NHL Mock Draft 2026, Order of Selections and 1st-Round Predictions

The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in six to win the second Stanley Cup in franchise history. Since the Final wrapped a little over a week ago, though, the hockey world has turned its attention over to the 2026 NHL draft.

The draft is set to get underway on Friday with the opening round, with the remaining rounds scheduled for Saturday. While we've known the initial draft order since the lottery in May, we've seen some order movement since then.

The San Jose Sharks (originally 20th) and the Buffalo Sabres (27th) swapped first-round slots as part of the Michael Kesselring trade. The Florida Panthers acquired the 25th pick in exchange for Mackie Samoskevich, then the Ottawa Senators acquired both of the Panthers' first-round selections in exchange for Brady Tkachuk.

With the draft just days away, let's run down the current order and make a few mock predictions.

2026 NFL Draft Scheduling Info

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When: Friday, June 26 and Saturday, June 27

Start Time: 7p.m. ET on Friday, 11 a.m. ET on Saturday

Location: KeyBank Center in Buffalo

Round 1 TV and Live Stream: ESPN, Sportsnet, TVA Sports, ESPN+

Rounds 2-7 TV and Live Stream: NHL Network, Sportsnet, ESPN+

Round 1 NHL Mock

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

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

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

4. Chicago Blackhawks: Chase Reid, D, Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds 

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

6. Calgary Flames: Viggo Bjorck, C/RW, Djurgardens IF (SHL)

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

8. Winnipeg Jets: Alberts, Šmits D, Jukurit (Liiga)

9. Ottawa Senators (from FLA): Daxon Rudolph, D, Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)

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

11. St. Louis Blues (from DET): Ryan Lin, D, Vancouver Giants (WHL)

12. New Jersey Devils: Wyatt Cullen, LW, USNTDP

13. New York Islanders: Tynan Lawrence, C, Boston University (NCAA)

14. Columbus Blue Jackets: Oscar Hemming, F, Boston College (NCAA)

15. St. Louis Blues (from DET): Adam Novotny, LW/RW, Peterborough Petes (OHL)

16. Washington Capitals: Ethan Belchetz, LW, Windsor Spitfires (OHL)

17. Los Angeles Kings: Ilia Morozov, F, Miami University (NCAA)

18. Washington Capitals (from ANA): Nikita Klepov, LW, Saginaw Spirit

19. Utah Mammoth: Alexander Command, C, Orebro HK (SHL)

20. Buffalo Sabres (from EDM): Maddox Dagenais, C, Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)

21. Philadelphia Flyers: Oliver Suvanto, C, Tappara (Liiga)

22. Pittsburgh Penguins: Xavier Villeneuve, D, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (QMJHL)

23. Boston Bruins: Elton Hermansson, RW/LW, MoDo Hockey (Hockey Allsvenskan)

24. Vancouver Canucks (from MIN): Mathis Preston, RW, Vancouver Giants (WHL)

25. Ottawa Senators (from FLA): Liam Ruck, RW, Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)

26. New York Rangers (from DAL): William Hakansson, D, Lulea HF (SHL)

27. San Jose Sharks (from BUF): JP Hurlbert, C, Kamloops Blazers (WHL)

28. Montreal Canadiens: Tommy Bleyl, D, Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL) 

29. St. Louis Blues (from COL): Marcus Nordmark, RW, Djurgardens IF U20 (U20 Nationell)

30. Calgary Flames (from VGK): Jack Hextall, C, Youngstown Phantoms (USHL)

31. Carolina Hurricanes: Jonas Lagerberg Hoen, LW, Leksands IF (SHL)

32. Ottawa Senators: Markus Ruck, C/LW, Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)

McKenna Still Trending as Top Pick, Rest of Top 10 Less Certain

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Ivar Stenberg

While nothing is 100 percent certain heading into draft week, it sure feels like Penn Stat star Gavin McKenna will land with the Toronto Maple Leafs at No. 1 overall. That's the pairing in just about any mock draft you're likely to find, though Toronto hasn't tipped its hand just yet.

"This feels mostly like a foregone conclusion," The Athletic's Corey Pronman wrote. "I think Toronto has done a lot of work on Ivar Stenberg, Chase Reid and Caleb Malhotra, but every source in the league believes McKenna is the Maple Leafs' guy."

No one will be surprised if McKenna is the first prospect to hear his name called on Friday night. However, fans may see some surprises in the picks following the first selection.

Part of the reason is the fact that the top-10 order isn't the same as it was just a few days ago. Florida's deal to acquire Tkachuk—who will now be paired with his brother, Matthew Tkachuk—sent the No. 9 and No. 25 picks to Ottawa.

The Senators will also receive a 2027 second-rounder and a top-10-protected 2029 first-round pick.

It's currently unclear who will be available when the Senators are first on the clock because this isn't shaping up to be a draft in which the first five or six selections are set ahead of time. In fact, no one is quite sure what will even happen at No. 2.

While Ivar Stenberg has become the trending choice for the Sharks at No. 2,it hasn't been the prevalent pairing throughout the pre-draft process. Bleacher Report's Hannah Stuart, for example, went with Stenberg in her latest mock draft but had defenseman Chase Reid going to San Jose in her post-conference finals mock.

Pronman admitted that Reid could still be the pick at No. 2:

"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, as Mike Grier has done a great job keeping information closed off in recent years."

San Jose's choice will almost certainly have a domino effect on the rest of the early first round, as teams scramble to marry prospect talent and positional need. The only thing we know for sure at this point is that McKenna's selection is likely to kick off the draft-day drama.