2026 NHL Draft Round-Up

Buffalo, N.Y. – The Western Hockey League announced today 37 players and two alumni have been selected in the 2026 NHL Draft, held Friday and Saturday at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.

The 106 Canadian Hockey League players selected in the 2026 NHL Draft is the highest total since 2010. Of the 224 players selected in the 2026 NHL Draft, 106 came from the CHL, representing 47.3 per cent of all players chosen. Of the 106 players selected from the CHL, 36.8 per cent hail from the WHL.

Since the 1967 NHL Amateur draft 2,268 players have been selected out of the WHL, including 360 first-round selections.

For the second time in three drafts, the WHL boasts four players selected in the top 10 of the NHL Draft. This also serves as the second consecutive NHL Draft in which the WHL has led or tied for the most first-round players selected among any development league. The 2025 NHL Draft featured nine WHL players chosen in the first round.

With 22 players selected through the first three rounds of the 2026 NHL Draft, the WHL led all development leagues.

Former WHL Player of the Year Gavin McKenna (Medicine Hat Tigers) was selected first overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs, followed by Prince Albert Raiders defenceman Daxon Rudolph going to the Buffalo Sabres with the fourth pick. Prince George Cougars blueliner Carson Carels was called by the Calgary Flames with the sixth-overall selection and former Victoria Royals rearguard Keaton Verhoeff rounded out the group after being chosen ninth overall by the San Jose Sharks.

The first round concluded with a run of WHL players, including Ryan Lin going 21st overall to the San Jose Sharks, Liam Ruck selected 22nd overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins, and JP Hurlbert hearing his name called 23rd overall by the Detroit Red Wings.

The second round of the 2026 NHL Draft featured eight WHL players, including Chase Harrington (Spokane Chiefs), Matias Vanhanen (Everett Silvertips), Markus Ruck (Pittsburgh Penguins), Mathis Preston (Anaheim Ducks), Brek Liske (Philadelphia Flyers), Timofei Runtso (Montreal Canadiens), Jakub Vanecek (Dallas Stars), and Benjamin MacBeath (New York Rangers).

The Medicine Hat Tigers led all WHL Clubs with five players selected in the 2026 NHL Draft, including McKenna, the Ruck twins, Yaroslav Bryzgalov (Vancouver Canucks), and Jonas Woo (Columbus Blue Jackets).

The Edmonton Oil Kings, Portland Winterhawks, Prince Albert Raiders, Saskatoon Blades, and Vancouver Giants each finished with three players selected. The Brandon Wheat Kings, Everett Silvertips, Prince George Cougars, Seattle Thunderbirds, Spokane Chiefs, and Victoria Royals each had two players selected.

In total, 19 of 23 WHL teams had at least one player chosen in the 2026 NHL Draft.

The 2026 NHL Draft serves as the 18th time in the past 20 years the WHL has seen five or more players selected in the first round of the NHL Draft.

2026 NHL Draft – WHL Developed Players

Overall – Player (Pos.) – NHL Team; WHL Team; Hometown
Round One (7)
#1 – Gavin McKenna (F) – Toronto Maple Leafs; Medicine Hat Tigers*; Whitehorse, Yukon
#4 – Daxon Rudolph (D) – Buffalo Sabres; Prince Albert Raiders; Lacombe, Alta.
#6 – Carson Carels (D) – Calgary Flames; Prince George Cougars; Cypress River, Man.
#9 – Keaton Verhoeff (D) – San Jose Sharks; Victoria Royals*; Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.
#21 – Ryan Lin (D) – San Jose Sharks; Vancouver Giants; Richmond, B.C.
#22 – Liam Ruck (F) – Pittsburgh Penguins; Medicine Hat Tigers; Osoyoos, B.C.
#23 – JP Hurlbert (F) – Detroit Red Wings; Kamloops Blazers; Allen, Texas

Round Two (8)
#36 – Chase Harrington (F) – Calgary Flames; Spokane Chiefs; Prince George, B.C.
#37 – Matias Vanhanen (F) – New Jersey Devils; Everett Silvertips; Nokia, Finland
#39 – Markus Ruck (F) – Pittsburgh Penguins; Medicine Hat Tigers; Osoyoos, B.C.
#50 – Mathis Preston (F) – Anaheim Ducks; Vancouver Giants; Penticton, B.C.
#53 – Brek Liske (D) – Philadelphia Flyers; Everett Silvertips; Beausejour, Man.
#57 – Timofei Runtso (D) – Montreal Canadiens; Victoria Royals; Marina del Rey, Calif.
#59 – Jakub Vanecek (D) – Dallas Stars; Tri-City Americans; Humpolec, Czechia
#64 – Benjamin MacBeath (D) – New York Rangers; Calgary Hitmen; Calgary, Alta.

Round Three (7)
#65 – Joe Iginla (F) – Calgary Flames; Vancouver Giants; Lake Country, B.C.
#68 – Zachary Lansard (F) – Carolina Hurricanes; Regina Pats; Ste. Anne, Man.
#69 – Ethan MacKenzie (D) – Toronto Maple Leafs; Edmonton Oil Kings; Peachland, B.C.
#73 – Zach Olsen (F) – Toronto Maple Leafs; Saskatoon Blades; Calgary, Alta.
#74 – Beckett Hamilton (F) – Colorado Avalanche; Red Deer Rebels; Saskatoon, Sask.
#79 – Michal Orsulak (G) – Detroit Red Wings; Prince Albert Raiders; Tremosna, Czechia
#95 – Sean Burick (D) – Vegas Golden Knights; Penticton Vees; San Clemente, Calif.

Round Four (7)
#97 – Yaroslav Bryzgalov (F) – Vancouver Canucks; Medicine Hat Tigers; Minsk, Belarus
#101 – Tyus Sparks (F) – Washington Capitals; Spokane Chiefs; Meridian, Idaho
#112 – Kayden Lemire (F) – Minnesota Wild; Prince George Cougars; Edmonton, Alta.
#113 – Jonah Sivertson (F) – Vegas Golden Knights; Prince Albert Raiders; Regina, Sask.
#117 – Brayden Klimpke (D) – Montreal Canadiens; Saskatoon Blades; Calgary, Alta.
#120 – Marek Sklenicka (G) – Philadelphia Flyers; Seattle Thunderbirds; Litvinov, Czechia
#126 – Tobias Tvrznik (G) – Colorado Avalanche; Wenatchee Wild; Litomerice, Czechia

Round Five (5)
#137 – Filip Ruzicka (G) – Minnesota Wild; Brandon Wheat Kings; Trinec, Czechia
#142 – Parker Snell (G) – Columbus Blue Jackets; Edmonton Oil Kings; St. Albert, Alta.
#153 – Giorgos Pantelas (D) – Los Angeles Kings; Brandon Wheat Kings; Victoria, B.C.
#158 – Cooper Williams (F) – Toronto Maple Leafs; Saskatoon Blades; Calgary, Alta.
#159 – Will McLaughlin (D) – Vegas Golden Knights; Portland Winterhawks; Canmore, Alta.

Round Six (4)
#172 – Luke Wilfley (F) – New Jersey Devils; Portland Winterhawks; Englewood, Colo.
#174 – Jake Gustafson (F) – San Jose Sharks; Portland Winterhawks; San Jose, Calif.
#185 – Jonas Woo (D) – Columbus Blue Jackets; Medicine Hat Tigers; Winnipeg, Man.
#192 – Noah Kosick (F) – Anaheim Ducks; Seattle Thunderbirds; Victoria, B.C.

Round Seven (1)
#199 – Alofa Tunoa Ta’amu (D) – Winnipeg Jets; Edmonton Oil Kings; San Diego, Calif.

* = last played in WHL during 2024-25 season

2026 NHL Draft – Players Committed to the WHL for 2026-27Round Four
#98 – Jonas Kemps (D) – Florida Panthers; Seattle Thunderbirds; Sebastopol, Calif.

Round Five
#136 – Kent Sauer (F) – Philadelphia Flyers; Edmonton Oil Kings; Andover, Minn.

Round Six
#164 – Bode Laylin (D) – Calgary Flames; Everett Silvertips; St. Michael, Minn.

Round Seven
#208 – Logan Stuart (F) – Washington Capitals; Lethbridge Hurricanes; Manhattan Beach, Calif.
#224 – Tyler Deakos (F) – Montreal Canadiens; Penticton Vees; Canmore, Alta.

(WHL)

BUFFALO, N.Y. – In a historic weekend for college hockey, 109 current or committed NCAA Division I players were selected during the two-day 2026 NHL Draft at KeyBank Center, the most since the NHL went to its current seven-round draft format in 2005.

It also represented the most NCAA selections since 1990, when 109 were chosen in the NHL’s then-12-round draft.

Ninety of this year’s 109 picks came Saturday during rounds two through seven after a record 19 players had been chosen during Friday’s opening round.

NCAA Selections in the 2026 NHL Draft

An impressive 36 different NCAA schools had at least one player or recruit selected this weekend – up from 27 one year ago – led by Michigan State with nine. That tied Minnesota (2007) for the largest draft class ever by one school. Boston University, UMass, North Dakota and Penn State were next with eight selections each, while Boston College, Denver and Providence each had six.

The 20 current or committed college players taken during Saturday’s fourth round were an all-time record, toppling the 19 chosen in Friday’s first round:

NCAA-Affiliated Picks by Round
1st round: 19
2nd round: 16
3rd round: 12
4th round: 20
5th round: 14
6th round: 13
7th round: 15

Also of note:

The 2026 NCAA selections included 59 forwards, 40 defensemen and 10 goalies.
The geographic breakdown of those players featured 51 from the United States, 39 from Canada, five from Russia, three from both Czechia and Finland, two from Latvia, and one each from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Norway, Slovakia and Sweden.
Most of the NCAA-affiliated players drafted in 2026 will be incoming freshmen during either the 2026-27 or 202-27 seasons. However, 11 players who played college hockey last season were selected: Dartmouth D Cooper Cleaves (MTL), Western Michigan F Bobby Cowan (NYI), Boston College F Oscar Hemming (CBJ), Arizona State F Lincoln Kuehne (NYI), Boston University F Tynan Lawrence (STL), Penn State F Gavin McKenna (TOR), Miami F Ilia Morozov (BUF), UMass D LandonNycz (STL), Providence G John Parsons (WPG), Michigan F Adam Valentini (UTA), and North Dakota D Keaton Verhoeff(SJS).
Thirty-one of the NHL’s 32 franchises drafted at least one current or committed NCAA player. Anaheim and Vegas had the most with six each, followed by Colorado (five), San Jose (five), Seattle (five), Toronto (five) and Vancouver (five).