Gavin McKenna stands alone at No. 1, defenders rise in deep draft

There are two things TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button believes about the 2026 NHL Draft.

The first is that Penn State winger Gavin McKenna remains a cut above the rest of the field, coming in at No. 1 for the second straight rankings. The second is that four defencemen are in the running to be considered the best blueliner available in the draft.

While McKenna hasn’t dominated the NCAA the same way he did in junior after making the jump following two seasons with the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers, Button has no concerns about McKenna’s game.

“Gavin McKenna has had a big, big sample size of exceptional play,” said Button. “And when you project that out, no question that he’s the best player in the draft for me.”

McKenna has four goals and 18 points in 16 games with Penn State this season. Last season with Medicine Hat, he had 41 goals and 129 points in 56 games as he helped the team capture the WHL championship and was named CHL and WHL Player of the Year.

Climbing to No. 2 behind McKenna on November’s list is Frolunda forward Ivar Stenberg.

Stenberg has five goals and 20 points in 21 games playing in the top league in Sweden this season.

The 18-year-old winger has represented Sweden on the international stage on several occasions, winning bronze at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup as well as silver medals at the U18s and World Junior A Challenge.

Behind McKenna and Stenberg is a quartet of defencemen that Button considers very close together in the rankings, starting with University of North Dakota’s Keaton Verhoeff (No. 3), followed by Tappara’s Juho Piiparinen (No. 4), Sault Ste. Marie’s Chase Reid (No. 5) and Prince George’s Carson Carels (No. 6).

Reid is second in the Ontario Hockey League in scoring by a defenceman this season with 10 goals and 28 points in 25 games.

The 17-year-old split the 2024-25 season between the NAHL and OHL, but in 39 games with the Greyhounds he had seven goals and 33 assists, with the latter mark leading all OHL rookies and was named to the OHL First All-Rookie Team.

“Just a really well-rounded defender,” Button said of Reid. “The way the game is played now, you got to be able to make plays with the puck coming out of your zone, in transition, in the offensive zone. You’ve got to be able to think fast and skate fast. Chase Reid has all those qualities.”

Carels is averaging more than a point-per-game with the Cougars this season with six goals and 24 points in 23 games.

The Cypress Hill, Man., native has represented Canada three times in the past year, winning silver (World U17 Hockey Challenge), gold (U18s) and bronze (Hlinka Gretzky Cup).

“He’s got a lot of similarities to Josh Morrissey,” said Button of Carels. “I don’t know what area of the game he isn’t really, really good in – defending, physical play, skating, making plays.”

Another defenceman making waves this season is Blainville-Boisbriand’s Xavier Villeneuve, who is ranked at No. 15.

Villeneuve, who is in his third QMJHL season, is leading all blueliners in scoring with five goals and 27 points in 23 games.

“Xavier Villeneuve is a fascinating player,” said Button. “He patterns his game after Lane Hutson and rightfully so because he’s got all the elements. To me, he is so interesting in terms of what he could become.”

Tappara centre Oliver Suvanto is a player who made a big jump on Button’s list this month.

Rising from No. 21 in September to No. 8, Button says Suvanto has a strong understanding of what is needed in a game at a given time.

“He’s got this quality of ‘Oh, you need a play? I’ll give you a play,’” said Button. “He’s got a massive edge to him too. He’s a good player.”

Suvanto has two goals and six points in 24 games playing in the SM-Liiga this season.

Another centre who has impressed Button this season is Cooper Williams of the Saskatoon Blades, who comes in at No. 19.

Williams was the second-leading rookie scorer in the WHL last season after Everett’s Landon DuPont with 57 points. This season, he has 10 goals and 21 points in 23 games for Saskatoon.

“I think Cooper Williams is like Ryan O’Reilly,” said Button. “That strong, hard, smart, two-way centre. Every winning team has a player like that.”

One player who has yet to suit up this season is Finnish forward Oscar Hemming. Last season, he had 35 goals with 63 points in 31 games with Kiekko-Espoo’s U18 squad.

Hemming has been caught in what Button calls a “legal quagmire” as there are issues over where the 17-year-old is eligible to play this season. Despite that, Button has him at No. 10 on his list.

“Watching him prior to this season, he’s too good,” said Button. “He’s got too many attributes, too many areas of his game where the impact is significant. I think the most important thing for Oscar is he just needs to play.”

Craig’s List – Nov. 24

RKPlayer
 TeamPosHTWTGPGP1Gavin McKennaPenn State (NCAA)LW5′11170164182Ivar StenbergFrolunda (SHL)LW5′11183215203Keaton VerhoeffNorth Dakota (NCAA)D6′3 ½20812484Juho PiiparinenTappara (SM Liiga Jr)D6′120120025Chase ReidSault Ste. Marie (OHL)D6′2 ¼1882510286Carson CarelsPrince George (WHL)D6′1 ½189236247Ethan BelchetzWindsor (OHL)LW6′52282316288Oliver SuvantoTappara (SM Liiga Jr)C6′2 ¾20724269Tynan LawrenceMuskegon (USHL)C6′0 ½18521210Oscar HemmingK-Espoo (SM Liiga Jr)LW6′3 ½19311Marcus NordmarkDjurgårdens (SWE J20)LW/RW6′1 ½1801572312Alberts SmitsJokerit (SM Liiga)D6′32052361113Daxon RudolphPrince Albert (WHL)D6′2 ¼2062161714Ryan LinVancouver (WHL)D5′111772452815Xavier VilleneuveB-Boisbriand (QMJHL)D5′111622352716Caleb MalhotraBrantford (OHL)C6′1 ¼18223102917Egor ShilovVictoriaville (QMJHL)C6′0 ½17723113118Nikita KlepovSaginaw (OHL)RW5′11 ½17824143319Cooper WilliamsSaskatoon (WHL)C6′0 ¼16623102120Ilia MorozovMiami-Ohio (NCAA)C6′2 ½1971261121Pierce MbuyiOwen Sound (OHL)LW5′1016026143522Viggo BjorckDjurgårdens (SWE J20)C/RW5′9177193723Adam NovotnyPeterborough (OHL)LW6′120424142624JP HurlburtKamloops (WHL)LW5′11 ¾18525184425Mathis PrestonSpokane (WHL)C5′10 ¾1772181726Malte GustafssonHV71 (SWE J20)D6′4 ¼200133927Ryan RoobroeckNiagara (OHL)LW6′2 ¾21522122228Elton HermanssonModo (SWE J20)RW6′1181122829Jack HextallYoungstown (USHL)C5′11 ¾1882171830Thomas VandenbergOttawa (OHL)C5′11 ½1791671331Beckham EdwardsSarnia (OHL)C/LW6′0 ¾1822391932William HakanssonLulea (SHL)D6′4 ½207200233Adam ValentiniMichigan (NCAA)C5′9 ¼1901651634Vilho VanhataloTappara (SM Liiga Jr.)RW6′31872191635Niklas Aaram-OlsenOrebro (SWE J20)LW6′018416112036Alexander CommandOrebro (SWE J20)C6′118316112337Victor PlanteUSA NTDP (USHL)LW5′9 ¼1632191938Alessandro Di IorioSarnia (OHL)C6′0 ¼18863639Filip NovakPrague (CZE Jr.)C6′11982182340Nikita ShcherbakovNeftekamsk (VHL)D6′5187180441Liam RuckMedicine Hat (WHL)RW5′11 ¾1762582442Braidy WassilynLondon (OHL)LW5′1119418111943Jakub VanecekTri-City (WHL)D6′1 ½1912151444Jaxon CoverLondon (OHL)RW6′1 ½1802361945Markus RuckMedicine Hat (WHL)C5′11 ½1672562746Gleb PugachyovN. Novgorod (MHL)RW6′31982061647Giorgios PantelasBrandon (WHL)D6′22142221548Casey MutrynUSA NTDP (USHL)C/RW6′32002151349Frantisek PoletinPelicans (SM Liiga Jr.)G6′119041.97.91050Aleksei VlasovVictoriaville (QMJHL)LW5′917623163051Brooks RogowskiOshawa (OHL)C6′72321951552Oscar HolmertzLinkoping (SWE J20)C6′01871951753Joe IginlaEdmonton (WHL)RW5′1017526102054Chase HarringtonSpokane (WHL)LW6′0 ½1952271655Mikey BerchildUSA NTDP (USHL)LW5′9 ¾1801851356Landon NyczU-Amherst (NCAA)D6′2201151257Blake ZielinskiDes Moines (USHL)C5′11 ½1881831558Adam NemecHK Nitra (SVK)LW6′11862121159Landon HafeleGreen Bay (USHL)C5′11 ¼1851761760Samu AlalauriPelicans (SM Liiga Jr.)D6′1 ½2031931061Vladimir DraveckyBrantford (OHL)D5′111892341662Zach JovanovskiGuelph (OHL)G6′3187193.83.88263Luke SchairerUSA NTDP (USHL)D6′3196210564Colin FitzgeraldPeterborough (OHL)C6′2 ¼21124613