McKenna is the pick at No. 1. However, it doesn't look like the first few picks of the draft are set just yet, though. While all three of the mocks we examined for this piece paired the San Jose Sharks with Swedish star Ivar Stenberg,the pick isn't carved in stone just yet.

Bleacher Report's Hannah Stuart went with Stenberg in her latest mock but paired San Jose with defenseman Chase Reid in her post-conference finals mock.

"Take a moment and imagine it: Reid on the ice with Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith and whatever other members of the Sharks' stable of talented young prospects happen to be around. It's a nice vision, right?" Stuart wrote on June 3.

While Stenberg has become the more popular pick over the last couple of weeks, no one seems truly certain of what the Sharks will do.

"I think the Sharks like both Chase Reid and Ivar Stenberg a lot, and they have interest in some other defensemen. I don't know which way they are going to go," The Athletic's Corey Pronman wrote in his recent seven-round mock.

One thing that is for certain is that San Jose's choice will have a significant impact on the picks that follow.

Wyatt Cullen on the Rise

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Wyatt Cullen

The uncertainty at No. 2 and the handful of selections that follow the second selection is arguably the biggest storyline heading into the draft—aside from the Michael Kesselring trade that caused the Sharks and Buffalo Sabres to flip late first-round selections, anyway.

However, we're likely to see some surprises toward the middle of Round 1, too. One of them may involve winger Wyatt Cullen, who seems to be experiencing some rising stock.

Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff named the 17-year-old on his list of rising prospects:

"Cullen was more of a late-round prospect heading into the season, with his smaller 5-foot-8 frame not doing much to impress scouts. But he grew to 6-foot-1—and he established himself as a point-per-game player with the USNTDP, for good measure."

Cullen rose a full 12 spots between Stuart's post-conference championships mock and her latest, now paired with the Nashville Predators at No. 10.

"Cullen was a riser across the season after a slow start caused by injury. It's a tale as old as time," Stuart wrote. "We're very high on him (he'll be inside the top 10 on our next board) because we're betting on his upside."

Pronman paired Wyatt with the New Jersey Devils at No. 12, as did The Athletic's Scott Wheeler.