The Blackhawks schedule is giving everyone — the players, coaches and fans — a desperately needed full weekend off to exhale and get ready for two more exciting games before… three weeks off. The Hawks will be on the ice for a practice this morning, getting ready for Macklin Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks to visit the United Center on Monday night.
- Good read here from Scott Powers at The Athletic about Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar appearing to be back to where they were before their respective injuries. They’re both flying right now, and that bodes well for the Blackhawks the rest of the season.
Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar scored in the same game for just the second time this season. Between that and their overall play, they look like they’re getting their groove backhttps://t.co/ds8G9RtAV7
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) January 31, 2026
- Ben Pope ran a poll over the last couple days asking Blackhawks fans how they view the rebuild at this point. The results show that most fans have an ounce of sense and understand the bigger picture. Almost 60 percent of the fans who responded indicate they believe the rebuild is moving at the right pace.
- The NHL staff at The Athletic wrote about the biggest needs for each team in the league before the trade deadline. Here’s what Powers wrote about the Blackhawks’ biggest need this year:
- I already know there are going to be folks in the comments here and on social media who aren’t going to be thrilled with Scott’s answer here, but he’s spot on. The Blackhawks need to continue to open doors for young players to come up to the NHL.
- The St. Louis Blues announced forward Robert Thomas underwent a minor procedure on his leg and will be out until after the Olympic break.
- In Russia, Roman Kantserov scored his 29th goal of the season on Saturday.
- In Sweden on Saturday, Anton Frondell scored this goal.
- In college action last night, Adam Gajan was marvelous for MInnesota-Duluth but the Bulldogs lost 1-0 in overtime. He stopped 30 of 31 in the game, including this beauty.
- In the WHL, Nathan Behm scored the first goal of the night for Kamloops.
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- The Bulls got involved in a three-team trade last night (and waived Jevon Carter as a result).
- The Bears are losing Declan Doyle to a gig with the Ravens.
- The first sign of Spring Training is on its way!
Oh joy! The second half of a back-to-back with travel in between games. And the Blackhawks come home to host a Columbus team that’s won three straight and seven of their last ten (7-3-0). Sounds fun, right?
This game will show us a lot about these young Blackhawks. They got their tails whipped by the Penguins last night. It was ugly, and should not have received well in the room. The good news is they get to be back on the ice the next night to get it right. We’ll see how they respond in front of their home crowd.
- UPDATE: Nick Foligno will not play. Neither will Artyom Levhunov, who is getting a reset (but staying in Chicago).
Broadcast Info
Puck Drop: 7:30 PM CT
TV / Streaming: CHSN
Radio: WGN 720 AM
Expected Lineups
Chicago Blackhawks
Frank Nazar — Connor Bedard — Teuvo Teräväinen
Tyler Bertuzzi — Jason Dickinson — Ilya Mikheyev
Ryan Greene — Oliver Moore — André Burakovsky
Ryan Donato — Colton Dach — Landon Slaggert
Alex Vlasic — Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser — Sam Rinzel
Matt Grzelcyk — Connor Murphy
Spencer Knight
Arvid Söderblom
Columbus Blue Jackets
Mason Marchment – Adam Fantilli – Kirill Marchenko
Boone Jenner – Sean Monahan – Kent Johnson
Cole Sillinger – Charlie Coyle – Mathieu Olivier
Dmitri Voronkov – Isac Lundestrom – Miles Wood
Zach Werenski – Damon Severson
Ivan Provorov – Denton Mateychuk
Egor Zamula – Erik Gudbranson
Elvis Merzlikins
Jet Greaves
Injury Report
Chicago Blackhawks
- Nick Foligno left last night’s game. He’s TBD. Shea Weber (retired) and Ryan Ellis (also retired) are out long term.
Columbus Blue Jackets
- Dante Fabbro is banged up. Brendan Smith is on IR.
What to Watch For
- The second half of a back-to-back always comes with some questions. The Blackhawks have been better in these scenarios of late. Let’s see if they can put on a good show in black on a Friday night.
- Bedard and Fantilli should be headline material. Let’s see if they’ve got a little something for the fans tonight.
- Don’t forget Moore was also a first-round pick in that same 2023 class. A Minnesota guy might have some juice with all of the Michigan products on the other bench.
Get Caught Up
The Blackhawks host their final home game before the Olympic break, and it should be a fun one! The San Jose Sharks are in town, giving us a matchup of two of the emerging superstars in the NHL. There should be plenty of motivation for the Blackhawks to give their home fans a better showing than their last few games. And the Sharks are fighting for a wild card berth.
Broadcast Info
Puck Drop: 7:30 PM CT
TV / Streaming: CHSN
Radio: WGN 720 AM
Expected Lineups
Chicago Blackhawks
Frank Nazar — Connor Bedard — Tyler Bertuzzi
Teuvo Teräväinen — Ryan Greene — André Burakovsky
Ryan Donato — Jason Dickinson — Ilya Mikheyev
Colton Dach — Oliver Moore — Landon Slaggert
Alex Vlasic — Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser — Sam Rinzel
Matt Grzelcyk — Connor Murphy
Spencer Knight
San Jose Sharks
Collin Graf – Macklin Celebrini – Will Smith
Philipp Kurashev – Alexander Wennberg – Tyler Toffoli
William Eklund – Michael Misa – Adam Gaudette
Barclay Goodrow – Zack Ostapchuk – Ryan Reaves
Dmitry Orlov – John Klingberg
Mario Ferraro – Shakir Mukhamadullin
Sam Dickinson – Vincent Desharnais
Yaroslav Askarov
Alex Nedeljkovic
Injury Report
Chicago Blackhawks
- Frank Nazar are on IR. Shea Weber (retired) and Ryan Ellis (also retired) are out long term.
San Jose Sharks
- Ty Dellandrea and Kiefer Sherwood are on IR.
What to Watch For
- Connor Bedard vs Macklin Celebrini
- Will Smith, William Eklund, Michael Misa and Sam Dickinson vs Frank Nazar, Oliver Moore, Ryan Greene, Landon Slaggert, Colton Dach, Sam Rinzel and Wyatt Kaiser.
Get Caught Up
I’m doing a little digging as we get ready for three weeks without NHL games to discuss, and something got my attention that I thought I would share before the Blackhawks play their last game before the Olympic break. Landon Slaggert is actually generating a surprising amount of offensive chances for the Blackhawks this season.
According to Natural Stat Trick, here are your top five Blackhawks in individual scoring chances for per 60 minutes of ice time (at 5-on-5) since the start of January:
- Tyler Bertuzzi — 9.25
- Nick Lardis — 7.44
- Ryan Greene — 7.42
- Colton Dach — 7.28
- Landon Slaggert — 6.93
Slaggert also ranks fifth at 5-on-5 in individual expected goals per 60 (0.74), behind Bertuzzi, Greene, Connor Bedard and Dach. And he’s one of only four Blackhawks to average over four individual high danger chances per 60 (with Bertuzzi, Dach and Greene) at 5-on-5. And he ranks fourth on the Blackhawks in blocked shots per 60 minutes (2.64) behind Nick Foligno, Jason Dickinson and Dach (all situations).
MoneyPuck tells us Slaggert leads the Blackhawks in on-ice goals for percentage (58.8) for the season entering tonight’s game. I’m (hopefully obviously) not comparing their roles, but Slaggert’s even strength on-ice goals for percentage is better than Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, Zach Hyman, Macklin Celebrini and Matt Boldy, among others.
Chris Jones-Imagn Images
I know it will receive another round of eye rolling from the comments section, but I’ve had a number of folks inside and outside the organization compare Slaggert’s style of play to Brandon Hagel in recent years. So I went back and looked at Hagel’s rates during the 2021-22 season and how they compare to Slaggert’s this year. I compared their individual expected goals for per 60 (iXG/60), individual scoring chances for per 60 (iSCF/60), individual high danger chances for per 60 (iHDCF/60), on-ice even strength goals for percentage and penalties drawn per 60 on Natural Stat Trick.
The comparison is… interesting.
ATOI iXG/60 iSCF/60 iHDCF/60 On-ice EV GF % Penalties Drawn/60 Slaggert (2025-26) 10:16 0.74 6.93 4.01 58.8 0.73 Hagel (2021-22) 13:11 0.52 6.53 2.56 42.6 1.41
Hagel was 23 years old and had 53 games of NHL run on his resume before the 2021-22 season began.
Slaggert is currently 23 years old, and appeared in 51 NHL games before the start of the current season.
Hagel also saw time on both special teams units that season, averaging 2:02 on the power play and 1:28 per game on the penalty kill. Slaggert is averaging 54 seconds per game on the penalty kill this season and, thru Monday night’s win, has spent a total of 17 seconds on the power play.
The biggest difference: Hagel shot 22.3 percent and scored 21 goals in 55 games for the Blackhawks that season before he was traded to Tampa.
With the number of skilled forwards coming in the Blackhawks’ pipeline, it’s hard to project Slaggert into more offensive roles in the coming years. But, as I’ve written before, the Blackhawks are also going to need guys who accept a secondary, more defensive role up front. Willing ditch diggers, if you will. And Slaggert has done that beautifully this season.
The Blackhawks won’t play another game, as a team, for 22 days. They won’t practice again until Feb. 18 — two weeks away. But they took a loss against these same Blue Jackets late last week, and are fighting to get into the wild card picture. This isn’t a “get away game” for the Blackhawks. They need to follow up a strong performance against the Sharks with another one tonight to close the books on the pre-Olympic schedule on a high note.
Broadcast Info
Puck Drop: 6:00 PM CT
TV / Streaming: CHSN
Radio: WGN 720 AM
Expected Lineups
Chicago Blackhawks
Frank Nazar — Connor Bedard — Tyler Bertuzzi
Teuvo Teräväinen — Oliver Moore — André Burakovsky
Ryan Donato — Jason Dickinson — Ilya Mikheyev
Colton Dach — Nick Foligno — Landon Slaggert
Alex Vlasic — Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser — Sam Rinzel
Matt Grzelcyk — Connor Murphy
Spencer Knight
Arvid Söderblom
Columbus Blue Jackets
Mason Marchment – Adam Fantilli – Kirill Marchenko
Boone Jenner – Sean Monahan – Kent Johnson
Cole Sillinger – Charlie Coyle – Mathieu Olivier
Dmitri Voronkov – Isac Lundestrom – Miles Wood
Zach Werenski – Damon Severson
Ivan Provorov – Denton Mateychuk
Egor Zamula – Erik Gudbranson
Jet Greaves
Elvis Merzlikins
Injury Report
Chicago Blackhawks
- Shea Weber (retired) and Ryan Ellis (also retired) are out long term.
Columbus Blue Jackets
- Dante Fabbro is banged up. Brendan Smith is on IR.
What to Watch For
- Foligno returns for what he said will be a “special” night in Columbus, where he was a captain. Should give the Blackhawks some juice tonight.
- These two teams just played on Friday. So… they should know what to expect. What changes of the past four days to impact a new outcome?
- This is the final game before the Olympic break. We’ll see if anybody looks like they’re headed straight to the airport for somewhere warmer than Columbus (or Chicago) sooner than others.
- Finish strong — the Blackhawks have competed with really good teams over the past couple weeks. They haven’t finished some of those games with a win. This is a chance to go away for a couple weeks with some positive vibes and momentum.
Get Caught Up
There was some conversation on social media before, during and after the Blackhawks’ ugly loss in Columbus because Ryan Greene was a healthy scratch.
Part of the conversation online about the Greene move was a lot of people (rightfully) believing André Burakovsky has earned a night off. He has indeed been struggling lately, no doubt. And Blackhawks head coach Jeff Blashill admitted Burakovsky’s last ten games have left a lot to be desired.
But let’s take a step back and, once again, recognize the point of the 2025-26 season for the Chicago Blackhawks. It’s about development. Burakovsky is a veteran who’s here to help the Hawks get to the salary floor. In a perfect world, he plays well enough to have some amount of trade value before the 2027 trade deadline.
Here’s the explanation given by Blashill for the decision to scratch Greene in the last game before the break:
Greene has emerged as an important piece of the Blackhawks’ immediate future. His versatility has been valuable for the Blackhawks; he’s played the wing on the top line and been an effective shut-down center who wins faceoffs as well. Like Artyom Levshunov, Greene taking a small step back to correct a few things serves the greater good long-term for the organization.
Corinne Votaw-Imagn Images
Greene’s Impact
Blashill has been very complimentary of Greene’s game throughout this season. If you recall, there was a school of thought that Greene would start this season in Rockford like Frank Nazar and Landon Slaggert did after their brief NHL introductions after signing their entry-level deals the year before. But a couple preseason injuries (and illness in between) suffered by Slaggert opened the door, and Greene has refused to give his spot in the lineup back since the start of the regular season.
According to MoneyPuck, the only Blackhawks forwards who have started a higher percentage of their shifts in the defensive zone than Greene (17.5) are Jason Dickinson (24) and Ilya Mikheyev (20.6). Only Dickinson (307) has taken more defensive zone faceoffs this season than Greene (292). And Greene has won 46.2 percent of those faceoffs — a good number for a first-year pro.
Greene has been a huge part of the Blackhawks’ penalty kill this season, which ranks No. 1 in the NHL (85.7 percent). The only Blackhawks forwards who have spent more gross ice time killing penalties than Greene are Mikheyev and Teuvo Teräväinen.
Entering the Olympic break, Greene has taken the same number of short-handed faceoffs (113) as Dickinson; they’re tied for the team lead and no other Blackhawk has taken more than 40 (Nick Foligno) short-handed faceoffs thus far. To that end, Greene has won 45.1 percent of his short-handed draws — better than Dickinson (40.7).
At some point the Blackhawks are going to move on from Dickinson, whose contract is up at the end of this season. Before this season began, we had some honest conversations about the Blackhawks’ organizational center depth and if it made sense to keep Dickinson around maybe for another year or two until guys like Greene, Sacha Boisvert, AJ Spellacy and others might show they’re ready to play down the middle in the NHL.
Now, given the way Greene has played thus far in his first professional season, it certainly appears the Blackhawks have an in-house replacement for Dickinson ready to roll whenever he leaves the organization.
The Blackhawks won’t take the NHL ice again for four weeks, so we’ll have plenty of time to focus on prospects in the coming days. This weekend, college hockey continues to crank up the tempo as we get closer to conference tournaments and start talking about seeding for the road to the Frozen Four.
One prospect I’m interested to see if/how he’s available this weekend is Václav Nestrašil. He left UMass’ game on Sunday because of an upper-body injury (see below) and did not return to that game. Hopefully he’s okay and good to go for this weekend.
Friday, Feb. 6
No. 7 Providence at New Hampshire — 6 PM CT
No. 18 Maine Boston University — 6 PM
No. 19 UMass at UMass-Lowell — 6:15 PM
No. 3 North Dakota at No. 10 Minnesota-Duluth — 7:07 PM
Saturday, Feb. 7
Vermont at No. 7 Providence — 6 PM
UMass-Lowell at No. 19 UMass — 6 PM
No. 3 North Dakota at No. 10 Minnesota-Duluth — 6:07 PM
Monday, Feb. 9
Boston University vs No. 13 Boston College — 6:30 PM
Beanpot at TD Garden
Blackhawks College Prospects
- Václav Nestrašil, F, UMass — 26 games, 11 goals, 12 assists, 69 shots on goal, 11 blocked shots
- Sacha Boisvert, C, Boston U. — 18 games, 3 goal, 11 assists, 37 shots on goal, 9 blocked shots
- John Mustard, F, Providence — 25 games, 10 goals, 9 assists, 94 shots on goal, 9 blocked shots
- Julius Sumpf, C, Providence — 25 games, 3 goal, 13 assists, 59 shots on goal, 17 blocked shots
- Adam Gajan, G, Minnesota-Duluth — 26 games, 15-11-0, .905 save pct, 2.29 GAA, 2 shutouts
Note: Gajan is headed to the Olympics.
Also Read
Because it’s apparently all anyone could talk about on hockey social media — some with less maturity than others — we’ll just go ahead and start our Saturday with a couple more thoughts on the “news” that dropped Friday that the pick the Blackhawks will receive from the Florida Panthers as part of the Seth Jones trade carries top-ten protection.
Why wasn’t this a headline-grabbing nugget when the deal took place? For all of the same reason nobody’s losing sleep over the top-ten protection the Avs put on their 2026 first-round pick that’s now owned by the New York Islanders. When the deal took place, zero people on the planet thought the Panthers would have a top-ten pick. When the trade happened, the Cats were defending their championship — and they won a second straight. We didn’t anticipate the long list of significant injuries that would hit the Florida lineup this season sinking them to a spot where this is now an actual conversation.
If the Panthers somehow end up with a pick in the top ten overall in 2026, the Blackhawks would then get Florida’s unprotected first-round pick in 2027. Which would then push the first-round pick the Panthers traded to Boston for Brad Marchand back to 2028.
Does this somehow make the Jones trade bad? It shouldn’t to rational people. The Blackhawks got a young No. 1 goalie and a first-round pick for a guy who didn’t want to be in Chicago — and had control of the situation thanks to his contract carrying The Bowman Special (a no-move clause). The Blackhawks still did incredibly well in the trade. And, frankly, I still expect the Panthers’ pick to be outside the top ten overall when the dust settles in June.
- Earlier this morning I dropped a full two-round 2026 NHL Mock Draft to start your weekend and Olympic break. I noted that local authorities were dropping the felony charges against Gavin McKenna. I didn’t think there would be a huge influence on his draft stock — certainly not much more than his less-than-expected production in the Big Ten has already had.
- Scott Powers at The Athletic wrote about some draft thoughts and scenarios after the “news” of the Panthers’ pick dropped. Interestingly, he says the Blackhawks weren’t likely to pick McKenna before he dealt with the local police last weekend. I’ve heard the same.
The Florida Panthers' first-round pick is top-10 protected, as @frank_seravalli reported.
So what happens if the Panthers do pick that early? That and more about the Blackhawks' 2026 draft possibilities
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) February 6, 2026
- Some good thoughts here from Matt Grzelcyk on the youngsters on the Blackhawks’ blue line from Ben Pope.
- Julius Sumpf had one assist as Providence beat New Hampshire 6-1.
- Václav Nestrašil did not play for UMass last night. He’s still dealing with an upper-body injury suffered last weekend.
- In the WHL, Kamloops lost 6-3 but Nathan Behm scored his 29th goal of the year.
- In the OHL last night, AJ Spellacy had one assist and won 8 of 12 faceoffs as Windsor beat Sudbury 5-2.
- Jack Pridham scored the first goal of the night and later added an assist for another multi-point game as Kitchener rolled to a 6-2 win. Pridham’s 65 points now lead the Rangers and are third in the OHL.
Blackhawks Prospect Watch
- AHL
Rockford IceHogs at Milwaukee — 6 PM CT
- NCAA
Vermont at No. 7 Providence — 6 PM
UMass-Lowell at No. 19 UMass — 6 PM
- OHL
Brantford at Ottawa — 2 PM
Kitchener at Niagara — 7 PM
- WHL
Kamloops at Vancouver — 9 PM
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- Grading the 2026 Arturas Karnisovas Trade Deadline Experience
- How about some love for Bears rookie tackle Ozzy Trapilo?
- The Cubs defense once again projects to be outstanding
The NHL has reached its dead period, taking most of the month of February off so players can represent their countries in the Winter Olympics. So what better time to take a step back and run a fresh 2026 NHL Mock Draft?
Only this time, let’s project two full rounds!
As a reminder, there are only 31 picks in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft. Ottawa forfeited their first-round pick because of the Evgenii Dadonov trade.
Note: In light of news on Friday that the Florida Panthers’ first-round pick the Blackhawks acquired in the Seth Jones trade is top-ten protected, I am going to leave it in the Blackhawks’ possession for this mock draft even though the Panthers are tenth in the draft order. Florida is only .010 from being in 12th in the order and have more regulation wins (23) than the Kings (14) and Flyers (18) as of Feb. 5.
Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
2026 NHL Mock Draft — First Round
1. Vancouver Canucks — Ivar Stenberg, RW, Frölunda (SHL)
Stenberg’s stock is up after a stellar performance at the World Junior Championship. He’s been in the conversation for the top overall pick for a while now and he certainly looks the part of a franchise pillar based on this performance against international talent.
2. St. Louis Blues — Keaton Verhoeff, RHD, North Dakota (NCAA)
Verhoeff didn’t play as big of a role as some hoped/expected at the World Juniors, but he performed okay. What he’s going in the NCAA ranks is the basis for him being in the mix to be the top overall pick. He’s a big (6-4, 212) right-handed defenseman who the Blues could build their blue line around for the future.
3. New York Rangers — Gavin McKenna, LW, Penn State (NCAA)
On Friday, local prosecutors withdrew the felony aggravated assault charge against McKenna from his fight last weekend. Unless he somehow ended up spending time in jail, I don’t think this was going to hurt his draft stock more than the questions about his play as a freshman in the Big Ten. McKenna has been better since the World Juniors. The talent is there. Is he a lock to go No. 1? I don’t think so. But does he fall out of the top five? I can’t imagine that many GMs pass on him.
4. Winnipeg Jets — Caleb Malhotra, C, Brantford (OHL)
Malhotra might be the one guy who could make McKenna the third forward selected in June. The son of a long-time NHL player, he checks most of the boxes for a future captain for a franchise. He’s going to make a GM somewhere look incredibly smart. Winnipeg needs to get younger soon. Malhotra might be in line to be their next captain.
5. Calgary Flames — Chase Reid, RHD, Soo (OHL)
Reid’s stock has seen a meteoric rise over the past year; he was passed over by USA Hockey for the U18 roster, and now he’s making a case to be one of the top defensemen taken in the 2026 NHL Draft. His performance at the World Juniors should help his stock rise even further. The Flames moved Rasmus Andersson already, and could use their next right-handed defenseman to build their blue line around.
6. Chicago Blackhawks — Tynan Lawrence, C, Muskegon (USHL)
If the top five of our mock draft proves to be how the top of the 2026 NHL Draft plays out, the Blackhawks could be the most fascinating team in the draft. Lawrence is a really good prospect who I’m comfortable is good value for Chicago in this spot, even if his numbers since making the mid-season jump to Boston University have been underwhelming. But the intrigue comes with the next line of defensemen on the board, and what some of the offers might be to trade up to get one of them.
7. New Jersey Devils — Alberts Šmits, LHD, Jukurit (Liiga)
Šmits is a big-time helium prospect in the draft class right now. He’s got the size (6-3, 205) that scouts love and has been producing better than many anticipated. He was very good at the World Juniors as well. The Latvian defenseman, who will play for his country at the Olympics, could be the second player playing overseas to come off the board.
8. Nashville Predators — Carson Carels, LHD, Prince George (WHL)
Nashville should have a new general manager by the time the draft arrives, so who knows what they’ll be doing?!? Carels was the hot name heading into the World Juniors after standing out in the first game of the CHL USA Prospect Challenge. He has ideal size (6-2, 194) and is averaging better than a point-per-game with Prince Albert to start the season. The defense group in this draft is really good and we will likely see a run on the blue line in the top ten picks.
9. San Jose Sharks — Daxon Rudolph, RHD, Prince Albert (WHL)
The Sharks have a lot of good, young forwards on their current NHL roster. They also love the potential of Sam Dickinson on their back end. If Rudolph (6-1, 194) and Dickinson (6-3, 200) becomes a pair San Jose can run with for big minutes in the future, that’s a foundation to building a solid blue line.
10. Chicago Blackhawks (from FLA) — Ethan Belchetz, LW, Windsor (OHL)
The Blackhawks already have a strong collection of prospects coming. What they don’t have a lot of is size that could impact their top six forward mix. The Hawks have seen plenty of Belchetz this season; he’s a teammate of Chicago prospect AJ Spellacy with Windsor. Belchetz is a legit power forward with size (6-5, 227) who can score.
And, frankly, if the Panthers make this pick I think it’s still Belchetz.
11. Los Angeles Kings — Oliver Suvanto, C, Tappara (Liiga)
Suvanto had a terrific World Juniors, and that performance could see him moving up the board. He’s got great size already (6-3, 209), is young (September 2008 birthday) and is a left-handed shot at center. The Kings just landed Artemi Panarin for the next two seasons and have plenty of veteran wingers. But they already traded Phillip Danault this season and Anže Kopitar is retiring. They need centers. This is the right value and makes sense based on organizational need.
12. Philadephia Flyers — Ryan Lin, RHD, Vancouver (WHL)
This is pretty much the best player available and a need for the Flyers. When they basically gave Cutter Gauthier to the Ducks for Jamie Drysdale, they brought back an injury-prone defensemen who was overdrafted. That’s been a bust for them. Which means they need a top-pair right-handed defensemen. Lin’s a puck mover who could be that guy for them for a long time.
13. Washington Capitals — Viggo Björck, C, Djurgårdens (SHL)
Björck is a polarizing prospect because of his size. The skill and talent are there to make him dangerous, but he’s a haircut under 5-10 and listed at only 172 pounds, which has some scouts questioning about his projection to the next levels in North America. His performance at the World Juniors likely elevates him back into talk about being a top-ten pick.
14. San Jose Sharks (from EDM) — Juho Piiparinen, RHD, Tappara (Liiga)
Yeah, I’ve got the Sharks taking two right-handed defensemen. At this point, that’s their biggest need as an organization. But it also happens to work out that there’s an argument for the defensemen I have them selecting in this mock draft being the best player available as well. Piiparinen (6-3, 205) brings more size to the Sharks’ back end.
15. Boston Bruins (from TOR) — Ilya Morozov, C, Miami (OH) University (NCAA)
The Bruins could use center depth. Right now, Morozov is one of the most fascinating prospects in this class. He wasn’t rated highly going into the season, but he’s been really good in all situations at the college level as a pre-draft teenager with really good size (6-3, 205). Feels like a good fit for the Bruins’ first of two picks in the first round of our mock draft.
16. Utah Mammoth — Malte Gustafsson, LHD, HV71 U18 (U18 Region)
Gustafsson has good size (6-4, 198) and is an August 2008 birthday. The Mammoth have a really nice collection of young forwards already, but depth on the blue line has been a struggle for them over the past two years. Gustafsson probably doesn’t impact their NHL defense group immediately, but there’s a lot to like in a guy with his size.
17. Seattle Kraken — Adam Novotný, LW, Peterborough (OHL)
Novotný left Kobylice, Czechia to play in the OHL this season to help improve his draft stock. He’s doing that quite well, averaging better than a point per game with Peterborough. He was very good at the World Juniors as well, and his stock is likely up after that performance. Novotný was also part of the CHL squad in the CHL USA Prospect Challenge games.
18. Anaheim Ducks — Oscar Hemming, LW, Boston College (NCAA)
Hemming (6-4, 198) is a name to circle for the 2026 NHL Draft. All sorts of off-ice issues meant he didn’t have a hockey home until the middle of the season, when he was finally cleared to join Boston College. Since jumping onto the college ice, he’s shown flashes of being a potentially elite power forward. I could see Hemming going anywhere between the 9-12 range and the early 20s, depending on how the rest of his season plays out.
19. Columbus Blue Jackets — Xavier Villeneuve, LHD, Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL)
There are two blue line prospects in this draft who will be fascinating to track in the coming months: Lin and Villeneuve. Both have the skill and production to warrant a high pick, but they’re both under six-feet tall. And, in the case of Villeneuve, being listed under 160 pounds also doesn’t help. But he’s been compared to Lane Hutson and plays a feisty game.
20. New York Islanders — JP Hurlbert, LW, Kamloops (WHL)
The Islanders picked first overall last year and went defense — to great success. They’re now in a playoff race, which means their pick is sliding down the first round. Hurlbert is putting up enormous numbers in the WHL. There are some questions about his skating and size, which could cost him a few spots in the draft. But the Isles could use a scorer, and Hurlbert is certainly that.
21. Calgary Flames (from VGK) — Elton Hermansson, W, MoDo (HockeyAllsvenskan)
Hermansson was dominant at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he scored six goals with five assists in six games for Sweden. This would be a nice offensive addition to the Flames’ pipeline up front after they went defense at the top of our mock draft.
22. Boston Bruins — Egor Shilov, C, Victoriaville (QMJHL)
Shilov left Russia before the 2024-25 season and has been really good in his stops on North America thus far. He’s committed to Boston University for next season. There’s decent size (6-1, 181) and great production here for the Bruins to consider adding to their system. Boston went with a big center earlier in our mock draft.
23. Buffalo Sabres — Nikita Klepov, RW, Saginaw (OHL)
Klepov, a late-June birthday, got off to a great start in the OHL this season, passing all of his 59-game numbers in 24 appearances to start this year. Klepov is committed to Michigan State for the 2026-27 season.
24. Detroit Red Wings — Marcus Nordmark, RW, Djurgårdens (SHL)
I have seen some analysts who question if Nordmark has the motor to be a first-round pick. I’ve seen others still ranking him in the early- to mid-teens. The talent is there without question. And a general manager somewhere is going to see this being too rich to pass on at this point in the draft. Detroit’s deep enough right now that they can take a swing here inour mock draft.
25. Pittsburgh Penguins — Wyatt Cullen, RW, USNTDP
Yes, the son of long-time NHLer Matt Cullen. Wyatt is committed to play at Minnesota next year and he’s got a lot of helium in his draft stock right now. He’s a new name in the first round of our mock drafts thus far this season. The Penguins etched Matt’s name on the Stanley Cup twice, and could get a sneaky really good player here in the later stages of the first round.
26. Montreal Canadiens — William Håkansson, LHD, Luleå (SHL)
Håkansson is an older prospect (October 2007 birthday) but has good size (6-4, 207) on the back end. The Habs picking this late means they’ve done well this year. Adding a big body on the back end could serve them will in the Eastern Conference into the future.
27. Vancouver Canucks (from MIN) — Ryan Roobroeck, C, Niagara (OHL)
Scouts don’t agree much on Roobroeck. He’s been ranked anywhere between No. 4 and 27 overall recently, which is interesting. One thing the scouts can agree on: he’s a massive center (6-4, 216). And those tend to trend favorably around draft time. A worthy gamble for the surprising Canucks with their second pick in our mock draft.
28. Carolina Hurricanes (from DAL) — Alexander Command, C, Örebro U20 (U20 Nationell)
The Hurricanes traded their first-round pick, but got one back from Dallas in the Mikko Rantanen trade. In this mock draft, those transactions move their pick up one slot in the first round. Command is an intriguing center who plays the game the way the Canes like it. He had decent size (6-1, 185) down the middle as well.
29. New York Rangers (from CAR) — Mathis Preston, RW, Spokane (WHL)
Preston’s a tough prospect to slot in a mock draft because scouts seem to be torn on his ceiling. His stock seems to be sliding a bit, but not out of the first round. If he was bigger (5-11, 168), he might be a top-15 pick with more certainty. The Rangers are rebuilding now, officially, so they might have more than just the two picks in the first round of this mock draft when the real event takes place in June.
30. Seattle Kraken (from TBD) — Maddox Dagenais, C, Québec Remparts (QMJHL)
Another new name in the first round of our mock draft, Dagenais is a big center (6-4, 196) whose stock has been rising lately. The Kraken went with a skilled winger earlier in the first round of this mock draft, so size at center makes sense here. A combination of Novotný and Dagenais makes this a big win for Seattle as they try to finally start taking big steps forward as an organization.
31. New York Islanders (from COL) — Adam Goljer, RHD, HK Dukla Trencin (Slovakia)
How about a big (6-3, 194) right-handed defenseman to potentially pair with Matthew Schaefer? Once you get to this stage of the draft, teams feel a little more comfortable taking lottery tickets that fit a team need. Goljer has good size, fills a need for the Islanders in the coming years and has the upside to make this worth a shot with their second pick in the first round.
2026 NHL Mock Draft — Second Round
32. Vancouver Canucks — Giorgos Pantelas, RHD
33. Columbus Blue Jackets (from STL) — Liam Ruck, RW
34. Utah Mammoth (from NYR) — Alessandro Di Iorio, C
35. Pittsburgh Penguins (from WPG) — Brooks Rogowski, C
36. Calgary Flames — Tomas Chrenko, C
37. Chicago Blackhawks — Nikita Shcherbakov, LHD
38. New Jersey Devils — Simas Ignatavicius, C
39. Nashville Predators — Niklas Aaram-Olsen, LW
40. Vancouver Canucks (from SJ) — Jaxon Cover, LW
41. Florida Panthers — Tobias Trejbal, G
42. Los Angeles Kings — Jakub Vaněček, LHD
43. Philadelphia Flyers — Jack Hextall, C
44. Florida Panthers (from WSH) — Ryder Cali, C
45. Edmonton Oilers — Axel Elofsson, RHD
46. Utah Mammoth (from OTT) — Casey Mutryn, C
47. Chicago Blackhawks (from TOR) — Landon Amrhein, RW
48. Utah Mammoth — Vladimir Dravecky, RHD
49. Seattle Kraken — Gleb Pugachyov, LW
50. Anaheim Ducks — Pierce Mbuyi, LW
51. Los Angeles Kings (from CBJ) — Beckham Edwards, C
52. Chicago Blackhawks (from NYI) — Adam Valentini, C
53. Vegas Golden Knights — Charlie Morrison, LHD
54. Boston Bruins — Ben MacBeath, LHD
55. Ottawa Senators (from BUF) — Lars Steiner, C
56. Detroit Red Wings — Victor Plante, LW
57. Pittsburgh Penguins — Yaroslav Fedoseyev, RHD
58. Montreal Canadiens — Chase Harrington, LW
59. Nashville Predators (from MIN) — Braidy Wassilyn, LW
60. Dallas Stars — Luke Schairer, RHD
61. New York Rangers (from CAR) — Oscar Holmertz, C
62. Tampa Bay Lightning — Vilho Vanhalto, RW
63. San Jose Sharks (from COL) — Tomas Galvas, LHD
