Congratulations to the Carolina Hurricanes, on their Stanley Cup Final win! Yes that’s “Final” and not “Finals,” and with the Hurricanes winning it all, the NHL Draft order is now set. Given that, it’s time to get amped and light the lamp as The Sports Bank 2026 NHL mock draft third edition is now here.
As the only independently-owned, mom and pop shop website to publish a mock draft in all four of the major North American sports, and the most popular professional women’s sport, at least until someone intentionally proves us otherwise, we take pride in this kind of thing.
Our content is made farm-to-table from Chicagoland, with only the freshest, natural ingredients.
No A.I. slop here! The NHL Draft commences on June 26 and June 27, originating from Buffalo, New York this year.
Past NHL Mock Draft Editions: 2025 2024 2023 2021 2020 2016 2015 2014 2011 2010
Our latest 2026 NFL mock draft can be found here. For our WNBA mock draft go here. The NBA mock draft can be found at this link.
And then finally, the latest edition of our MLB mock draft can be found here.
This NHL mock draft is listed on EDS Football’s 2026 NHL Mock Draft Database.
There are numerous changes from the last update we did. The 2026 NHL Draft will take place on June 26 and June 27 in Buffalo, New York.
1. Toronto Maple Leafs, Gavin McKenna LW, Penn State
McKenna is indeed “that dude” for this draft class. He is really a special, elite prospect, and “the guy” to go #1 overall.
We don’t have too much debate this year, about who the top pick will be.
2. San Jose Sharks, Ivar Stenberg, RW, Frölunda (SHL)
3. Vancouver Canucks, Caleb Malhotra, C, Brantford (OHL)
4. Chicago Blackhawks, Carson Carels, LHD, Prince George (WHL)
5. New York Rangers, Chase Reid, RHD, Soo (OHL)
6. Calgary Flames, Alberts Smits, LHD, Jukurit (Liiga)
7. Seattle Kraken, Keaton Verhoeff, RD, North Dakota
8. Winnipeg Jets, Viggo Bjorck, C, Djurgarden (SWE J20)
9. Florida Panthers, Daxon Rudolph, RHD, Prince Albert (WHL)
10. Nashville Predators, Ethan Belchetz, LW, Windsor (OHL)
11. St. Louis Blues, Tynan Lawrence, C, Muskegon (USHL)
12. New Jersey Devils, Wyatt Cullen, LW, U.S. NTDP (USHL)
13. New York Islanders, Oscar Hemming, LW, Sherwood Park (BCHL)
14. Columbus Blue Jackets, Malte Gustafsson, LHD, HV71 U18 (U18 Region)
15. St. Louis Blues, Marcus Nordmark, LW, Djurgarden (SWE J20)
16. Washington Capitals, Alexander Command, C, Orebro Jr. (SWE-JR.)
17. Los Angeles Kings, Ryan Lin, RHD, Vancouver (WHL)
18. Washington Capitals via Anaheim Ducks, Ilia Morozov, C, Miami (NCAA)
19. Utah Mammoth, Oliver Suvanto, C, Tappara (Liiga)
20. San Jose Sharks via Edmonton Oilers, Xavier Villeneuve, Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL)
21. Seattle Kraken via Tampa Bay Lightning, Adam Novotny, LW, Peterborough (OHL)
22. Pittsburgh Penguins, Maksim Sokolovskii, LHD, London (OHL)
23. Boston Bruins, William Håkansson, LHD, Lulea (SHL)
24. Anaheim Ducks, Maddox Dagenais, C, Quebec (QMJHL)
24. Vancouver Canucks via Minnesota Wild, JP Hurlbert, LW, Kamloops (WHL)
25. Seattle Kraken from Tampa Bay Lightning, Thomas Bleyl, D, Moncton (QMJHL)
26. NY Rangers from Dallas via Carolina, Casey Mutryn, RW, USA U-18 (NTDP-USHL)
27. Buffalo Sabres, Mathis Preston, RW, Spokane (WHL)
Conference Title Round Losers
28. Montreal Canadiens, Niklas Aaram-Olsen, W, Orebro HK (SHL)
29. New York Islanders via Colorado Avalanche, Jack Hextall, C, Youngstown (USHL)
Lars Steiner, C/RW, Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL)
Stanley Cup Final Teams
30. Calgary Flames via Vegas Golden Knights, Giorgos Pantelas, RHD, Brandon (WHL)
31. Carolina Hurricanes, Alessandro DiIorio, C, Sarnia (OHL)
32. Ottawa Senators, Brooks Rogowski, C, Oshawa (OHL)
Other Names to Consider
Ryan Roobroeck, C, Niagra (OHL)
Tomas Chrenko, C, HK Nitra (SVK)
Juho Piiparinen, RHD, Tappara (Liiga)
Egor Shilov, C, Victoriaville (QMJHL)
Gleb Pugachyov, W, Torpedo-Gorky NN (VHL)
This 2026 NHL mock draft has now ended- please share it!
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.