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As the 2026 NHL Draft rolls up on June 26 in Buffalo, the scouting picture kind of coalesced around one generational standout plus this really deep group of flexible international prospects. After the NHL Draft Lottery on May 5, the Toronto Maple Leafs walked away with the first overall slot, which should let them chase the most watched prospect in years. The overall top choice stayed pretty steady all season, but the race for the other top-five spots has been spiced up a lot by big NCAA showings and some flat-out loud European stretches, not that it matters ,to be honest, they still had movement.
Gavin McKenna: The Unfazed Front-Runner
Gavin McKenna is rolling into the 2026 draft as the clear top North American prospect, at least per NHL Central Scouting and the 18-year-old left wing just wrapped a strong freshman run at Penn State, and there he made the switch from the WHL into the NCAA.
Even with older guys on the ice and a more physically grown league to deal with, McKenna still finished tied for fifth in the country with 51 points in 35 games and 1.46 points per contest. His ability to push offense everywhere kind of showed up at the 2026 World Junior Championship too, where he logged 14 points in seven games to help Canada grab a bronze.
A lot of analysts keep circling back to McKenna’s elite hockey sense and that whole playmaking outlook. His size 5-foot-11, 170 pounds looked like it could be a snag early at the college level, yet by the second half he tightened it up, scoring 29 points in his last 15 contests. That stretch pointed to a more physical engagement too, plus the same high-end finishing feel. Many scouts expect him to plug in as a near-immediate top-six forward in the NHL, and there are even some comparisons floating around to the early path of Minnesota Wild talent Matt Boldy.
International Challengers: Stenberg and Smits
Overseas, the top of the conversation is being nudged by Ivar Stenberg, a Swedish winger who has been pressing McKenna on multiple European boards. Stenberg already looks like a legit fixture in the SHL with Frölunda, stacking 33 points in 43 games as an 18-year-old. His style reads as “pro-ready”, mixing a high-danger shot with a full two-way commitment. Scouts lean toward the idea that McKenna could own the bigger offensive ceiling, but Stenberg’s readiness to jump into an NHL top-nine role makes him a serious option for second overall, which is currently in the hands of the San Jose Sharks.
On the blue line side, Alberts Šmits has been the international defender rising the fastest. He’s playing in Germany’s DEL for EHC München, and that 6-foot-3 frame has scouts talking, mainly for his gap control plus his puck-moving chops. He sits in a deeper defensive cohort that also includes North American names like Chase Reid and Keaton Verhoeff. Verhoeff, by the way, managed the jump into the NCAA with North Dakota this season and his 6-foot-4 size and high-level passing have turned him into a primary target for the New York Rangers, who currently own the fifth overall selection.
Rising Stars and Potential First-Round Risers
The 2026 group also has a fresh lift behind it, especially Caleb Malhotra, whose OHL playoff run has pushed him into top-three chatter. Malhotra is broadly seen as the best natural center in the class, giving teams that combo of defensive steadiness and offensive imagination, which points toward a future top-six problem.
Other names that could keep rising as the June draft gets closer include defenseman Carson Carels and forward Ethan Belchetz, and both have watched their draft position climb after strong finishes in their respective junior seasons.
As teams start locking in their draft boards, the theme keeps coming back to “tactical adaptability” and professional readiness. With Toronto expected to shape a newer management direction around McKenna, and with international stars like Stenberg and Šmits lined up to make real, quick impacts, this 2026 draft could end up being one of the more disruptive weekends for the league in a while.
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