The 2026 NHL Draft Thread

[Archie Lee]

On 5/25/2026 at 7:34 AM, LGR4GM said:

Still working on a short list now that I know where we'll draft. Hope to have it up tomorrow. 

Jaxon Cover

Ryan Lin

Nikita Klepov 

Liam Ruck

The Athletic mock today has Lin at 15 to the Blues. This is the mock where Wheeler, Pronman, and Bultman rotate picks. It was Wheeler who made the Blues pick; I would say Wheeler tends to be more open to smallish d-men than Pronman.  So maybe Wheeler has Lin a bit higher than where the league sees him. 

They have Klepov at 21 to the Flyers and Ruck at 32 to the Sens. 
 

At 27 they (Wheeler) have us taking undersized LHD Xavier Villeneuve from the Q. 

Edited May 27 by Archie Lee

[LGR4GM]

20 minutes ago, Archie Lee said:

The Athletic mock today has Lin at 15 to the Blues. This is the mock where Wheeler, Pronman, and Bultman rotate picks. It was Wheeler who made the Blues pick; I would say Wheeler tends to be more open to smallish d-men than Pronman.  So maybe Wheeler has Lin a bit higher than where the league sees him. 

They have Klepov at 21 to the Flyers and Ruck at 32 to the Sens. 
 

At 27 they (Wheeler) have us taking undersized LHD Xavier Villeneuve from the Q. 

I'll bet against that. Mainly because I don't Buffalo will add a lhd with a 1st round pick when they have both or Power and Dahlin here. Further they have Samuelsson locked up long term and Byram who they want to lock up. It's just not good asset management. I also think his size will keep Buffalo away. 

Corey Pronman continues to have no clue what he's doing. I'm looking at his draft now. Yikes. 

[LGR4GM]

On 5/25/2026 at 9:34 AM, LGR4GM said:

Still working on a short list now that I know where we'll draft. Hope to have it up tomorrow. 

Jaxon Cover

Ryan Lin

Nikita Klepov 

Liam Ruck

TO add:

Maddox Dagenais, big physical c that projects to the mid 6

Alex Command, not the most exciting guy but he's probably going to be a mid 6 center

Brooks Rogowski, will be there and is a risky pick, a poor mans Roger McQueen without the injury history

Jaxon Cover, he has 1 OHL yr and is off to college but the skills and work rate make me very very interested. He's 6'1" too so size isn't a concern and honestly he has a ton of runway. This isn't some polished product but more like the raw form of Benson (which was Benson at 15) but also different. I like Cover a lot

Ryan Lin, he is a righty but he is short for a defender in todays NHL... of course so is Hudson. He would be an interesting backup option if available with his skating and carrying ability

Nikita Klepov, just draft him already. Move up if needed. I don't get why he is even available in the 20s. NHL gms are dumb

Liam Ruck, he is interesting because the engagement offensively and ability to get inside are great, but his skating is somewhat average and I wish he gave you a bit more. Still we are talking about late 20s and getting the WHLs 2nd leading scorer (behind his also intriguing twin brother) wouldn't be bad at all

 

[inkman]

11 hours ago, Punch said:

Not a rumor per se, and I'm not sure I fully believe this was actually floated on Winnipeg sports radio, but this is the level of discourse making the rounds on social media:

 

Sabres fans are full of delusional trade suggestions but Jets fans seem to be on a whole different level level. I wouldn’t trade anyone listed not named UPL for just about any player, let alone all of them for Helly.  And they are rejecting the haul of a lifetime? Eric Lindros was traded for less and that included a HOFer. 

[xzy89c1]

On 5/26/2026 at 11:29 AM, inkman said:

I've slowly grown to really appreciate Owen's game. You are correct in saying he doesn't do the things that jump off the ice like booming 100mph shots or blasting dudes. His game is sublime, smooth skating, smart passing which leads to easy D zone exits and offensive opportunities, essentially, the things you NEED your defenseman to do.  

 

Agreed. He needs to do better in front of our net and he has a lot of prime chances that he does not score on. Better in front of our net does not mean cross checking guys. That is not his game. It is using his body positionally and tying up sticks better.

He moves the puck well and joins the rush efficiently. He is an above average player who is going to continue to improve. 

5 hours ago, inkman said:

Sabres fans are full of delusional trade suggestions but Jets fans seem to be on a whole different level level. I wouldn’t trade anyone listed not named UPL for just about any player, let alone all of them for Helly.  And they are rejecting the haul of a lifetime? Eric Lindros was traded for less and that included a HOFer. 

Winnipeg would jump at that trade.

[inkman]

1 hour ago, xzy89c1 said:

Winnipeg would jump at that trade.

Right. Their fanbase claiming that’s not enough is beyond laughable. I don’t see them getting anything close to the haul their fans are dreaming of. I would expect an NHL goalie, an all star caliber player and some picks. 

[dudacek]

2 hours ago, inkman said:

Right. Their fanbase claiming that’s not enough is beyond laughable. I don’t see them getting anything close to the haul their fans are dreaming of. I would expect an NHL goalie, an all star caliber player and some picks. 

I’m not going to do the work again, but I’d challenge anyone to find the last time an NHL goalie was traded for any kind of big return.

It just doesn’t happen.

[Nacho Libre]

9 hours ago, inkman said:

Sabres fans are full of delusional trade suggestions but Jets fans seem to be on a whole different level level. I wouldn’t trade anyone listed not named UPL for just about any player, let alone all of them for Helly.  And they are rejecting the haul of a lifetime? Eric Lindros was traded for less and that included a HOFer. 

I’ve only been saying this since I joined in 2015

[shrader]

21 minutes ago, dudacek said:

I’m not going to do the work again, but I’d challenge anyone to find the last time an NHL goalie was traded for any kind of big return.

It just doesn’t happen.

My lazy research just taught me that Timmins was traded for Darcy Kuemper. So we can make that super high profile move happen. 

[SabreFinn]

On 5/27/2026 at 4:47 PM, LGR4GM said:

TO add:

Maddox Dagenais, big physical c that projects to the mid 6

Alex Command, not the most exciting guy but he's probably going to be a mid 6 center

Brooks Rogowski, will be there and is a risky pick, a poor mans Roger McQueen without the injury history

Jaxon Cover, he has 1 OHL yr and is off to college but the skills and work rate make me very very interested. He's 6'1" too so size isn't a concern and honestly he has a ton of runway. This isn't some polished product but more like the raw form of Benson (which was Benson at 15) but also different. I like Cover a lot

Ryan Lin, he is a righty but he is short for a defender in todays NHL... of course so is Hudson. He would be an interesting backup option if available with his skating and carrying ability

Nikita Klepov, just draft him already. Move up if needed. I don't get why he is even available in the 20s. NHL gms are dumb

Liam Ruck, he is interesting because the engagement offensively and ability to get inside are great, but his skating is somewhat average and I wish he gave you a bit more. Still we are talking about late 20s and getting the WHLs 2nd leading scorer (behind his also intriguing twin brother) wouldn't be bad at all

 

@LGR4GM

[inkman]

Why is there pages of draft talk in the rumors thread?

[shrader]

Just now, inkman said:

Why is there pages of draft talk in the rumors thread?

So that we can get someone to rant again.

[DarthEbriate]

If their sports radio think that highly of a goalie, Winnipeg should just trade Hellebuyck for McDavid. The Oilers need goaltending, right?

 

In unrelated news, while looking at goaltending drafting, I came across this Transaction tidbit: https://puckpedia.com/news/nhl-draft-pick-rights-set-expire-june-2026 

Ryerson Leenders has to either commit to an NCAA program (not yet reported) or sign his ELC. If neither happens, he'll be available again in this month's draft. The deadline is today.

Edited June 1 by DarthEbriate

[Flashsabre]

Is June 1st when the NHL year ends for front office contracts and people start moving teams?  
 

I see the Leafs hired Judd Brackett from Minny for their front office.

Jarmo said in his presser we would hear about additions to the FO soon.

[LGR4GM]

5 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

Is June 1st when the NHL year ends for front office contracts and people start moving teams?  
 

I see the Leafs hired Judd Brackett from Minny for their front office.

Jarmo said in his presser we would hear about additions to the FO soon.

July 1 is the start of the new league year. Typically though teams allow execs to move up/promoted to other clubs this time of year. 

[shrader]

42 minutes ago, Flashsabre said:

Is June 1st when the NHL year ends for front office contracts and people start moving teams?  
 

I see the Leafs hired Judd Brackett from Minny for their front office.

Jarmo said in his presser we would hear about additions to the FO soon.

June 1 is just the draft related cutoff. Since the draft is in June, they can’t use July as the cutoff for guys who can re-enter it. 

[DarthEbriate]

With the 6/1 deadline passing, the Sabres have relinquished the rights to G Ryerson Leenders (2024 7th), F Gustav Karlsson (2022 6th), and Joel Ratkovic-Berndtsson (2022 7th).

 

For those of you keeping score at home, this means the Ristolainen Trade Tree (LHD Robert Hagg, 2021 PHI 1st= F Isak Rosén, 2023 PHI 2nd = C Anton Wahlberg), then Hagg for 2022 FLA 6th = Gustav Karlsson, is now down to:

F Anton Wahlberg, RHD Luke Schenn (UFA 7/1), LHD Logan Stanley (UFA 7/1)

[#freejame]

I’ve got a source a degree removed from the coaching staff who says Malenstyn, Benson, and Byram are the main priorities for roster players. Sabres are already looking for a partner to move UPL and Greenway* as well. This is all pretty obvious stuff and feel free to take it with a grain of salt, but it’s a trusted source.

Edited June 3 by #freejame

[shrader]

4 minutes ago, #freejame said:

I’ve got a source a degree removed from the coaching staff who says Malenstyn, Benson, and Byram are the main priorities for roster players. Sabres are already looking for a partner to move UPL and Malenstyn as well. This is all pretty obvious stuff and feel free to take it with a grain of salt, but it’s a trusted source.

Did you type the wrong name here?

[oddoublee]

50 minutes ago, #freejame said:

I’ve got a source a degree removed from the coaching staff who says Malenstyn, Benson, and Byram are the main priorities for roster players. Sabres are already looking for a partner to move UPL and Malenstyn as well. This is all pretty obvious stuff and feel free to take it with a grain of salt, but it’s a trusted source.

I might be reading this wrong - but it says malenstyn is a roster priority and a trade priority. is that correct? 

[triumph_communes]

Players and coaches have said many times that Malenstyn is a huge positive for the room. No surprise there 

[#freejame]

1 hour ago, shrader said:

Did you type the wrong name here?

Yes, that should have been Greenway. Too many times trying to word things better. Moving Greenway is the lesser priority than UPL, but if an offer materializes they will jump. 

16 minutes ago, oddoublee said:

I might be reading this wrong - but it says malenstyn is a roster priority and a trade priority. is that correct? 

Yeah, sorry I had changed my sentence structures too many times too early in the morning. Should have read Greenway. 

[nfreeman]

1 hour ago, #freejame said:

I’ve got a source a degree removed from the coaching staff who says Malenstyn, Benson, and Byram are the main priorities for roster players. Sabres are already looking for a partner to move UPL and Greenway* as well. This is all pretty obvious stuff and feel free to take it with a grain of salt, but it’s a trusted source.

Thanks.  That sounds like they've given up on keeping Tuch -- is that what your source thinks, or am I reading too much in here?

[#freejame]

1 hour ago, nfreeman said:

Thanks.  That sounds like they've given up on keeping Tuch -- is that what your source thinks, or am I reading too much in here?

I don’t think you’re reading too much into it. It was more or less we’ll see what space we can free up, but the currently open space isn’t for him. 

[spndnchz]

You have one day