Highlights
- Toronto selected Gavin McKenna first overall, making him the third No. 1 pick in Maple Leafs history
- The Blues acquired Mason McTavish from Anaheim for picks No. 15 and No. 29, then still added two first-rounders of their own
- Chase Reid slid to seventh despite a top-three consensus ranking, and nine trades reshuffled the board through 32 picks
The 2026 NHL Draft’s first round is in the books. Thirty-two picks, nine trades, and one very famous announcer made for a wild night at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.
Gavin McKenna went first overall to the Maple Leafs, a selection that had been locked in for weeks. Justin Bieber made the announcement from the stage. McKenna, 18, posted 51 points in 35 games at Penn State this season and becomes the third No. 1 pick in franchise history, joining Auston Matthews (2016) and Wendel Clark (1985).
The @NHL announced McKenna’s selection to kick off the night:
San Jose followed by taking Swedish winger Ivar Stenberg second. Vancouver then drafted Caleb Malhotra third overall, adding the son of head coach Manny Malhotra in a pick that drew mixed reactions from fans but was backed by scouts across the league.
Defensemen dominated the top of the board. Five of the first ten selections were blueliners, headlined by Daxon Rudolph to Buffalo at four and Alberts Smits to the Rangers at five. The biggest surprise came at seven, where Chase Reid fell to Seattle despite carrying a consensus top-three ranking. An injury-shortened OHL season likely caused the slide, and the Kraken may have landed the steal of the draft.
The Trade Frenzy
St. Louis was the most active team of the night. The Blues sent picks No. 15 and No. 29 to Anaheim for Mason McTavish, a 23-year-old center locked up through 2031. They still walked away with two first-round picks of their own, selecting Tynan Lawrence at 11 and Maddox Dagenais at 16.
The Rangers acquired Pavel Dorofeyev from Vegas for pick No. 26, pick No. 92, and a conditional 2028 first-rounder, then signed him to a seven-year, $77 million contract within hours. Vegas used pick 26, which had been rerouted through Dallas and Carolina, to grab Russian winger Gleb Pugachyov. Montreal ended up making that selection after another swap.
Utah moved JJ Peterka to Boston for pick No. 23 and a 2028 first-rounder, then flipped No. 23 to Detroit for goaltender Sebastian Cossa. The Red Wings used the pick on Kamloops winger JP Hurlbert.
Carolina, coming off a Stanley Cup title, traded out of the first round entirely, sending pick 31 to Nashville for two second-rounders.
Every First-Round Pick
Here is the complete list of all 32 first-round selections:
| Pick | Team | Player | Pos | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Gavin McKenna | LW | Penn State (NCAA) |
| 2 | San Jose Sharks | Ivar Stenberg | LW | Frölunda (SHL) |
| 3 | Vancouver Canucks | Caleb Malhotra | C | Brantford (OHL) |
| 4 | Buffalo Sabres* | Daxon Rudolph | D | Prince Albert (WHL) |
| 5 | New York Rangers | Alberts Smits | D | Jukurit (Liiga) |
| 6 | Calgary Flames | Carson Carels | D | Prince George (WHL) |
| 7 | Seattle Kraken | Chase Reid | D | Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) |
| 8 | Winnipeg Jets | Viggo Björck | C | Djurgårdens IF (SHL) |
| 9 | San Jose Sharks* | Keaton Verhoeff | D | North Dakota (NCAA) |
| 10 | Nashville Predators | Wyatt Cullen | LW | USNTDP (USHL) |
| 11 | St. Louis Blues | Tynan Lawrence | C | Boston University (NCAA) |
| 12 | New Jersey Devils | Alexander Command | C | Örebro (U20 Nationell) |
| 13 | New York Islanders | Malte Gustafsson | D | HV71 (SHL) |
| 14 | Columbus Blue Jackets | Oscar Hemming | LW | Boston College (NCAA) |
| 15 | Anaheim Ducks* | Nikita Klepov | RW | Saginaw (OHL) |
| 16 | St. Louis Blues* | Maddox Dagenais | C | Quebec (QMJHL) |
| 17 | Utah Mammoth* | Ethan Belchetz | LW | Windsor (OHL) |
| 18 | Washington Capitals* | Oliver Suvanto | C | Tappara (Liiga) |
| 19 | Los Angeles Kings* | Elton Hermansson | RW | MoDo (HockeyAllsvenskan) |
| 20 | Buffalo Sabres* | Ilia Morozov | C | Miami University (NCAA) |
| 21 | San Jose Sharks* | Ryan Lin | D | Vancouver (WHL) |
| 22 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Liam Ruck | RW | Medicine Hat (WHL) |
| 23 | Detroit Red Wings* | JP Hurlbert | LW | Kamloops (WHL) |
| 24 | Vancouver Canucks* | Adam Novotný | LW | Peterborough (OHL) |
| 25 | Ottawa Senators* | Jonas Lagerberg Hoen | RW | Leksands IF (SHL) |
| 26 | Montreal Canadiens* | Gleb Pugachyov | RW | Nizhny Novgorod (KHL) |
| 27 | Philadelphia Flyers* | Maksim Sokolovskii | D | London (OHL) |
| 28 | Anaheim Ducks* | Marcus Nordmark | LW | Djurgårdens Jr. (U20 Nationell) |
| 29 | Anaheim Ducks* | Juho Piiparinen | D | Tappara (Liiga) |
| 30 | Calgary Flames* | Jack Hextall | C | Youngstown (USHL) |
| 31 | Nashville Predators* | Tommy Bleyl | D | Moncton (QMJHL) |
| 32 | Ottawa Senators | Jaxon Cover | RW | London (OHL) |
* = pick acquired via trade
Other Storylines
Wyatt Cullen, son of three-time Stanley Cup champion Matt Cullen, went 10th to Nashville. Winnipeg grabbed Swedish center Viggo Björck at eight. New Jersey took Örebro’s Alexander Command at 12, while Columbus went with Boston College winger Oscar Hemming at 14.
Ottawa bookended the first round, using traded picks to take Jonas Lagerberg Hoen at 25 and closing it out with Jaxon Cover at 32. Anaheim, armed with extra picks from the McTavish deal, grabbed three players in the first round: Klepov at 15, Nordmark at 28, and Piiparinen at 29.
Rounds 2-7 continue Saturday morning at KeyBank Center.
