2026 NHL Draft By The Numbers: Canada, OHL Get Bragging Rights
Who were the most NHL prospects drafted by position, birth country and league? We take a look at that and some more fun facts from the 2026 NHL draft.
Video Transcript
At the NHL draft, we got Gavin McKenna going number one, but let's go through picks number two through number five.
And of course, no surprise at number two after Gavin McKenna went first, Ivar Stenberg.
It's a lot of forwards, a lot of talented forwards with the San Jose Sharks.
What do you make of that?
Yeah, I think they went best player available, and you know, it's very interesting because you look at Stenberg and he has a very complete game.
you know, very mature for his age.
Ton of points over in Sweden as a teenager.
Very impressive.
You look at that Sharks team right now, obviously Macklin Celebrini is the driver.
but then, you know, you got Will Smith, you got Michael Mesa.
I think Stenberg fits really well in there.
You know, he's on the wing, and you know, you're looking at a very nice evolving top six there in San Jose.
It'll be interesting to see what they do with the rest of the draft to fill out the rest of that roster.
Vancouver Canucks were pretty disappointed to slide from number one to number three, but they used it with, Caleb Malhotra, the son of the new head coach of the Vancouver Canucks.
What do you make of that dynamic- and what do you think that's gonna do for someone like Caleb going into that type of environment?
It's certainly unique.
And, you know, for Malhotra, well, for the Malhotra's I would say- Yes it's gonna be a storyline early on.
They'll probably get kinda sick of it.
That's fine.
But you know, it, it was an interesting pick because with Vancouver, I mean, they kinda need everything at this point, right?
Yeah.
Number one centers, you gotta draft them.
They're very hard to find.
Was it a little higher if you were going best player available?
Sure, because there were some great defensemen, but I don't fault Vancouver for having faith in Caleb Malhotra 'cause he's got size, he can obviously put up points.
He's a two-way guy and he's got a little bite to his game, so it's a nice selection.
All right.
So number four, it originally belonged to the Chicago Blackhawks, traded to the Buffalo Sabres.
And, you know, there were a lot of top defensemen in this one, but I think this was a bit of a mock draft buster with the Sabres going with Daxon Rudolph.
What did you make of that selection at the draft?
Yeah, you know what?
Like, as the kids say, "I'm not mad at it."
You know?
And, and you're right.
Like, with these defensemen, they could've gone in any order, right?
Yeah.
Teams are gonna have their favorites.
Daxon Rudolph was certainly in that company, so you know, I was surprised, but like I say, like, it, I like the pick for Buffalo.
Daxon Rudolph had an incredible playoff run for the Prince Albert Raiders.
You know, he can definitely put the puck in the net.
you know, he's got some decent size.
He can skate.
He's a puck mover.
So he's gonna fit in really well with that Sabres decor when he arrives, obviously going to NCAA Denver next year where he'll get great development.
And number five, Albert Smits.
what do we make of that pick?
And the Rangers, you know, they made some buzz around the trade.
We thought it might be that pick, but it wasn't.
What do you make of Smits as a selection at number five?
Yeah, for me, Smits is the most NHL-ready defenseman because he's played in Olympics with Latvia.
You know, he did very well against men, over in Finland.
Played a bit in Germany too, in the pro ranks.
He's big, he's poised.
He probably has the least offensive upside of all the defensemen in that sort of big five, but I do think he's uniquely prepared to give minutes to New York if they wanted him to step in right away next season.
All right.
That's your top five.
It went all over the place after number three, but the fireworks perhaps, you know, it's gonna be an interesting one.
There was a lot of drama going into this, with the picks before.
We'll see if this is a little calmer, but that's how it is here in Buffalo.
