The 2026 NHL Draft is here, and with it comes a transformative power for struggling franchises.
Last year’s draft yielded Matthew Schaefer, who won the Calder Trophy and earned immediate comparisons to generational greats. The 2024 draft produced precocious Macklin Celebrini, who finished fourth in the most recent Hart Trophy race at just 19 years old.
So … who’s up next?
Answers will be revealed and futures will be sketched out during this weekend’s ceremony. Friday begins with the Toronto Maple Leafs on the clock. Read on for U.S. and Canadian broadcast listings, plus a few draftees to know and the updated first-round order.
How to watch the 2026 NHL Draft
- Location: KeyBank Center — Buffalo, N.Y.
- Dates: June 26-27
- TV (U.S.): ESPN, ESPN+ and NHL Network
- TV (Canada): Sportsnet and TVA Sports
| Round(s) | Time (ET) | TV | Stream |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
7 p.m., Fri. |
ESPN, |
|
|
2-7 |
11 a.m., Sat. |
ESPN+, |
All ESPN programs are also available with an ESPN Unlimited subscription.
The NHL Draft telecast
The Athletic and FloHockey are partnering to bring fans a live 2026 NHL Draft show. With host Max Bultman and experts Corey Pronman, Scott Wheeler and Chris Peters, The Athletic x FloHockey NHL Draft Live will livestream during the entire first round. Tune in Friday at 7 p.m. ET on The Athletic Hockey Show’s YouTube channel, across FloHockey’s platforms, and on Amazon Prime (U.S.) and Fubo (Canada).
John Buccigross hosts ESPN’s first-round presentation. Kevin Weekes, Emily Kaplan and Meghan Chayka are tapped for pick-by-pick breakdowns. Leah Hextall of ESPN and Ailish Forfar of Sportsnet are talking to the prospects once their names get called.
Buccigross and company lead the pre-draft programming, while Hextall handles red carpet interviews. ESPN’s studio show “The Point” is live at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
NHL Network’s Day 2 coverage on Saturday is hosted by Jamison Coyle. The first line of analysts includes Jason Bukala, Sam Cosentino, Elliotte Friedman, Tony Granato, E.J. Hradek and Mike Kelly. The NHL Network coverage is simulcast on ESPN+ and Sportsnet.
Top 5 prospects after the NHL Draft Combine
Corey Pronman, Scott Wheeler and more
The prospects to know
Players sorted by The Athletic’s consensus top 50 rankings.
Gavin McKenna hails from Canada’s Yukon territory. McKenna led the Big Ten in scoring this past season as a freshman for Penn State. He previously played in the Western Hockey League, a Canadian developmental circuit. “You can put this one in permanent marker,” Wheeler wrote in his updated mock draft.
Ivar Stenberg is a fellow winger with huge upside. The Swedish national won gold at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship, and finished with 10 points in seven games for the under-20 team. He also starred for Frölunda in the Swedish Hockey League. In his 2026 prospect capsules, Pronman compared Stenberg to Jake Guentzel.
Chase Reid has been rising through draft boards. He was initially cut from his team in the junior United States Hockey League, only to power up with the Ontario Hockey League’s Soo Greyhounds. The Michigan native now profiles as a top defensive talent.
Caleb Malhotra is a center from Toronto who’s fresh off a convincing first OHL campaign. He notched 84 points in 67 games for the Brantford Bulldogs throughout the regular season. His father, Manny, was hired to coach the Vancouver Canucks earlier this month. Could Caleb land with his dad at the No. 3 spot?
Viggo Björck was Stenberg’s teammate on Sweden’s gold medal-winning World Juniors team. He played center for Djurgården in the SHL and finished with 15 points across 42 appearances. At 5-foot-9, Björck is the shortest prospect in the consensus rankings’ top 10.
Carson Carels is a two-way defenseman from Manitoba. He recorded 73 points in 58 regular-season games for the WHL’s Prince George Cougars. When he’s not on the ice, Carels works on his family’s farm.
Keaton Verhoeff went from the WHL to the University of North Dakota, where he helped guide the Fighting Hawks to the Frozen Four. The defender is from Fort Saskatchewan; his family home was previously owned by 22-year NHL fixture Ray Whitney.
Other intriguing prospects include Latvian defenseman Alberts Šmits, Canadian defenseman Daxon Rudolph and Canadian winger Ethan Belchetz.
2026 NHL Draft order
Order as of Friday morning:
First round
1. Toronto Maple Leafs
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Vancouver Canucks
4. Buffalo Sabres
5. New York Rangers
6. Calgary Flames
7. Seattle Kraken
8. Winnipeg Jets
9. San Jose Sharks
10. Nashville Predators
11. St. Louis Blues
12. New Jersey Devils
13. New York Islanders
14. Columbus Blue Jackets
15. St. Louis Blues
16. St. Louis Blues
17. Los Angeles Kings
18. Washington Capitals
19. Utah Mammoth
20. Buffalo Sabres
21. Philadelphia Flyers
22. Pittsburgh Penguins
23. Boston Bruins
24. Vancouver Canucks
25. Ottawa Senators
26. New York Rangers
27. San Jose Sharks
28. Montreal Canadiens
29. St. Louis Blues
30. Calgary Flames
31. Carolina Hurricanes
32. Ottawa Senators
Buffalo slid into the No. 4 spot after this week’s Bowen Byram trade with the Chicago Blackhawks. Similarly, San Jose acquired the ninth pick, originally belonging to the Florida Panthers, in exchange for William Eklund.
Meanwhile, the Senators are picking at the end of the first round as deferred punishment for the invalidated Evgenii Dadonov deal from 2021-22. Ottawa’s No. 25 selection sources back to the Tampa Bay Lightning and comes from the Brady Tkachuk blockbuster with Florida.
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