DBTB –
We’ve come to the first Big Board of the Draft year! And this Draft is looking deeper, and more promising, than many would have expected. Since we last connected, some big events have occurred, not the least of which could impact the top of the Draft…and another item that might forever change it. So without further ado, let’s get into it.
The biggest development we’ve seen as far as the Draft Board goes is the shine coming off the Gavin McKenna coin. Top players in any draft class are always vulnerable to, what you might call, over-scouting. But McKenna’s relative struggles at Penn State, with 18P in 16 games but only 4 goals, has drawn the attention of a large number of draft nerds. He’s only the 3rd leading scorer on his club, and very nearly dropped to 4th during the last weekend of games. And what has really jumped out to people is his lack of defensive awareness and commitment. This combination of concerns led to some pundits dropping him from the top spot on their respective Boards, which was unthinkable a couple of months ago. I continue to believe he’s the best pure talent in this class, even though at times he’s struggled at even strength and in his own end. But I confess, I did start looking at some of the other names to top the Board for the first time. Can McKenna put up a strong showing at the upcoming World Juniors tournament scheduled to start in a couple of weeks? Is that enough to put him firmly back on top of the mountain? We’ll see. But it’s an interesting turn of events, if nothing else.
Speaking of World Juniors, we have a number of top prospects who should be competing in Minneapolis/St. Paul starting on December 26th. Obviously, McKenna will be the one with the brightest spotlight on him, but big Keaton Verhoeff (my #3) will make the team and likely play on the top pair. Surprisingly, Carson Carels (#8) has been invited to the Camp, and his simple, super-effective, two-way game could see him slide into 3rd pair duties if he makes the final team.
On the American side, the only draft eligible they’ll have playing is big, offensive-minded D-man Chase Reid (#5) manning the right side. The Swedes will have all-everything wing Ivar Stenberg (#2), diminutive wing Viggo Bjorck (#42) and shutdown defender Will Hakansson (#41) all playing significant roles for their club. Likewise, the Finns have a few draft-eligibles on their roster, with Oliver Suvanto (#13) and Juho Piiparinen (#30) potentially playing big roles. Stud wing Oscar Hemming (#20) is not listed on their prospective roster, possibly due to a bit of a spat with his Finnish hockey club and his attempt to break his contract to come over to North America. Politics always seems to play a role when certain players get snubbed.
The Czechs will have a couple of kids, explosive wing Adam Novotny (#11) and high-flying gunslinging defender Vlad Dravecky (#48) hitting the ice for the Czechs. Relying on a lot of kids is rarely the recipe for success at the WJC, but the Slovaks are going to give it a try with a dynamite centerman in Tomas Chrenko (#49) on the top line and physical defender Adam Goljer (#58) in their Top 4, all in front of their very dangerous goaltending. It should be another great tournament, and one where prospect followers will have plenty to watch as the tournament plays out. Some of these kids will slide, others will excel, and almost always, a player comes out of nowhere – usually a goalie – to catch everyone’s attention. That’s why I’ll do my next Mock Draft after the World Juniors.
While not as prestigious as the storied World Juniors, recently the somewhat new CHL – USHL Top Prospects series took place in Alberta. The 3-game showcase saw some of the best players in the class go head-to-head over the course of several days, with the US surprisingly coming out on top in so-called “Super OT” which made up the third game. We saw some standout performances from both sides, including Caleb Malhotra (more on him below!), big Luke Schairer (#25), Xavier Villanueve (#22), goalie Brady Knowling (#85), and blueliners Daxon Rudolph (#21) and Carson Carels (there’s that name again…#8 on my Board). It was a thriller of a performance, and one worth repeating. But will it? Can it?
The only reason I ask is the reported meetings between the CHL and the USHL about combining the two into one junior organization…or, more accurately, the CHL absorbing the USHL as its 4th division. Will it happen? I don’t know, as the NHL will have a role in making that decision, but this would change the game. An understandable fallout from NIL making US college hockey suddenly worthwhile to a lot of high-end prospects from Canada and Europe (see Gavin McKenna and Keaton Verhoeff coming to the NCAA if you don’t believe me!), the implications are fascinating. How would the Memorial Cup work? Would there be one? How would the regions be divided up? What would that mean for the US Development Program? Would it change? Would it vanish completely? Things are changing in junior hockey, at a pace they haven’t in quite a long time. The NCAA changes are only the first snowball rolling down the hill…what will happen next? A USHL/CHL partnership, feeding into the NCAA, would likely kill the Tier II leagues as far as finding any draftable players (the BCHL, CCHL, NAHL, etc.). But what other repercussions might follow is very difficult to speculate on.
While we contemplate that, let’s have a look at the prospect pool for our favorite team! We’ve seen players like Isak Rosen, Noah Ostlund, and Zach Metsa get some facetime up on the big club and acquit themselves pretty well. But others are waiting to take their place in Rochester. Of late, we’ve been focusing in on some of the more obscure choices, because why not? They are excelling and far exceeding their draft position at the moment. That said, former 1st rounder Konsta Helenius has taken off this year in Rochester, especially of late. He’s nearly at a PPG as a 19 YEAR OLD in the AHL and has 21P in his last 20 games. That’s insane. Jiri Kulich, even in his 19 or 20 year old seasons, didn’t post those kind of gaudy numbers. So I would expect Helenius to dominate at the World Juniors and get a look next season not unlike what Ostlund has gotten this year as he works into the rotation. Some really good things coming from the kid. And he’s not the only one.
Anton Wahlberg, someone the Sabres were really high on in his draft, has been getting Top 6 ice time and has responded with 2-8-10 with 35 SOG and +10 since November started. That’s 15 games, for a 21-year-old big bodied forward still getting the hang of things in the AHL. He doesn’t disappear nearly as frequently as he did last year and continues to improve game by game. He’s probably going to need another full year in ROCH after this one, but if he is still trending upwards by then, they will be hard-pressed to keep him off the roster.
Another high choice, big Radim Mrtka, has filled the role of star defender for the otherwise struggling Seattle Thunderbirds in the WHL. Showing out with 16P in 14 games, Mrtka should be a top pair defender for his home country of Czechia during the World Juniors. Much like Helenius, he should get a real showcase to shine. It would not surprise me if Mrtka is dealt around the trade deadline in the WHL to a contender like Prince George, where he would team up with the aforementioned Carson Carels to make a formidable top pairing on a very good team. Lastly, one player that Sabres fans don’t talk about very much, but we should, is local boy Gavin McCarthy. A 3rd round pick, he’s wearing the C for the #10 ranked Boston College Terriers, a team with 19 (!!!) NHL draft picks. That says something about his leadership. The kid is 5th in scoring playing on the top pair with highly-touted prospect defender Cole Hutson. This is his junior season, so the Sabres would be wise to sign him this summer, rather than risk losing him to the open market the following off-season when he would become a free agent.
One note: I know the Sabres gave up their 2nd round pick in the Cozens trade, but for the purposes of putting more names in front of my fellow DBTB’ers to consider, I’ll pretend the Sabres still have that pick for one more Mock Draft.
Lastly, let me be clear – this is not a Mock Draft, this is just MY current ranking for the 2026 NHL Draft class. It will change, maybe drastically, before all is said and done. It’s probably quite different from many of the talking heads that pontificate about the Draft, but that’s why it’s just mine and no one else’s. When I’m looking at players, I try to be objective, but the needs of the Sabres are reflected somewhat in my ranking…that’s who DBTB focuses on, and that’s who I focus on, so some of that Sabres influence will bleed into my rankings. As I consider them, I look for a few things over others: an elite aspect of their game (size/speed/shot/etc), productivity, competitiveness, and versatility. The more of those things they have, the higher they’ll be ranked relatively to their classmates. I prefer players with more complete games, and kids who make their teammates better (passing, puck support, stepping up to protect their guys, etc).
So, here’s the first iteration of my Big Board!
Top 100 Prospects
ROUND ONE:
#1: Gavin McKenna, 6’0 C/LW, NCAA
#2: Ivar Stenberg, 6’0 W, SWE
#3: Keaton Verhoeff, 6’5 RHD, NCAA
#4: Tynan Lawrence, 6’0 C, USHL
#5: Chase Reid, 6’2 RHD, OHL
#6: Caleb Malhotra, 6’1 C, OHL
#7: Marcus Nordmark, 6’1 RW, SWE
#8: Carson Carels, 6’1 LHD, WHL
#9: Alberts Smits, 6’3 LHD, FIN
#10: Ryan Lin, 5’11 RHD, WHL
#11: Adam Novotny, 6’1 W, OHL
#12: Ethan Belchetz, 6’5 LW, OHL
#13: Oliver Suvanto, 6’3 C/W, FIN
#14: Nikita Klepov, 5’11 W, OHL
#15: JP Hurlbert, 6’0 W, WHL
#16: Malte Gustafsson, 6’4 LHD, SWE
#17: Ilia Morozov, 6’3 RW, NCAA
#18: Yegor Shilov, 6’1 C, QMJHL
#19: Adam Valentini, 5’11 W, NCAA
#20: Oscar Hemming, 6’4 LW, BCHL
1#21: Daxon Rudolph, 6’2 RHD, WHL
1#22: Xavier Villaneueve, 5’11 LHD, QMJHL
1#23: Elton Hermansson, 6’1 W, SWE
1#24: Brooks Rogowski, 6’6 C/W, OHL
1#25: Ryan Roobroeck, 6’4 C, OHL
1#26: Niklas Aram-Olsen, 6’0 W, SWE
1#27: Luke Schairer, 6’2 RHD, US NTDP
1#28: Mathis Preston, 5’11 LW, WHL
1#29: Lavr Gashilov, 6’2 C, RUS
1#30: Juho Piiparainen, 6’3 RHD, FIN
1#31: Viktor Fyodorov, 6’0 C, RUS
1#32: Noah Kosick, 5’11 C, WHL
ROUND TWO:
2#33: Alex Command, 6’1 C, SWE
2#34: Jack Hextall, 6’0 C, USHL
2#35: Maddox Dagenais, 6’4 C, QMJHL
2#36: Beckham Edwards, 6’1 C, OHL
2#37: Nikita Shcherbakov 6’5 LHD, RUS
2#38: Oleg Kulebyakin, 5’11 LW, QMJHL
2#39: Blake Zielinski, 6’1 C, USHL
2#40: Giorgos Pantelas, 6’2 RHD, WHL
2#41: Will Hakansson, 6’4 LHD, SWE
2#42: Viggo Bjorck, 5’10 C/W, SWE
2#43: Thomas Vandenberg, 5’11 C, OHL
2#44: Axel Elofsson, 5’11 RHD, SWE
2#45: Landon Nycz, 6’2 LHD, NCAA
2#46: Joe Iginla, 5’10 W, WHL
2#47: Nikita Ovcharov, 6’2 RW, RUS
2#48: Vlad Dravecky, 6’1 RHD, OHL
2#49: Tomas Chrenko, 5’11 C, SVK
2#50: Pierce Mbuyi, 5’11 LW, OHL
2#51: Jaxon Cover, 6’2 LW, OHL
2#52: Olivers Murnieks, 6’1 C, QMJHL
2#53: Vilho Vanhatalo, 6’3 W, FIN
2#54: Callum Croskery, 6’0 LHD, USHL
2#55: Samu Alalauri, 6’2 RHD, FIN
2#56: Filip Novak, 6’1 RW, CZE
2#57: Ryder Cali, 6’2 C, OHL
2#58: Adam Goljer, 6’3 RHD, SVK
2#59: Jakub Frolo, 6’1 RW, CZE
2#60: Slava Fedoseyev, 6’1 RHD, RUS
2#61: Lars Steiner, 5’10 RW, QMJHL
2#62: Gleb Pugachyov, 6’3 LW, RUS
2#63: Oscar Holmertz, 6’0 C, SWE
2#64: Simas Ignatavicius, 6’3 C, SWISS
ROUND THREE:
3#65: Casey Mutryn, 6’2 C, US NTDP
3#66: Rudolf Berzkalns, 6’4 LW, USHL
3#67: Dimitri Borichev, 6’3 G, RUS
3#68: Jakub Vanecek, 6’2 LHD, WHL
3#69: Braidy Wassilyn, 5’11 C, OHL
3#70: Ola Palme, 6’1 LHD, SWE
3#71: Cooper Williams, 6’0 W, WHL
3#72: Sean Burick, 6’5 RHD, BCHL
3#73: Marcus Ruck, 6’0 C, WHL
3#74: Theodore Knights, 6’4 LHD, SWE
3#75: Adam Nemec, 6’1 W, SVK
3#76: Colin Fitzgerald, 6’2 C, OHL
3#77: Charlie Morrison, 6’3 LHD, QMJHL
3#78: Rasmus Rinne, 5’11 W, FIN
3#79: Alex Di Iorio, 6’1 C, OHL
3#80: Simon Katolicky, 6’4 W, FIN
3#81: Alexei Vlasov, 5’9 W, QMJHL
3#82: Jonas Lagerberg-Hoen, 6’2 RW, SWE
3#83: Alexei Zhukov, 6’0 W, BCHL
3#84: Cole Zurawski, 6’0 RW, OHL
3#85: Brady Knowling, 6’5 G, US NTDP
3#86: Landon Hafele, 6’0 W, USHL
3#87: Mike Berchild, 5’9 W, US NTDP
3#88: Verrti Svensk, 6’1 LHD, FIN
3#89: Will Yared, 6’2 C/RW, QMJHL
3#90: Logan Hawery, 5’10 C/W, OHL
3#91: Brayden Klimpke, 6’0 LHD, WHL
3#92: Carter Stevens, 6’1 C, OHL
3#93: Jacob Xu, 6’2 LHD, OHL
3#94: Julien Maze, 5’10 F, WHL
3#95: Wyatt Cullen, 6’0 W, US NTDP
3#96: Boris Borin, 5’11 C/W, BCHL
ROUND FOUR:
4#97: Max Sokolovsky, 6’8 LHD, OHL
4#98: Carter Casey, 6’2 G, WHL
4#99: Liam Dube, 5’10 C, SWISS
4#100: Philip Larsson, 6’1 W, SWE
Possible Haul for the Sabres
Rd1 #6: Caleb Malhotra, 6’2 C, OHL
The Sabres may want to look into a player with more potentially high-end offense, but even though some might call this choice a reach, a player like Malhotra might be a great addition to their prospect pool. Good size (6’2 180#), a center who plays every shift like its his last, Caleb is the son of former NHL’er Manny, the kind of high-compete, high-intelligence, do whatever it takes player that the Sabres have started drafting in recent years.
When you look at what the Sabres might have up the middle – Norris, Ostlund, Kulich, McLeod, Kozak, even Tage – there’s a good possibility one of them could get moved or sent out to the wing. And when you factor in Norris’ injury history and Kulich’s blood clots, adding a high-end center prospect is not a bad thing. Malhotra is someone who does everything well. He’s mature beyond his years and defends as well as he orchestrates offense. Plays with great pace, has tremendous awareness with and without the puck, and is a leader. Checks all the boxes.
First thing you notice when watching this kid is his efficiency. Rarely makes a mistake with the puck and always seems to find himself in the right place defensively. Generates a lot of offense by outthinking his opponents. Isn’t going to go end-to-end on a rush or dangle his way through a thicket of defenders and go shelf, but not unlike Zach Benson, he will beat opponents to their spot. Once there, he knows where to go with the puck before it hits his stick, and he doesn’t hesitate. Locates open players in the slot, on top of the crease, or back post without hanging onto the puck too long. Great understanding of spacing and vision to see the entire zone.
Always keeps his feet moving. Consistently stays on the right side of the puck in every zone. Is a good passer and playmaker, but not a pure goal scorer. He gets a lot of his goals through hard work and opportunism. Skating is good, but not great. Nice power in his strides, and his turns are sharp, but he’s not explosive and his short-area edgework needs some fine tuning. Still, he gets around the ice just fine and most importantly, his skating doesn’t impact his defensive game. Malhotra is, like his old man, a very advanced defensive centerman. Disruptive on the forecheck and in the Neutral Zone, has a very active stick and reads the attack like a book.
Heavy on pucks, wins more than his share of board battles and never seems out of position to deflect a shot, intercept a pass, or prevent a player from getting to their spot. Ties up loose sticks like it was second nature. Defends like a bulldog on the puck but is excellent in space and off the puck as well, where he can direct traffic and is smart enough to fill in spots where his teammates may have mistakenly vacated. Some pundits believe Malhotra is simply benefitting from playing on the CHL’s top team, one loaded with NHL draft picks, so he’s getting easy match-ups. But he was recently promoted to the 2nd line and is still producing like wildfire with 34P in 26 games.
Named the Captain of the CHL team during the CHL/USHL Top Prospects game, where he was the CHL’s leading scorer and played in all 3 games. When you watch Malhotra, you can see he’s still getting better and you could very well have a player like a Joel Eriksson Ek when he’s done, which would be very valuable in BFLO.
Rd2 #38: Oleg Kulebyakin, 5’11 LW, QMJHL
After adding a strong two-way player, the Sabres look to add another JJ Peterka, a pure scorer who could eventually help out in the Top 6. Explosive in the O-zone, this kid is a finishing machine. And the Sabres need to add some dynamic offensive punch to their prospect pool, so the fit is there. Kulebyakin has the hands and shot of a natural scorer. Hands are soft as butter. Handles all kinds of passes – behind him, in front of him, in his skates or on the heel of his stick – with ease and never seems to break stride. A lethal one-timer that he can consistently release with velocity and his hand-eye is first-rate.
Capable of dangling you all over the ice, but he rarely does too much when it comes to puck handling. A quick move, a deke, or a step to one side will free him up with enough space to find a shooting lane. He gets a lot of shots through. Knows how to create space for himself to get shots off and keep sticks off of his hands. Will shoot from anywhere. Scores goals from the goal line, from the slot, in front of the net, or top of the circles. Can really rip the puck. Generates a ton of velocity and power on his wristers, has a deadly one-timer, and snapshot has a killer release that can get the puck up in tight.
Has a lot of craft to his game, despite his young age. Has an arsenal of fakes, misdirections, and subtle moves to beat defenders or open up ice for himself. And just to be clear, he’s got some playmaker in him as well. Kulebyakin isn’t a one-trick pony. He’s in constant motion, always pursuing the puck or trying to get into position to receive it. I wouldn’t call him a puck hound, but he is a dynamo getting around the NZ or the O-zone. Pinballs off of hits and bodies always searching for the puck. Defensively, he’s not a liability, but sometimes it looks as if playing defense is a necessary evil in exchange for getting the puck on the other end.
He’s not a physical battler for the puck, nor is he willing to dig pucks out of the corners or body up players around the net. Positionally, he’s not a bad player. Is generally in the right place relatively to his position. Can intercept passes or get in the way of a rush, neutralizing it, but he’s not the first guy you look for when trying to hold a one-goal lead late in the game. Has been over in North America for a couple years now, and playing for the Mooseheads in Halifax this season, he’s been super-productive with 31P in 25 games (including 17 goals).
I could see him creep into the back of the 1st round if he continues to produce, as right now he’s 4th in scoring in the Q for draft eligibles. But for now, the Sabres take a chance on a guy who could become an explosive scorer.
Rd3 #68: Jakub Vanecek, 6’2 LHD, WHL
Already with a deep, high-end defense, they add to their wealth of blueline prospects with this smooth, two-way defender. A kid with a lot of positive attributes that is still trying to put it all together consistently, this could wind up being a steal before all is said and done. First off, Vanecek is a player who can do just about whatever you ask of him. He plays in all situations, including both special teams, and does it effectively. Not a wow kind of player, he does everything well, but at this stage he’s not really elite at anything.
Has a good frame (6’2 200#) even at just 17 years old. Skating is high-end. Really good explosion from stops-starts, gets up ice quickly, and changes direction smoothly. Can keep most attacking forwards to the outside with his strong backwards skating. Lateral movement allows him to maintain tight gaps from the red line back to his own goal line. Good balance makes him extremely effective in winning recoveries and puck battles, where his short-area movement really shines. Light feet. Covers a lot of ice despite not being one of those massive defenders with the long reach. More in line with a Dahlin-body type. His quick reads and quicker feet make him tough to escape from for opposing forwards and he has the technique to guide them away from the middle of the ice without having to be a physical force.
Vanecek normally finishes his checks, don’t get me wrong, but he isn’t blowing guys up or putting them through the boards. He does what is needed to separate guys from the puck or move them out of high danger areas. Quick to hold and pin the opposition to allow puck support to recover pucks along the walls. Offensively, he’s got a well-rounded game. Makes very smart decisions with the puck in all 3 zones. Rarely gives it away. Has a strong first pass out of his own end, on-time and on the tape. Panic threshold is high, can elude forecheckers with his skating and his smarts. Plays a clever puck possession game, which should endear him to the Sabres’ scouts.
Doesn’t carry the puck as much as I would like but is capable of lugging it from his own end to the O-zone when the mood strikes him. In the offensive end, Vanecek has options. He’s got a really heavy point shot that he can get through to the net more often than not. It has a lot of velocity, and it’s hard enough to discourage some opponents from trying to block it. But he also can run a PP, moving well laterally along the blue line and distributing pucks to the right players at the right times. A smart playmaker, he can find teammates from the top of the umbrella on the PP or going from the point to the goal line during even strength.
The one drawback with this kid is the fact that from game-to-game, you’re going to see the whole package, but rarely do you see it all at once. That’s some of the consistency he’s going to have to develop, and there’s plenty of time to do so, as the season wears on. The Sabres can afford to take their time with him given their defensive depth. He’s managed 15P in 25 games for Tri-City as their PP#1 QB and had a solid Hlinka for Team Czechia with 2P in 4 games. You’re looking at a Devon Toews-type of player if he hits, so that’s something that would have a ton of value for a team that is already deep on the back-end.