NHL mock draft 2026: Complete 1st round after the Stanley Cup

The Carolina Hurricanes have hoisted the Stanley Cup, and now we hit the point where everyone is looking ahead to the 2026 NHL Draft in June. A forward-thinking, prospect-based draft — we’re going to be waiting four or five years to see some of these guys hit the ice in the pros, unless they’re taken in the Top 5 and can make the jump immediately.

The best teams are looking far into the future, projecting their core needs down the road, looking at veterans who might retire, as well as free agent markets to try and piece together as a vision for what their team could be down the line. It’s what makes the NHL Draft so fascinating, especially when you see which teams invest heavily in their European scouts to look at Sweden, Finland, and Russia to find diamonds where nobody else is looking.

Advertisement

Here’s the full first round mock, then we’ll discuss some of the picks.

• Gavin McKenna goes No. 1: This is as much of a no-brainer as there has been. McKenna is the cause of angst among hockey fans who think the lottery was rigged for the Leafs, because he is that damn good. One of the most gifted passing wing prospects we’ve seen in YEARS, there are some real questions how he can mesh with Auston Matthews in Toronto, but the concern is not nearly enough to assuage taking a guy with his vision from the edge. McKenna will be a superstar, and even at 19-years-old, he’s ready to make the jump now.

• The profound rise of Chase Reid: A fascinating prospect, most scouting services had Reid around the No. 10 pick before this process began, but he has cemented himself as a Top 3 pick in this 2026 class. His ability to push the pace offensively from the blue line has major shades of Cale Makar to his game, and with both his skating ability as well as puck handling, he could bring the same kind of edge to a team wanting to play a hybrid, aggressive system.

• I’m still obsessed with Ivan Stenberg: Reid absolutely warrants the hype, but the more film I keep seeing of Stenberg, the more I’m convinced he’s going to be SPECIAL. There is some hesitancy that his finesse, pretty game might waver when it’s integrated with a physical NHL style, but Stenberg is just so good with the puck on his stick that I think he will find Mitch Marner-esque ways to evade contact.

• Yes, Caleb Malholtra is Manny Malholta’s son: Feel old yet?

• Yes, Wyatt Cullen is Matt Cullen’s son: Oh god, I’m so old.

• What happened to the Senators’ pick? Ottawa should be picking at No. 20, but they elected to delay a punishment from the NHL over the 2021 trade of Evgenii Dadonov, in which the Senators did not forward a list of teams on Dadonov’s no-trade list to teams ahead of making deals with them. The NHL initially told the Sens they would lose their 1st round pick in their choice of 2024, 2025, or 2026 — with Ottawa delaying the penalty to this year. The league later revised their punishment to push the Senators to the back of the first round, rather than forfeit their pick altogether.