It’s time for the McKeen’s Hockey scouting team to update their rankings for the 2026 NHL Draft. Many junior leagues around the globe are in the thick of the playoffs and we have the IIHF U18’s upcoming. This top 100 will serve as our final ranking before our Draft Guide release, which expands us to a top 300.
Gavin McKenna is holding firm on his first overall ranking on our board thanks to some adjustments and strong play post world juniors with Penn State. We’re hoping that he gets the nod to represent Canada at the IIHF World Championships, which would be a terrific measuring stick for him.
Pushing up our list are Brantford Bulldogs center Caleb Malhotra and Swedish defender Malte Gustafsson. Malhotra has shown terrific progression over the course of the OHL season and has been outstanding through the first two rounds of the OHL playoffs. Meanwhile Gustafsson has shown remarkable poise across various levels in Sweden and offers great athletic tools and two-way upside.
Other significant “risers” from our previous list include Quebec forward Maddox Dagenais, North Bay center Ryder Cali, Moncton defender Tommy Bleyl, Slovak defender Adam Goljer, and Russian netminder Dmitri Borichev. All have played significantly well in the second half of their respective seasons and have pushed up our boards due to the upside that they possess. Dagenais brings elite athletic tools and a heavy shot to the table and has shown considerable improvement in the second half from a consistency perspective. Cali is one of the draft’s youngest players and has found confidence in his on-puck play, causing us to re-evaluate his upside. Bleyl is one of the draft’s most dynamic offensive defenders and his strong play has given us no choice but to adjust our ranking of him accordingly. Goljer is an athletic two-way defender who has played well against men in the Slovak pro league this year, but he’s shown offensive upside when playing against his peers. Borichev is the draft’s netminding crown jewel with a great frame, elite athleticism, and improving technical abilities.
Fresh off the release of our annual three part look at the top “re-entry” candidates available, several have made the cut in our top 100. Edmonton defender Ethan MacKenzie, Prince Albert netminder Michal Orsulak, Czech defender Tomas Galvas, Victoria defender Timofei Runtso, Chicoutimi forward Liam Lefebvre, and Sioux Falls defender Matthew Grimes. You can find more info about each player in the aforementioned three-part series.
We’re very excited to see what the end of the season has in store and how that impacts our final ranking. As usual, you can expect our annual draft guide to be released in early June.
| RK | PLAYER | POS | TEAM | HT/WT | DOB | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gavin McKenna | LW | Penn State (NCAA) | 5-11/170 | 20-Dec-07 | 35 | 15 | 36 | 51 | 36 |
| 2 | Ivar Stenberg | LW | Frolunda (SHL) | 5-11/185 | 30-Sep-07 | 43 | 11 | 22 | 33 | 6 |
| 3 | Chase Reid | D | Soo Greyhounds (OHL) | 6-2/185 | 30-Dec-07 | 45 | 18 | 30 | 48 | 30 |
| 4 | Caleb Malhotra | C | Brantford (OHL) | 6-0/170 | 2-Jun-08 | 67 | 29 | 55 | 84 | 51 |
| 5 | Carson Carels | D | Prince George (WHL) | 6-2/195 | 23-Jun-08 | 58 | 20 | 53 | 73 | 66 |
| 6 | Keaton Verhoeff | D | North Dakota (NCAA) | 6-4/210 | 19-Jun-08 | 36 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 29 |
| 7 | Alberts Smits | D | Jukurit (Fin-Liiga) | 6-3/205 | 2-Dec-07 | 38 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 20 |
| 8 | Viggo Bjorck | C | Djurgardens (SHL) | 5-9/175 | 12-Mar-08 | 42 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 12 |
| 9 | Malte Gustafsson | D | HV 71 (SHL) | 6-4/200 | 11-Jun-08 | 27 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| 10 | Daxon Rudolph | D | Prince Albert (WHL) | 6-2/205 | 6-Mar-08 | 68 | 28 | 50 | 78 | 75 |
| 11 | Oscar Hemming | LW | Boston College (NCAA) | 6-4/195 | 13-Aug-08 | 19 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 18 |
| 12 | Tynan Lawrence | C | Boston University (NCAA) | 6-0/185 | 3-Aug-08 | 18 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 |
| 13 | Ethan Belchetz | LW | Windsor (OHL) | 6-5/225 | 30-Mar-08 | 57 | 34 | 25 | 59 | 45 |
| 14 | Adam Novotny | LW | Peterborough (OHL) | 6-1/205 | 13-Nov-07 | 58 | 34 | 31 | 65 | 22 |
| 15 | Elton Hermansson | RW | MoDo Hockey (Allsvenskan) | 6-1/180 | 5-Feb-08 | 38 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 22 |
| 16 | Maddox Dagenais | C | Quebec (QMJHL) | 6-3/195 | 27-Mar-08 | 62 | 30 | 32 | 62 | 31 |
| 17 | Oliver Suvanto | C | Tappara (Fin-Liiga) | 6-3/210 | 3-Sep-08 | 48 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 16 |
| 18 | Ryan Lin | D | Vancouver (WHL) | 5-11/175 | 18-Apr-08 | 53 | 14 | 43 | 57 | 35 |
| 19 | Wyatt Cullen | LW | USN U18 (USDP) | 5-11/175 | 8-Sep-08 | 34 | 12 | 22 | 34 | 37 |
| 20 | Xavier Villeneuve | D | Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL) | 5-11/160 | 29-Sep-07 | 37 | 6 | 32 | 38 | 35 |
| 21 | Nikita Klepov | RW | Saginaw (OHL) | 6-0/180 | 27-Jun-08 | 67 | 37 | 60 | 97 | 43 |
| 22 | Ilia Morozov | C | Miami (NCAA) | 6-3/195 | 3-Aug-08 | 36 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 27 |
| 23 | Alexander Command | C | Orebro (Swe J20) | 6-1/185 | 16-Jun-08 | 30 | 17 | 27 | 44 | 61 |
| 24 | Mathis Preston | RW | Spo-Van (WHL) | 5-11/175 | 21-Jul-08 | 46 | 18 | 26 | 44 | 34 |
| 25 | Tommy Bleyl | D | Moncton (QMJHL) | 6-0/160 | 1-Dec-07 | 63 | 13 | 68 | 81 | 33 |
| 26 | JP Hurlbert | LW | Kamloops (WHL) | 6-0/185 | 11-Apr-08 | 68 | 42 | 55 | 97 | 45 |
| 27 | Juho Piiparinen | D | Tappara (Fin-Liiga) | 6-2/200 | 10-Aug-08 | 29 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| 28 | Adam Goljer | D | HK Dukla Trencin (Slovakia) | 6-3/195 | 7-Jun-08 | 43 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 40 |
| 29 | Jaxon Cover | LW | London (OHL) | 6-2/175 | 13-Feb-08 | 67 | 20 | 32 | 52 | 48 |
| 30 | Gleb Pugachyov | C | Chaika Nizhny Novgorod (MHL) | 6-3/200 | 25-Mar-08 | 33 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 36 |
| 31 | Ryder Cali | C | North Bay (OHL) | 6-1/210 | 6-Sep-08 | 47 | 16 | 20 | 36 | 24 |
| 32 | Dmitri Borichev | G | Loko-76 Yaroslavl (MHL) | 6-3/200 | 19-Jun-08 | 24 | 12 | 8 | 2.25 | 0.929 |