2026 NHL Draft Round 1: Biggest winners and losers

The first round of the 2026 NHL Draft from Buffalo, New York concluded last night. The start of the draft surprised nobody, as future generational talents were taken off the board. But, with that being said, who were the biggest winners and losers from night one?

Biggest Winners

San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks are, without a doubt, the biggest winners from the first round. As expected, the Sharks took Ivar Stenberg, a forward, from Frolunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League.

Throughout this past season leading up to the draft, Stenberg was in serious conversations revolving around him passing Gavin McKenna as the first overall selection. While that did not happen, this pick is still a home run for San Jose.

Stenberg possesses an elite blend of hockey I.Q. and overall skill that has made him an extremely fun player to watch. In his final season in the SHL, Stenberg put up 33 points (11 goals and 22 assists) in just 43 games.

Additionally, according to a scouting report from Bleacher Report, Stenberg was, for a great deal of last season, “producing at a 0.93 points-per-game rate.”

Stenberg was equally as dominant in international play. In the 2026 World Junior Championship, Stenberg posted 10 points (four goals and six assists) en route to Sweden's gold medal run.

Then, with the ninth pick, the Sharks got a steal in Keaton Verhoeff, a defenseman, from the University of North Dakota.

After an unbelievable 2024-25 campaign for the Victoria Royals of the Western Hockey League, where Verhoeff put up 21 points in 63 games as a 16 year old defense man, he decided to take advantage of the rule change that allows for WHL players to play college hockey, and he took his talents to Grand Folks, ND to be a Fighting Hawk.

While the transition to college hockey proved to be more difficult than juniors, Verhoeff still had a solid season where he used his strong offensive skill and 6’4”, 216-pound frame to put up 20 points (six goals and 14 assists) in 36 games.

The Sharks' third and final pick of the first round was Ryan Lin, a forward from the University of Denver. Much like Verhoeff, Lin had a dominant 2024-25 season in the WHL with the Vancouver Giants, tallying 57 points of his own.

Despite being undersized at 5’11” and 176lbs, Lin has a high hockey I.Q. and is strong in transition. His game will continue to develop as he will spend the 2026-27 season with the defending NCAA National Champions: The University of Denver.

These three picks only add to a star-studded list of young talent in San Jose that is headlined by 2025 first overall pick Macklin Celebrinini and Will Smith.

Toronto Maple Leafs

No surprise at all here. When you have the number one overall pick and a once-in-a-generation talent is on the board, you take him. That is exactly what the Toronto Maple Leafs did when selecting Gavin McKenna out of Penn State.

McKenna has been one of the biggest names in the hockey world since the age of 15. After having an 18-point campaign where he played not even a full season in the WHL as a member of the Medicine Hat Tigers, McKenna mania began.

During the 2023-24 season, at just 16 years old, McKenna put up a whopping 97 points (34 goals and 63 assists) in 61 games played. But, he wasn’t done yet. The following season, McKenna exploded for 129 points (41 goals and 88 assists) in, get this, five fewer games than the previous season.

With a combination of his unreal statistics, numerous viral highlights and the rule change noted earlier, McKenna decided to take his talents to the NCAA.

While many had projected him to land in one of the college hockey blue blood programs like Michigan and Michigan State, the then-17-year-old phenom took his talents to Hockey Valley to play for Guy Gadowsky’s Penn State Nittany Lions; a team that had made its first-ever Frozen Four appearance in program history the year before.

McKenna’s time as a Nittany Lion started slower than most had anticipated, but after his World Juniors performance where he posted 14 points (4 goals and ten assists), he found his footing in college.

During his lone season in the blue and white, McKenna amassed 51 points (15 goals 36 assists) and even had a game against Ohio State where he put up a program record of eight points.

Seattle Kraken

Many mock drafts had Chase Reid as the first or second defenseman to be taken off the board. But, after the Buffalo Sabres selected Daxon Rudolph fourth overall and the New York Rangers snagged Alberts Šmits with the very next pick, the Seattle Kraken front office jumped on the opportunity to select Reid.

We may never know what Reid fell to the sixth pick. But what we do know is that this pick was one of the best of the night. Reid is an extremely strong and dynamic skater with the ability to excel at different speeds. He is also a phenomenal playmaker who can be deceiving to opposing defenders at the blue line.

These traits allowed Reid to put up a strong campaign during his draft year as a member of the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), where he lived up to the hype with 18 goals and 30 assists to combine for 48 points in 45 games played.

Additionally, Reid had two goals and two assists in this past World Juniors tournament for the United States despite being mainly in the shadows of current Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson.

The exciting part for Kraken fans, Reid will continue to develop in college as a member of the Michigan State Spartans during the 2026-27 season.

The Biggest Losers

Washington Capitals

Now, the Washington Capitals' first-round selection of Oliver Suvanto, the first Finnish player selected by the Capitals in 20 years, of Liiga isn’t a horrific pick by any means, but there is concern, primarily in his offensive game.

Inconsistent is the way to describe Suvanto’s offensive play. His best offensive statistical year while playing in Liiga for Tappara came in 2024-25, when he had 11 goals and 31 assists for 42 points.

During his draft year, Suvanto only put up 11 points in 48 games for Tappara. His World Juniors performance wasn’t much better either. Through seven games in the tournament, Suvanto only had two goals and zero assists.

With that being said, Suvanto is only 17 years old and has the opportunity to make some major strides in his development. He clearly possesses a strong sense and intelligence of the game, but the gamble for the Caps is whether he will be able to put it all together.

Ottawa Senators

Don’t get me wrong, the selection of Jaxon Cover to wrap up round one is one that will prove to be incredibly underrated, but it's the Senators’ first pick that doesn’t seem to sit right.

With the 25th overall pick, Ottawa went with Jonas Lagerberg Hoen, a forward from Leksands IF U20.

The upside: Lagerberg Hoen is a strong shooter, and he has good playmaking abilities. Additionally, he has appealing size, standing at 6’2” and 190 lbs.

The downside: He only played nine games during his draft year due to injury. Consequently, he has a relatively small sample size of what he can do. Many saw him as a mid-to-late-round pick, so this is a massive gamble for the Sens.

Montreal Canadiens

Similar to the Capitals, the Montreal Canadiens' selection of Gleb Pugachyov, a forward from Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) brings a player who raises a lot of questions about his offensive consistency.

At 6’0” and 193 lbs, there is no doubt that Pugachyov has the size to make it at the NHL level. With his size and strength, Pugachyov is able to overcome opponents with his physicality and he is a good powerskater.

But the offensive production is not really there. His best season offensively came this year when representing Chaika Nizhny Novgorod of the MHL, where he scored 24 points (10 goals and 14 assists) in 33 games.

Fortunately for Pugachyov, the Canadiens were strong offensively last season. The Habs ranked seventh in the league in goals per game (3.40) and tenth overall in power play percentage (23.1%). If Pugachyov can be mentored by a player like Nick Suzuki, who led the team in points with 101, then he can make major strides and the pick will definitely pay off.

As of the writing of this article, the second day of the draft is underway. While the first day consists of far more hype, some of the biggest stars can be found on day two. Notable names that have gone on day two include Kirill Kaprizov, Nikita Kucherov and Henrik Lundqvist.

Max Malec is a second-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email mvm7264@psu.edu.