Round 1 of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft is officially in the books. After doing their best “we’re undecided” impersonation regarding the 1st overall pick for much of the offseason, the Toronto Maple Leafs shocked no one by selecting Gavin McKenna (with a little help from Justin Bieber) atop the draft.
From there, the top 10 picks didn’t exactly go chalk, but there weren’t too many major surprises until later on in the evening. Here’s where every prospect wound up on night 1 in Buffalo, NY.
1. Toronto Maple Leafs – Gavin McKenna, LW, Penn State (NCAA)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 1 (North American skaters)
2. San Jose Sharks – Ivar Stenberg, LW, Frolunda (SWE)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 1 (International skaters)
3. Vancouver Canucks – Caleb Malhotra, C, Brantford (OHL)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 6 (North American skaters)
4. Buffalo Sabres – Daxon Rudolph, D, Prince Albert (WHL)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 5 (North American skaters)
5. New York Rangers – Alberts Smits, D, Munchen (GER)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 2 (International skaters)
6. Calgary Flames – Carson Carels, D, Prince George (WHL)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 3 (North American skaters)
7. Seattle Kraken – Chase Reid, D, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 2 (North American skaters)
8. Winnipeg Jets – Viggo Bjorck, C, Djurgarden (SWE)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 4 (International skaters)
9. San Jose Sharks – Keaton Verhoeff, D, North Dakota (NCAA)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 4 (North American skaters)
10. Nashville Predators – Wyatt Cullen, LW, USA U-18 (NTDP-USHL)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 13 (North American skaters)
11. St. Louis Blues – Tynan Lawrence, C, Boston University (NCAA)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 7 (North American skaters)
12. New Jersey Devils – Alexander Command, C, Orebro Jr. (SWE-JR)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 11 (International skaters)
13. New York Islanders – Malte Gustafsson, D, HV71 (SWE)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 7 (International skaters)
14. Columbus Blue Jackets – Oscar Hemming, LW, Boston College (NCAA)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 11 (North American skaters)
15. Anaheim Ducks – Nikita Klepov, RW, Saginaw (OHL)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 8 (North American skaters)
16. St. Louis Blues – Maddox Dagenais, C, Quebec (QMJHL)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 15 (North American skaters)
17. Utah Mammoth – Ethan Belchetz, LW, Windsor (OHL)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 9 (North American skaters)
18. Washington Capitals – Oliver Suvanto, C, Tappara (FIN)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 3 (International skaters)
19. Los Angeles Kings – Elton Hermansson, RW, MoDo (SWE-2)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 5 (International skaters)
20. Buffalo Sabres – Ilia Morozov, C, Miami (NCAA)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 10 (North American skaters)
21. San Jose Sharks – Ryan Lin, D, Vancouver (WHL)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 16 (North American skaters)
22. Pittsburgh Penguins – Liam Ruck, RW, Medicine Hat (WHL)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 20 (North American skaters)
23. Detroit Red Wings – JP Hurlbert, LW, Kamloops (WHL)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 12 (North American skaters)
24. Vancouver Canucks — Adam Novotny, LW, Peterborough (OHL)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 14 (North American skaters)
25. Ottawa Senators – Jonas Lagerberg Hoen, RW, Leksand Jr (SWE-JR)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 19 (International skaters)
26. Montreal Canadiens – Gleb Pugachyov, RW, Nizhny Novgorod Jr. (RUS-JR)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 9 (International skaters)
27. Philadelphia Flyers – Maksim Sokolovskii, D, London (OHL)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 40 (North American skaters)
28. Anaheim Ducks – Marcus Nordmark, LW, Djurgarden Jr. (SWE-JR)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 8 (International skaters)
29. Vegas Golden Knights – Juho Piiparinen, D, Tappara (FIN)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 6 (International skaters)
30. Calgary Flames — Jack Hextall, C, Youngstown (USHL)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 34 (North American skaters)
31. Nashville Predators – Tommy Bleyl, D, Moncton (QMJHL)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 17 (North American skaters)
32. Ottawa Senators — Jaxon Cover, RW, London (OHL)
NHL Central Scouting: No. 29 (North American skaters)
Photo: Quintin Soloviev. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.