{"id":574183,"date":"2026-05-13T20:39:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T20:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/574183\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T20:39:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T20:39:16","slug":"2026-nhl-draft-fastest-risers-the-hockey-writers-nhl-entry-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/574183\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 NHL Draft \u2013 Fastest Risers – The Hockey Writers – NHL Entry Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tommy Bleyl, D, Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)<\/a><\/p>\n

Alexander Command, C, \u00d6rebro HK (U20 Nationell)<\/a><\/p>\n

Wyatt Cullen, LW, USNTDP (USHL)<\/a><\/p>\n

Caleb Malhotra, C, Brantford Bulldogs (OHL)<\/a><\/p>\n

Chase Reid, D, Soo Greyhounds (OHL)<\/a><\/p>\n

Alberts \u0160mits, D, EHC Red Bull M\u00fcnchen (DEL)<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the most exciting parts about the NHL Entry Draft is seeing players who weren\u2019t on too many radars early or even late into the season become the talk of the town. Here are six of the fastest risers for the 2026 class.<\/p>\n

Tommy Bleyl, D, Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)<\/p>\n

Entering this season, Tommy Bleyl<\/a> was a C-graded prospect by NHL Central Scouting<\/a>, giving him a fourth- to fifth-round draft projection. In their final rankings<\/a>, he moved up to 17th among North American skaters\u2014he has first-round potential.<\/p>\n

Bleyl recorded 13 goals and 68 assists in the regular season, making him the top point-scoring defenseman in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) by a fairly wide margin. The 5-foot-11, 165-pound blueliner is extremely mobile and excellent on retrievals. While undersized, he has top-four, true two-way upside with game-breaking skill. He has done everything to warrant a pick in the teens, but recent mocks typically have him going in the 20s or later.<\/p>\n

Alexander Command, C, \u00d6rebro HK (U20 Nationell)<\/p>\n

Alexander Command<\/a> had the lowest possible grade in NHL Central Scouting\u2019s preliminary rankings: W, making him a sixth- or seventh-round candidate. Yet, he has worked his way up to the first round on most boards, considered a top-20 prospect by some.<\/p>\n

Command put up good numbers in Sweden\u2019s top junior league this season, with 17 goals and 27 assists in 30 games. Across 21 international contests, he recorded 21 points. This included a U18 World Championship where he produced at a point-per-game clip and won gold over Slovakia.<\/p>\n

As The Hockey Writers\u2018 Peter Baracchini noted in his prospect profile (linked at the beginning of this section), Command\u2019s completeness makes him stand out. The 17-year-old center kind of has it all: vision, a strong shot, and physicality.<\/p>\n

Wyatt Cullen, LW, USNTDP (USHL)<\/p>\n

Nobody has risen in the last few months quite like Wyatt Cullen<\/a>. He was a C-graded prospect on NHL Central Scouting\u2019s preliminary players to watch list, rose to 23rd on their midterm rankings for North American skaters, and now sits 13th on their final rankings. When all is said and done, he might be a top-10 lock for this year\u2019s draft.<\/p>\n

A lot of things make Cullen special. He\u2019s one of the most dynamic players for 2026, with high-end skating, creativity, deceptiveness, vision, hands, and puck-carrying ability. His shot can be pretty lethal, too. Beyond the skill, a growth spurt has eliminated most size concerns, allowing for some looks at the center position, and his two-way engagement is definitely there. To top it all off, if he were eight days younger, he\u2019d be eligible for the 2027 NHL Draft.<\/p>\n

Caleb Malhotra, C, Brantford Bulldogs (OHL)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not like Caleb Malhotra<\/a> came out of nowhere\u2014he was considered a first-round prospect by many before this season\u2014but he could go as high as third overall to the Vancouver Canucks<\/a> at the 2026 NHL Draft. That much was far from anticipated.<\/p>\n

\"CalebCaleb Malhotra, Brantford Bulldogs (Brandon Taylor\/ OHL Images)<\/p>\n

Malhotra scored 29 goals and added 55 assists in 67 games this season, tying him for 11th on the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) points leaderboard. In the playoffs, he upped that pace with 26 points in 15 games.<\/p>\n

As the consensus top center for this year\u2019s draft, it\u2019s hard to imagine Malhotra going any later than fifth overall. His hockey sense, skating, playmaking, and two-way play are all high-end traits. He has top-six center upside with a chance to be a 1C.<\/p>\n

Chase Reid, D, Soo Greyhounds (OHL)<\/p>\n

After spending half of last season in the North American Hockey League (NAHL), Chase Reid<\/a> has emerged as the top defenseman in the 2026 NHL Draft on most boards. To some of his more ambitious supporters, he\u2019s the No. 1 prospect, period. Many mock drafts have him going second overall to the San Jose Sharks.<\/p>\n

Reid is a complete, high-upside package. His skating, puck-carrying, and offensive toolkit are all elite, and his defensive game was really impressive this season. Reid didn\u2019t put up the most jaw-dropping offensive totals, with 48 points in 45 OHL contests, but he is more than worthy of a top-three pick.<\/p>\n

Alberts \u0160mits, D, EHC Red Bull M\u00fcnchen (DEL)<\/p>\n

Alberts \u0160mits<\/a> is another player who had a first-round case entering the season, but he has cemented himself as a top-10 pick. Though some are concerned with his hockey sense, the consensus remains that the 6-foot-3, 205-pound blueliner is one of the best in the class.<\/p>\n

As is the case with a lot of this year\u2019s top defensemen, \u0160mits is super mobile. His play style is flashy, with aggressive defense and a solid chunk of puck touches. With a booming shot to boot, he could be an elite NHLer someday.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a decent chance all six of these players are first-rounders in June, with four of them\u2014Cullen, Malohtra, Reid, and \u0160mits\u2014looking like potential top-10 selections. Just a few months ago, half of them wouldn\u2019t have even been in the first-round conversation.<\/p>\n

Free Newsletter<\/p>\n

\n Get NHL Entry Draft coverage delivered to your inbox <\/p>\n

In-depth analysis, breaking news, and insider takes – free.<\/p>\n


\n Subscribe Free \u2192
\n <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tommy Bleyl, D, Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL) Alexander Command, C, \u00d6rebro HK (U20 Nationell) Wyatt Cullen, LW, USNTDP (USHL)…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":423708,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[462],"tags":[14711,44170,39813,21431,5,4,465,466],"class_list":["post-574183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl-draft","tag-2026-nhl-entry-draft","tag-alberts-smits","tag-caleb-malhotra","tag-chase-reid","tag-hockey","tag-nhl","tag-nhl-draft","tag-nhl-entry-draft"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116569201985289820","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/574183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=574183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/574183\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/423708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=574183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=574183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=574183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}