The 2025-26 NHL season begins today! Hope springs eternal in all 32 NHL cities… whether that’s for a championship or landing the right to draft Gavin McKenna first overall in June next year. Which is why, in honor of the start of the new season, let’s drop our first 2026 NHL Mock Draft of the year!
Mock draft situations change throughout the year, and are tricky to project at any time. At this point, we don’t have standings to base the order of selections on for our first mock draft! But we do have futures odds (I used ESPN’s) and we have the mock draft order simulator at Tankathon to play with in our free time.
With that in mind, let’s get into our first NHL mock draft of the 2025-26 season. Because the seasons all over the world in which these prospects are playing are still so early as well, I won’t include stats at this point. But I am embedding the player profile link from EliteProspects in each player’s name for your consideration and further reading/bookmarking.
Note: the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft will only consist of 31 picks. Ottawa has forfeited their pick because of the Evgenii Dadonov trade.
Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images Seattle Kraken — Gavin McKenna, LW, Penn State (NCAA) San Jose Sharks — Keaton Verhoeff, RHD, North Dakota (NCAA) Pittsburgh Penguins — Ryan Roobroeck, C, Niagara (OHL) Chicago Blackhawks — Ethan Belchetz, LW, Windsor (OHL) New York Islanders — Ivar Stenberg, RW, Frölunda (SHL) Philadelphia Flyers — Tynan Lawrence, C, Muskegon (USHL) Detroit Red Wings — Ryan Lin, RHD, Vancouver (WHL) Anaheim Ducks — Viggo Björck, C, Djurgårdens (SHL) Boston Bruins — Mathis Preston, RW, Spokane (WHL) Montreal Canadiens (from CGY) — Adam Novotný, LW, Peterborough (OHL) Nashville Predators — Daxon Rudolph, RHD, Prince Albert (WHL) St. Louis Blues — Chase Reid, RHD, Soo (OHL) Vancouver Canucks — Xavier Villeneuve, LHD, Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL) Buffalo Sabres — Marcus Nordmark, LW, Djurgårdens U20 (U20 Nationell) New York Rangers — Oliver Suvanto, C, Tappara (Liiga) Columbus Blue Jackets — Elton Hermansson, W, MoDo (HockeyAllsvenskan) Montreal Canadiens — Carson Carels, LHD, Prince George (WHL) Minnesota Wild — Niklas Aaram-Olsen, LW, Örebro U20 (U20 Nationell) Utah Mammoth — Juho Piiparinen, RHD, Tappara (Liiga) Winnipeg Jets — Malte Gustafsson, LHD, HV71 U18 (U18 Region) Washington Capitals — Jack Hextall, C, Youngstown (USHL) New Jersey Devils — Oscar Hemming, LW, Kitchener (OHL) Seattle Kraken (from TB) — William Håkansson, LHD, Luleå (SHL) Los Angeles Kings — Alessandro Di Iorio, RW, Sarnia (OHL) Boston Bruins (from TOR) — Tobias Tomik, LW, Vancouver (WHL) Chicago Blackhawks (from FLA) — JP Hurlbert, LW, Kamloops (WHL) Calgary Flames (from VGK) — Oscar Holmertz, C, Linköping U20 (U20 Nationell) San Jose Sharks (from EDM) — Caleb Malhotra, C, Brantford (OHL) New York Islanders (from COL) — Olivers Mūrnieks, C, Saint John (QMJHL) New York Rangers (from CAR) — Luke Schairer, RHD, USNTDP Carolina Hurricanes (from DAL) — Casey Mutryn, C, USNTDPHence then, the article about 2026 nhl mock draft opening day edition was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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