This Thursday, in Lapointe’s Echos, we will be looking at prospects eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft. We are therefore stepping away from professional hockey news to focus on the prospects who will shape its future. The three hockey players are Gavin McKenna, Alberts Smits, and William Hakansson.

Gavin McKenna Remains the Most Talented Prospect of the 2026 NHL Draft

Please note that this text focuses on Gavin McKenna’s on-ice play and not on the criminal allegations he is facing. For more information, please visit this link.

I think that what we want most from Gavin McKenna is not necessarily for him to be more physical or more involved defensively. That would be nice, but it should not be used to unfairly diminish his overall evaluation. Obviously, the prospect will need to improve in those areas at the professional level, like Cole Caufield for example, but it will never be an integral part of his profile. What we want most is more details and refinement in his decision-making. Too often, the prospect does not finish his plays or does not properly assess the consequences of his decisions. Is it laziness, limitations in his talent, immaturity, a lack of understanding, or something else? We do not know yet, and maybe that is what scares many people when it comes to ranking him as the top prospect of the class.

When under pressure along the boards, very frequently the winger chooses to get rid of the puck hastily toward the front of the net without really looking. As if teammates were going to guess what he had in mind. Sure, it can result in chaos or an unexpected scoring chance, but most of the time it leads to a turnover. The same thing happens in the neutral zone. Gavin McKenna makes very quick touches off the boards toward the middle to help with puck progression, but it is often done without actually looking to see whether a teammate is there to receive it.

The forward has instincts that do not always align with his teammates and with what is happening around him. He somewhat underestimates the level of his opponents, and his team pays the price. In a well-oiled system with professional players, this will be easier. Nevertheless, in the NCAA, within a rather average lineup, it is not optimal. At the World Junior Championship, we saw proof that he is better when playing with talented hockey players. He looked very good alongside Michael Hage and Brady Martin. It was not perfect, but their cohesion in transition and offensively before the final was remarkable. He may be having difficulty adapting at Penn State.

The most recent games I watched of Gavin McKenna before writing this piece followed the same trend as the rest of his season. However, both individually and collectively, there was a bit more offensive finishing. We still saw unnecessary finesse and junior-style plays, but their actions were more successful. For the remainder of the season, I hope that the production will continue, but also that the elite prospect of the 2026 NHL Draft will be able to simplify his decisions somewhat and better optimize his exceptional puck skills.

Lapointe’s Echos is a recurring series of articles addressing current hockey news. The topics covered are quite broad and touch on the Montreal Canadiens, the NHL draft, the NHL, trades, social media debates, and more.

Alberts Smits is a Unique Defenseman in Liiga

I have held this Latvian in high regard since my observations last summer of his previous season. He is a complete defenseman who impresses in Finland’s top league. Liiga is not a very fascinating league to watch. It features a conservative style that favors defense and the famous “dump and chase.” Defensemen are generally not used extensively to generate offense, and the transition game is very laborious. Nevertheless, when Alberts Smits is on the ice, everything becomes a little easier for his team.

He climbed draft lists very quickly this year, reaching the top five for some observers. That is not surprising at all. He truly is a modern defenseman who thrives in all parts of the game. Not only can he be dynamic offensively, but he can also be physical defensively. We would like to see a bit more aggressiveness in his confrontations, but the flashes we see at that level suggest that it will likely come more consistently with maturity and added muscle mass.

Against adults, Alberts Smits is capable of carrying the puck from one end of the ice to the other to gain the zone along the boards or dump it in deep. A defenseman doing that is fairly common. What sets him apart is that he does it constantly. The prospect supports his plays by recovering the puck to maintain control and create offense toward the net. He is extremely dynamic when dictating the tempo in the offensive zone. The Latvian does not necessarily control opponents the way a Quinn Hughes or Lane Hutson would, but he is able to create a good amount of chaos within the defensive structure to exploit openings. I would not mind seeing him use his shot a bit more. He hits the net, but it is not necessarily a threat at this point.

I find that the young player has made gains in this area every month and has diversified his actions to deceive opponents. We see him use dekes, but also strength and straight line speed to stand out. His production, while respectable, is not outstanding, because he has not been a regular on the power play this season… strangely enough. Nevertheless, he is trusted on the penalty kill, and rightly so.

This is another area where he has taken major steps forward, especially in how he manages his man at the blue line on the backcheck and avoids being beaten by experienced attackers. This is truly a complete profile that will come off the board very early in the draft. I would not be surprised to see him as the second or third defenseman selected, competing with Chase Reid and Keaton Verhoeff—three blueliners I project as future first-pair NHL defensemen.

My colleague Simon St-Laurent published a very in-depth video analysis on Alberts Smits. You can watch it below. It is supported by numerous video clips that add a visual element to his analysis.

William Hakansson is a Sought-After NHL prototype

For the past few years, I have tried not to have a negative bias toward defensive defensemen when building my list. Say what you will, this type of blueliner is important for NHL teams. Every year, organizations prioritize certain names whose offensive projection is limited compared to recognized power-play quarterbacks at the NHL draft. David Reinbacher, Dmitri Simashev, EJ Emery, and Carter Amico are a few examples of players who were drafted higher than much more offensive rivals.

That said, in my evaluation, for a defensive specialist to rank high, he has to check several boxes beyond simply being good at shutting down opponents. William Hakansson, for example, displays many characteristics that translate well to the NHL. First and foremost, he is an aggressive Swedish defenseman who makes opponents pay the price. In the SHL, Allsvenskan, or J20 Nationell, no opponent this season has visibly enjoyed being in his bubble. The big defenseman hands out Sherwood generously. He never lets up and does everything he can to disrupt his man with his stick or his body.

The same applies along the boards, where William Hakansson limits options toward the middle and regularly hits players trying to escape to the outside with his skating. Despite his age, the Swede is able to break tackles to absorb pressure, recover pucks, and move play forward. We do not see him carry the puck a lot or play offensively, but that is simply not what he is asked to do. He is used strictly in a defensive role. Evaluating his offensive talent is quite difficult, but the rest of his game is at such a high level that I am not afraid to rank him high in my first round.

William Hakansson is consistent, sturdy, mobile, responsible, and skilled at using his edges. At the NHL level, his projection is safe. He can be placed on any pairing to support a riskier element. He is not that far from the big league. I only hope that he reaches the AHL quickly. Whether at 19 or 20 years old, I do not believe his development will be optimal in the SHL. His style is simply far removed from how the game is played there. Moreover, his offensive game will probably never be fully utilized.