The first round of the 2026 NHL Draft is on Friday night. After an absolute debacle to open the draft with Justin Bieber — apparently the only “famous” person the NHL recognizes being from Toronto — announcing the first overall pick, the surprises started early and kept coming.
This is going to serve as our live, regularly updating reactions to picks throughout the first round. Also make sure to check out our tracking of the trades and signings around the league on Friday.
Biebs making it official pic.twitter.com/AuvjdUC7ga
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) June 26, 2026 The first big whoa moment in the draft came, ironically, at the No. 4 overall pick — yes, the one the Blackhawks traded to the Sabres. The top three picks came off the board as expected: Gavin McKenna to Toronto, Ivar Stenberg to San Jose and Caleb Malhotra to Vancouver. Buffalo made the first selection of a defenseman, and they took… Daxon Rudolph. A legit stunner. Alberts Šmits was the second defenseman off the board, joining the New York Rangers at No. 5. Chase Reid, who most rankings had as the best defenseman in the class, slid all the way to the Seattle Kraken at No. 7. Keaton Verhoeff slid all the way to… San Jose at No. 9 overall. His stock was down going into the draft, but I was surprised he was the fifth defenseman off the board. The Sharks landing the potential top-pair right-handed defenseman they needed at nine after taking Stenberg at No. 2 is exactly the scenario they wanted to see play out. But they probably didn’t expect it to be Verhoeff who was there for them at nine. With the first of their four picks in the first round — which they weren’t able to trade to move up from No. 11 — the Blues selected Tynan Lawrence.Also Read
Around the NHL: More Trades, Teams Re-Signing Free Agents, and the 2026 NHL Draft is Coming!Hence then, the article about immediate reactions to the 2026 nhl draft 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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