While they may not have made the big move just yet, the Philadelphia Flyers are reportedly considering attempting to pull off one of the biggest trades of them all.
On Friday night, The Athletic NHL insider Pierre LeBrun reported that "at least a dozen teams" will ask the Columbus Blue Jackets about superstar defenseman Zach Werenski as a potential trade looms.
The Flyers are one of those teams, apparently, with momentum only building.
On Saturday morning, Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman added on the 2026 NHL Draft broadcast that the Flyers, alongside the Dallas Stars, are one of the most active teams in Werenski trade talks.
Werenski, 28, won the Norris Trophy this season as the NHL's best defenseman, firing off 22 goals, 59 assists, and 81 points in 75 games, following up on a 2024-25 season that saw him post 23 goals, 59 assists, and 82 points in 81 games.
The 2015 No. 8 overall pick is clearly in his prime and just reached new heights in his NHL career to date, which makes him the perfect addition to a Flyers team in desperate need of offensive juice from their defense corps.
It goes almost without saying that any kind of Werenski trade will heavily depend on the price, which could prove prohibitive for the opportunistic Flyers front office.
The Blue Jackets are, of course, in the same division as the Flyers, and they aren't very far off from making the playoffs.
That may not remain the case if and when Werenski leaves, on top of reports star winger Kirill Marchenko wants to leave Columbus, too.
With aspirations of getting younger and remaining competitive, the Blue Jackets won't sell off their two best players for anything less than an overpay, and that will test how far the Flyers are willing to go to acquire a superstar player on the NHL trade block.
Alberts Smits was a little stressed waiting to be picked in Friday’s NHL Draft -- as expected.
The 18-year-old defenseman didn’t have to sit around too long, though, as the Rangers made him the highest selected Latvian in NHL history when they took him with the fifth overall pick.
“I was stressed and excited at the same time,” Smits admitted. “Once my name got called, I was feeling happy and relief -- I’m glad that it turned out this way.”
Smits is a towering, physical blueliner who brings a heavy two-way game.
While he may not possess the upside and potential of some of his fellow draft prospects, he has been widely considered one of the most polished and NHL-ready players in the entire class.
The youngster showcased that as he spent most of last season competing against men in Finland’s top pro league, and some of the world's top talent at both World Juniors and the Olympics.
"It certainly was a factor," Director of Amateur Scouting John Lilley said. "His body of work this year at every level -- handling himself as well as he did and thriving in hostile environments certainly helped his cause."
While neither side is looking to rush things, Smits could find himself joining the Blueshirts before long.
New York is expected to finalize his entry-level contract in the near future, and he could be out on the ice with his new teammates when they kick off training camp later this summer.
“I’m just living in this moment right now,” Smits emphasized. “I’m happy that I ended up being taken by such a good organization, so we’ll see how things are going to turn out.”
When the Senators traded Brady Tkachuk to Florida last Sunday, they acquired a pile of draft capital.
The deal left them flush with picks in round one of the 2026 NHL Draft, but earlier this week, they almost immediately traded the most valuable pick, the 9th overall selection, to San Jose. They picked up winger William Eklund, who can the club help right away.
But they also accepted that it was time to start restocking their prospect shelves.
So in the Eklund deal, they also secured two prospects they liked: former London Knights star forward Kasper Haltunnen and the rights to forward Brandon Svoboda, who just finished his second season at Boston U.
Then on Friday night at the draft, while many expected they might deal away the 25th pick for more immediate help, they kept their eye on the future again, drafting Swedish right winger Jonas Lagerberg Hoen from Leksands IF Jr.
Finally, due to an NHL ruling in the Dadonov case, they had no choice but to make their pick at 32. With that, they selected London Knights forward Jaxon Cover, the player I liked most at that draft position (even a blind squirrel finds the odd acorn).
Lagerberg Hoen is something of a wild card to say the least. Two seasons ago, he had elite Cy Young-like numbers with 27 goals and 3 assists in 38 games in junior. Back with the same club this past season for his NHL draft year, he was expected to completely light it up. In the first 9 games, he did. He had 9 goals and 7 assists before suffering a knee injury.
So the viewings of LH have been limited and that surely affected his draft rankings. Some had him listed as low as the 70s and 80s. On the other hand, before anyone panics, he was ranked 19th by NHL Central Scouting among all draft-eligible European skaters.
The pick does conjure up memories and comparisons to Tyler Boucher. Five years ago at the weird 2021 NHL Draft, the Senators had the tenth overall pick and were smitten with Tyler Boucher, a good skating physical forward who had also run into injury trouble in his draft year. The Sens felt the injury issues affected his draft stock, and were also concerned that if they waited until their next pick, another team would have taken him.
The Sens reached for Boucher, well ahead of where he was ranked by most scouts and analysts and unfortunately, Boucher has never been healthy enough for long enough to prove the Sens right or wrong.
The good news is that Lagerberg Hoen, at 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, is fully healthy again and ready to play a full season in Sweden next year in the second-tier Allsvenskan.
Frankly, it's hard to believe he was able to put together such an impressive highlight reel in just nine junior games.
Sens head amateur scout Don Boyd seemed thrilled to have selected him where they did.
“We really liked him," Boyd said. "He’s a goal-scorer. He can really skate, he can score from everywhere, and he’s a competitive guy. We had great interviews with him; he was great in the gym, and he checks all the boxes.”
There were only six picks before the Sens would choose again, but Boyd felt like there were a couple of NHL teams who might have jumped on Lagerberg Hoen if they had waited until their next pick at 32.
And that brings us to Cover whose backstory might be the best of the entire first round class. If his name didn't rhyme with clover, I might have billed it as our Cover Story. As much as referring to our national sport as ice hockey makes Canadians cringe, I'm afraid we have to for this story.
The six-foot-2, 183-pound winger only began playing organized ice hockey five years ago after first excelling in roller hockey in the Cayman Islands.
“It’s a great story, but we drafted him because we believe he's got ability, we believe he's got skill, we believe he's going to have a chance to be an offensive guy,” Boyd said.
Scouts rave about his athleticism, creativity, and like Lagerberg Hoen, his snap shot is off the charts. Because he is still relatively new to ice hockey, his ceiling on his potential for improvement might be better than almost anyone in the draft. And he's already pretty good.
Wearing Sidney Crosby's number 87, Cover's puck skill, fierce snap shot, and fearlessness at the net are impressive, especially for a young man with only five years of organized hockey. He posted 20 goals and 52 points in 67 games for the Knights in 2025-26. And there's been ho shortage of NHL stars to come out of OHL London.
The NHL did a great feature on Cover here.
So on day one of the NHL Draft, the Sens beefed up on future skill.
The NHL Draft continues on Saturday. The Senators don't have a second round selection but they have three in the third, then one pick in the fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds.
BUFFALO, NEW YORK - JUNE 26: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman looks on as Liam Ruck of Canada is drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins with the twenty-second overall pick during day one of the 2026 NHL Draft on June 26, 2026 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Talk about the ongoing draft event here!
When: 11:00am eastern What: Rounds 2-7 to complete the draft happen today How to watch: NHL Network, streaming on ESPN+ Penguin picks: Two in the second round (39, 54), a third round (86), a sixth round (170)
It’s a great day to make some more dreams come true.
The Colorado Avalanche may have completed the bulk of their offseason work, but Joe Sakic made it clear Friday that the front office is still looking to add before training camp.
Speaking ahead of the opening round of the NHL Draft, Sakic said Colorado hopes to bolster its forward depth while potentially adding another defenseman, although the team's salary cap situation will ultimately determine what is possible.
"We'd still like to sign one or two forwards and a (defenseman)," Sakic said.
After creating cap flexibility through multiple trades over the past two weeks, the Avalanche used some of that space to sign veteran defensemen Brent Burns and Brett Kulak. Even so, Colorado has less than $6 million in cap space, making value signings the most realistic option once free agency opens.
Sakic acknowledged that several difficult roster decisions were made with the salary cap—not performance—in mind.
"Those decisions for us really were cap decisions, free up some space. We couldn't have brought everybody back," Sakic said.
With much of the roster now appearing set, attention now shifts to the two young forwards Colorado acquired from the Nashville Predators. Both Fedor Svechkov and Zachary L'Heureux are expected to compete for full-time NHL roles next season.
Svechkov, the former first-round pick, drew praise from Sakic for the way he impacts the game beyond the scoresheet.
"Svechkov, he's like a (Chris) Drury," Sakic said. "He's not quite at Drury's level yet, but we think he can get there, and he's only 23."
L'Heureux brings a completely different element. The hard-nosed winger has built a reputation as an agitator who thrives on playing with an edge—something Colorado felt it lacked during its sweep at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final.
"He's going to be exciting for us," Sakic said. "He's type of player that we were looking for. He'd be great for us, we probably wish we had that player in the playoffs."
The challenge for L'Heureux will be channeling that physical style without crossing the line.
The Hockey News previously reported that one of the Avalanche's biggest shortcomings against Vegas was its inability to match the Golden Knights' physicality. L'Heureux undoubtedly addresses that need, but he also arrives with an extensive disciplinary history.
During three seasons with the Halifax Mooseheads in the QMJHL, L'Heureux was suspended nine times, including a 10-game suspension after spearing fans following a game. In 2020 alone, he served four separate suspensions. Overall, he has been suspended 12 times throughout his junior and professional career, costing him 39 games.
His NHL résumé has been much cleaner, although he was suspended three games last season for slew-footing Minnesota Wild captain Jared Spurgeon. If L'Heureux can maintain his trademark physicality while staying out of the penalty box and avoiding supplemental discipline, he could become exactly the type of player Colorado believes it was missing in the postseason.
The NHL Draft began Friday and concludes Saturday. The Avalanche hold 10 selections across Rounds 2 through 7 as they look to replenish a prospect pool that has been depleted by years of aggressive, win-now moves.
The Vancouver Canucks doubled up on OHL prospects to start the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. Vancouver first drafted center Caleb Malhotra third overall before selecting winger Adam Novotný 24th. Malhotra played last season with the Brantford Bulldogs, while Novotný spent his first OHL campaign with the Peterborough Petes.
Leading up to the draft, many experts predicted that Malhotra would be selected third overall by the Canucks. Listed at 6'2", 185 lbs, the 18-year-old dominated the OHL this year with 84 points in 67 games before producing 26 points in 15 playoff games. Described as a two-way center, Malhotra was clearly excited to be joining the organization.
"I had no clue or no hands from anybody, so I was just as blind as everybody else was," said Malhotra after being drafted. "So just to hear my name get called at all, and then especially to this organization, it's got a personal connection and big emotional meaning for me. I'm just so grateful, and I guess this could not have been more perfect for me."
Drafting Malhotra is going to come with an interesting challenge, as his dad, Manny, was recently named Vancouver's head coach. While it may take a few years for the two to unite at the NHL level, there will be questions, especially early on, about how this relationship will work. After the pick was made, Manny Malhotra spoke to the media and detailed his plan to ensure there are no issues moving forward.
"Obviously, see the aesthetics at times are not ideal," said Malhotra. "What this comes down to, ultimately, is player and coach. You know, I say it, and I know people will kind of roll their eyes and say, you can't say it, and we'll be that way, but when we get to the arena, he knows he's treated as I would any other player. And that dynamic has worked for us. When we leave the arena, and there's a very clear line that we're not talking shops. I'm not coaching you anymore. It's just the dad conversations that take place. So we understand the dynamic of it and perhaps the aesthetics, how people will perceive the situation. But when it comes to the hockey, it's all about getting better."
As for Novotný, it was a little surprising that he was available at 24th overall. Listed at 6'1", 205 lbs, the winger from Czechia was projected by most experts to go before 20th overall. Novotný dropping based on projected draft position is the Canucks, as he is one of the most intriguing prospects in this draft.
"I don't know how to describe this, said Novotný after being selected. "Such a great feeling, and such a great organization. Just so happy that I got drafted by the Vancouver Canucks. This feeling is just unbelievable. To share this with my family, so it just feels great."
Novotný has developed into a dynamic, two-way forward. He recorded 65 points in 58 games while also winning a Silver Medal with Czechia at the 2026 World Juniors. A combination of size, skill and grit, Novotný showed this year that he is a pain to play against.
Vancouver enters day two of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft with eight remaining picks. Ryan Johnson and his team will be on the board first in the second round as the Canucks hold the 33rd overall pick. Once the draft is complete, the newly-drafted prospects will head to Vancouver for development camp.
Jun 26, 2026; Buffalo, New York, USA; Adam Novotny reacts beside NHL commissioner Gary Bettman after being selected with the twenty fourth pick in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft by the Vancouver Canucks at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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The Philadelphia Flyers had a literal strong start to the 2026 NHL Draft, selecting a hulking defenseman in Maksim Sokolovskii with their first pick.
That said, there is still plenty of work to do with the thinning prospect pipeline.
One move that will help the Flyers greatly was trading down in Round 1, pivoting off the 21st pick, moving back six spots to 27, and picking up the 62nd and 120th overall picks in a trade with the San Jose Sharks.
Now, the Flyers will have the 53rd and 62nd picks in Round 2, which will allow them to either trade up for a prospect they really want, or simply stay put and also draft two prospects they really want.
Plus, Flyers GM Danny Briere implied that the team could double-dip on defense and still draft one of the top remaining puck-moving defenders in the class, like Xavier Villeneuve, who could go early in Round 2.
"There's more out there. It doesn't mean that we're done, that we're not going to draft a puck-moving defenseman. Let's see what tomorrow brings. Hopefully, we can bring you a smaller puck-moving defenseman after losing Emil [Andrae]," Briere said.
Villeneuve is, for me, the best remaining player when accounting for the Flyers' needs.
The Flyers met with him once already, and he is unquestionably the only defenseman remaining who screams "future power play quarterback."
He has to get there at an NHL level, of course, but that is what you're drafting Villeneuve for, unlike Sokolovskii, for example.
I also like William Hakansson and Ben MacBeath at the left defense spot, but it feels like the Flyers are only going to jump back in at defense if they see the Villeneuve-type upside offensively.
At center, and forward in general, the Flyers have a glut of players to consider in the same kind of tier.
Slovak Tomas Chrenko stood out during international competitions this season, and Russians Yegor Shilov and Lavr Gashilov have more legitimate offensive upside if things break their way in development.
Or, if the Flyers want to take a page out of the Stanley Cup-winning Carolina Hurricanes' playbook, they could go with University of Michigan ace Adam Valentini, a pacey and relentless forechecker who can do a bit of scoring.
The Hurricanes proved that a balanced lineup stocked with versatile players can get the job done, and Valentini fits that mold.
In order, my favorite remaining players:
Xavier Villeneuve, LHD Adam Valentini, C Ben MacBeath, LHD William Hakansson, LHD Brooks Rogowski, C Ryan Roobroeck, C Yegor Shilov, C Lavr Gashilov, C Markus Ruck, C Pierce Mbuyi, W Mathis Preston, W Tomas Galvas, LHD Tomas Chrenko, C Alessando Di Iorio, C Beckham Edwards, C
Additionally, I wouldn't discount the possibility of the Flyers drafting a goalie at some point, though a second-round pick on one might be a bit rich.
Regardless, Tobias Trejbal is one to watch as a big right-handed Czech, as is Michal Orsulak. These are two goalies I could see the Flyers taking early or late, respectively, to add more depth at the position.
The draft felt different in town this season, probably because the Montreal Canadiens weren’t expected to pick until the 28th spot, and, unlike last year, there was no big Habs blockbuster trade leaked ahead of time. In fact, there were big trades in the run-up to the draft, but none of them involved the Canadiens. Brady Tkachuk, William Eklund, Bowen Byram, Valeri Nichushkin, and Jordan Kyrou all moved, but aside from two AHL deals, Kent Hughes remained quiet.
Much like last year, the decentralized draft dragged on; 16 minutes were spent on the first overall pick, which was announced by Justin Bieber, who Gary Bettman called iconic, which was an interesting choice of words to say the least. Unsurprisingly, the Toronto Maple Leafs picked Gavin McKenna, kicking off a rather tame draft with few surprises, as most of the trades had been announced before the draft. The big moves of the night were the New York Rangers acquiring Pavel Dorofeyev and signing him to a seven-year contract and the St. Louis Blues landing Mason McTavish for two first-round picks and JJ Peterka heading back to the Atlantic division.
The NHL also used the draft to announce the winner of the Jim Gregory Award as GM of the year, which the Minnesota Wild’s Bill Guerin won. Given that he gave Kirill Kaprisov a $17 million-per-year contract, that came as a surprise to me. While he did trade for Quinn Hughes, he paid quite a high price for him, especially if he cannot sign him long-term. Meanwhile, Habs GM Hughes finished 5th in voting with 20 points (four second-place votes and eight third-place votes).
Originally slotted to pick 28th overall, the Canadiens traded up, sending that pick and a third-round pick in 2027 to the Vegas Golden Knights to draft 26th overall. They used that pick to select Gleb Pugachyov, a right winger from Russia, making this the third straight draft in which Montreal went back to the Russian well with its first pick. Still, it wasn’t Nick Bobrov who was happiest about the pick, according to Hughes, but Martin Lapointe, a rugged player in his day.
Gleb Pugachyov finding out he’s been drafted by the Habs at the Gold Star Hockey Camp, alongside Alexander Zharovsky pic.twitter.com/YgytkgLk0A
Pugachyov is 6-foot-3 and weighs 198 pounds, according to the Central Scouting list. He played at three levels of Russian hockey last season: the MHL, the VHL, and the KHL. Putting up 24 points in 33 games in the MHL, five points in 15 games in the VHL and three points in 13 KHL games. Hughes describes his first pick as a robust player with good hockey sense and the potential to play up and down the lineup, comparing him to Tom Wilson, a player who tortured the Habs in the 2024-25 playoffs.
Given how the Canadiens fared in the playoffs for the last two seasons, it’s not shocking to see them go for size and physicality over pure skill. Hughes confessed the Canadiens had tried to move up several times, as they had Pugachyov much higher on their list:
We had him higher up than we were slotted to select, so we tried moving up several times during the course of the evening. We only managed to go up two spots, but at least we landed the player we were after.
The GM explained that Pugachyov played a mature game, but wouldn’t confirm a timetable for his arrival in North America, simply stating that he wishes to speak to his agent before discussing his contractual situation.
The draft will continue Saturday morning at 11:00 AM, and the Canadiens currently have seven picks across the six remaining rounds.
From our 2026 NHL DRAFT BREAKDOWN:
"Gleb Pugachyov is the most imposing player in this class, who blends explosive athletic traits with devastating physical instincts."
The opening round of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft is complete, and the Calgary Flames came away with two prospects who fit the identity the organization continues to build under general manager Craig Conroy.
Carels enjoyed a breakout 2025-26 season, posting 20 goals and 73 points in 58 games. His offensive explosion was the second-highest single-season point total by a defenceman in Prince George franchise history and solidified his status as a projected top-pairing NHL blueliner.
A smooth skater with elite offensive instincts, Carels excels at moving the puck, driving play in transition and creating scoring opportunities from the back end. His all-around game also earned him a spot on Canada’s World Junior Championship roster last season, where he was one of the youngest defencemen to represent the country, ever.
The Manitoba native also made headlines on draft day for a different reason. Rather than attending the event in Buffalo, Carels remained home helping on his family’s farm in Cypress River, a decision that reflects the grounded, hardworking mentality that appealed to Calgary’s scouting staff.
Carels is committed to the University of North Dakota next season, where he’ll continue his development before making the jump to professional hockey.
The second cousin of former NHL goaltender and executive Ron Hextall, Jack has built his own reputation as a reliable two-way centre who combines size, physicality and offensive potential. His ability to play responsibly on both sides of the puck while competing hard on every shift made him an attractive fit for the Flames.
Hextall is committed to Michigan State University next season, where he will continue to develop his game against top collegiate competition.
Carels brings dynamic offensive ability and top-pairing potential to Calgary’s defensive pipeline, while Hextall gives the organization a promising centre with the size, compete level and two-way game that are difficult to find.
More than anything, both selections reinforce the qualities the Flames continue to value: skill, leadership, character and an unwavering work ethic. If those traits translate as expected, Calgary may look back on the opening night of the 2026 NHL Draft as another important step in building its new core.
But general manager Mathieu Darche said they were anything but.
"We didn't have any trades, but I can tell you, we haven't been quiet the last week," Darche told us on Zoom following the first round. "Basically, I've had my phone attached to my ear, and you're kicking tires, teams are calling, you're listening. That's my job to listen to anybody who calls. I've called a bunch of teams.
"Was I in on some of these trades? Yeah, I had a lot of discussions with these teams, some of which could be other players, no trade clauses -- it could be various factors that we just didn't get anything through this time."
Darche, who selected left-shot defenseman Malte Gustafsson at No. 13, told us he tried to move higher up the draft board a few times.
"I did try to move up a few times, depending on who was available, and that didn't go through," Darche said. "And there's a few teams, if my guy's not there, I might move back.
"But it's funny because it's rare that...every year we have our list, and it's rare that usually in the top 10, that all your top 10, or almost all your top 10, are not all our top 10, because we had Malte rated very high, but it was somewhat predictable, not necessarily where they went, but which were the top 15 guys. It was somewhat more predictable than other years, from my experience."
Trying to improve the team is a 24-hour gig.
"Even tonight on the way home, I'm sure I'll be on the phone," Darche said. "Tomorrow, we'll be on the phone all day through the draft, and Sunday again. We don't leave any stone unturned. Sometimes, it doesn't go your way and there are times you might want the player, but do you want the contract that comes with it?
"There's a lot of factors that factor in whether we have a trade or not, but we've been extremely active on the phone, but just nothing has materialized so far."
Here are the winners and losers from the first day of the NHL draft:
WINNERS
New York Rangers
The Rangers traded defenseman K'Andre Miller before last season and forward Artemi Panarin during the season and missed the playoffs for the second year in a row. But they added some potential replacements at the draft. Dorofeyev has goal-scoring ability, totaling 72 goals over the last two seasons, and agreed to a seven-year, $77 million extension. Draft pick Alberts Smits is a big defenseman who played for Latvia at the Olympics, world championships and world junior championships.
San Jose Sharks
They kept everyone guessing before the draft and took skilled forward Stenberg with the No. 2 overall pick. Even though they passed on a defenseman, they landed a good one in Keaton Verhoeff with the No. 9 pick. They moved up six spots in a trade to draft Ryan Lin, another solid defenseman, at No. 21.
Caleb Malhotra
He went No. 3 overall and gets a chance to play for his dad, new Vancouver Canucks coach Manny Malhotra.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Buffalo has been a good draft site for the Maple Leafs. Ten years ago, they took Auston Matthews No. 1 overall, and top pick McKenna has an opportunity to put his imprint on the franchise, too.
LOSERS
Vegas Golden Knights
The defending Western Conference champions have success because they trade futures for name players. But because of a salary cup crunch, they traded Dorofeyev, their best homegrown player, for futures. The move at least gave the Golden Knights a rare opportunity to draft in the first round, but they traded down twice before finally selecting Juho Piiparinen with the 29th overall pick.
Chase Reid drops
He had been mentioned as high as No. 2 if the Sharks wanted to draft a defenseman. General manager Mike Grier hinted at the possibility before the draft. But the Sharks took Stenberg and Reid fell to No. 7 with the Seattle Kraken. That's the same Kraken team that has made the playoffs once in its existence and reportedly had its $15 million-a-year contract offer turned down by the Dallas Stars' Jason Robertson.
Columbus Blue Jackets
During the draft, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reported that the Blue Jackets were listening to offers on Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski. ESPN's Kevin Weekes later reported that Kirill Marchenko, the team's leading goal scorer, might not be willing to re-sign beyond the end of his contract. That's not a good sign for a team that has missed the playoffs for six consecutive seasons and whose effort down the stretch was questioned by coach Rick Bowness.
Production drags on
ESPN got rid of last year's worst feature, the virtual room in which prospects talked to their new teams. But having drafted players sitting on a couch during interviews wasn't much better. Even though the trades were exciting, they caused the show to drag. It lasted four hours.
The Chicago Blackhawks didn't make a single pick in the 2026 NHL Draft's first round on Friday night. That is the first time that this has happened in the Kyle Davidson era.
Their originally awarded pick, 4th overall, was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Bowen Byram. In the past, Davidson has found a way to make multiple selections in the first round. This year, nothing.
There is plenty of more time to make selections, however, as rounds 2-7 will take place on Saturday morning into the afternoon. Lots of good players with high ceilings are still available, and diamonds in the rough are always out there.
It will begin with the second round at 10 AM CT. The Blackhawks are scheduled to make two selections during this time. Picks 34 and 37 are on the docket.
Of every player waiting to be taken by an NHL franchise, these 10 stick out as the best fits for the Blackhawks:
Centers
The plan is for the Chicago Blackhawks to run Connor Bedard, Anton Frondell, and Frank Nazar down the middle in 2026-27. However, you don't know how that is going to pan out until you see it in action over a long period of time.
One of them may be better suited as a wing in the future. There is also the need for depth within the organization due to injuries or lackluster performances.
If the Blackhawks are serious about taking a center in the second round, one of these three makes the most sense:
Brooks Rogowski - Oshawa
Alessandro Di Iorio - Sarnia
Rudolfs Berzkalns - Muskegon
Wings
In a perfect world, the Chicago Blackhawks are set at center for a while. They would love for those players that they have penciled in at those positions to be there for a long time. It is on the wing that they could use some tremendous improvement.
Outside of Roman Kantserov, they don't have a prospect that they are super excited about on either side of the wing. They have some veterans there like Teuvo Teravainen, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Ryan Donato, who are good players, but none of them are part of the five-year plan from this point forward.
All of these prospects available to them at that position in the second round are going to take some time, but they could help build up the top nine as the years go on:
Simas Ignatavicius - Genève-Servette HC
Casey Mutryn - USNTDP
Chase Harrington - Spokane
Mathis Preston - Vancouver
Defense
On defense, things take even longer. Look at some of the young players that the Blackhawks are already trying to develop, and you'll see examples of projects that aren't so easy.
With that said, they are certainly going to take some chances on a couple of players who may become NHL-ready down the line.
For every team in the NHL, it is a hard project worth taking on, because the reward could be the difference between sustained success and sustained failure.
With each of their early second-round picks, these three young defensemen are going to be possibilities for them:
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JUNE 14: Seth Jarvis #24 of the Carolina Hurricanes hoists the Stanley Cup after the team's 3-0 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Six of the 2026 NHL Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on June 14, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Hurricanes won the series four games to two. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Last night’s first round of the draft was a typical one for Carolina. They traded their first round pick, 31st overall, to Nashville for two picks in round two, numbers 42 and 57 overall. If nothing else changes, that would give them a total of five picks for Saturday, with a possibility to add more.
After the trade was announced, Eric Tulsky held a press conference and much was revealed.
The biggest news was that Seth Jarvis had shoulder surgery and would be out for four to six months, which of course includes the start of next season. Jarvis had shoulder issues for the past couple of years but had put off surgery for various reasons. This would apparently leave an opening for Bradly Nadeau to take his spot.
Tulsky was quick to slow that talk down. “Nothing is guaranteed”, the general manager said. Others from Chicago will be fighting to make the team as well as Nadeau and the GM could always add someone via trade or free agency. He reiterated that he is always trying to improve the team.
He was asked how he could improve a Stanley Cup winning team and he said there is always room for improvement. “When we are playing our best and no one is injured, we are incredibly tough to beat, but if we are not playing our best or someone is injured, we could be better. This year we were fortunate that we were playing our best and no one was injured.”
Some other highlights-
He would not validate any trade rumors out there and claimed that they had not yet had contract negotiations with Alexander Nikishin, the only roster player still needing a contract. There was no rush on it.
He has had conversations with Andersen but will not divulge the content of those discussions. He could be back.
Eric Robinson had knee surgery and will be out 6 to 8 weeks. Those two players are the only ones who had surgeries.
Mike Reilly might be back and/or Valimaki, Legault, and Nystrom are all possibilities for the 7th spot.
Tulsky would be comfortable with Kochetkov and Bussi in net next season.
He is not aware of anything regarding television broadcasts next season.
Saturday will be interesting. I will attend Lenovo again and will comment in a new open thread with some info about any draft selections or other Carolina related news.
On Friday night, the Philadelphia Flyers made a move that was both a surprise and perfectly expected, drafting the behemoth defenseman Maksim Sokolovskii with their first-round pick.
The surprise with Sokolovskii comes from the fact that there were increasingly long pregnant pauses in the Flyers media room; someone eventually had to take the 6-foot-7 defender.
Time between picks seemingly kept getting longer, and teams were frequently exchanging picks and striking trades with one another.
Yet, by the time the dust settled, Sokolovskii was still on the board, and the Flyers made him their first-round draft selection in the 2026 NHL Draft.
For a team that struggles to score and move pucks, though, what was the motivation behind the selection?
In the eyes of Flyers GM Danny Briere, it has everything to do with untapped potential and continued improvement throughout the past season.
"We saw him early in the season, we thought this could be a late pick for us, and then it seemed every month he just kept getting better and better and figuring out the game more and more," Briere said of Sokolovskii. "That was interesting to the point where he's going to be a first-rounder."
Sokolovskii joins a growing list of London Knights and, more generally, OHLers drafted by the Flyers in recent seasons.
Dating back to 2023, Matvei Michkov was the Flyers' last first-round pick to come from outside the Ontario league.
"It's not a secret they're one of the better organizations in the CHL. They seem to be able to build winners. There's a lot of guys that go through their program that end up in the NHL. They have a knack for raising those players to become pros," Briere added of the Knights. "For us, it's a no-brainer when we have the chance to take someone from London. It feels very comfortable."
Of course, Flyers president Keith Jones played for the London Knights many moons ago, and top prospects Denver Barkey and Oliver Bonk joined the Flyers from that organization in the 2023 draft.
The connection to the Flyers is there, and it helps that there is legitimate talent there, too.
Briere wouldn't commit to pegging Sokolovskii as a future first-, second-, or third-pair defender, but couldn't help but glow about the potential.
"Obviously, the way our development has worked the last few years. We feel confident that it's going to come. We know there's a lot of work to be done, but there's things that you can't teach, you can't change," said Briere.
"[Sokolovskii is] still going to be 6-foot-7 in two years from now, and the [physicality and aggression] that he has as well is something you can't really teach that comes naturally to him, so that's that's a big plus. The rest of his game has to round out, no doubt about it, but the progression that we saw this season leads us to believe that it'll be able to make it to the NHL. What pairing? I don't know yet. It's a little too early to tell, but he could become a top four defenseman if things fall into place."
Sokolovskii, 17, is committed to the University of Maine for the 2027-28 season, and Briere and the Flyers anticipate their new top prospect playing the 2026-27 season in the OHL again before moving on to the college ranks.
In the meantime, the Flyers are hoping that Sokolovskii will continue to learn and improve, as he did throughout the 2025-26 season with the Knights.
"His puck play was was much different, and then understanding the game. When to go, when not to go, when to go for the big hits, when not to go and sit back, those are things that along the way got better and better this past season," Briere assessed.
Top Flyers Center Trade Target Off The BoardPhiladelphia Flyers trade target Mason McTavish is officially off the board after a blockbuster trade at the 2026 NHL Draft.
