Biggest winners & losers from 2026 NHL Draft

The NHL draft has concluded, and many teams were seen as winners, while some didn’t identify talent as well. Gavin McKenna went first overall and was the first Big Ten player to be drafted since Owen Power in 2021. There were many trades involving key players such as John Carlson to Carolina, Pavel Dorofeyev to the Rangers, and JJ Peterka to Boston, too.

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Winner: San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks could not have had a better draft. San Jose drafted arguably the best player in the draft, Ivar Stenberg, and then they got a gifted defenseman, Keaton Verhoff. Followed by Ryan Lin in the first round, who is said to be one of the smoothest skaters in the draft amongst defensemen.

Mike Grier is turning the Sharks into one of the brightest teams with their young talent around Macklin Celebrini.

Loser: Tampa Bay Lightning 

Tampa Bay isn’t getting any younger. Nikita Kucherov is getting older, Victor Hedman is losing his edge, and Andrei Vasilevskiy is in his 30s. The Lightning drafted players way off the board and haven’t been able to hit on many picks lately. 

Winner: Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto had an easy selection to take McKenna, but they built a great draft class, adding Ethan MacKenzie, who has tons of upside as a young player. Solid start for newly hired general manager John Chayka.

Loser: Edmonton Oilers

With having a later pick, it is hard to evaluate this, but the Oilers just didn’t draft for what they needed. Lots of players on this list don’t hold NHL-ready value in years to come. 

Winner: Chicago Blackhawks

Despite making a controversial trade with Buffalo for Bowen Byram, the Blackhawks utilized their picks well. They were able to draft Xavier Villeneuve & Ryan Roobereck in the second round. Villeneuve skates extremely well and can be a point producer in Chicago, and set up Connor Bedard for goals.

Many teams took swings at players and improved in different areas. This year’s NHL Draft was one of the longest in some time, but the talent will be recognized quickly when these upcoming stars enter the league.

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