NHL Draft

2026 NHL Draft: First Round Open Thread

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Chris Feldman, Roberto Solis-Byxbee

26 Jun 2026 — 6 min read

It’s been a long wait since the New York Rangers last played a hockey game, and while we still have a long offseason to get through, one of the most exciting days of the summer is finally here.

The 2026 NHL entry draft is upon us, and there has already been chaos in the days leading up to it. So far, we’ve seen four trades on Tuesday, one of which dropping while we were recording the podcast on Tuesday night. After that, there were two on Wednesday, six on Thursday, and four up to this point today—one of which involving the Rangers.

As the excitement continues, the Rangers are set to pick twice in the first round (5th and 26th). Although, as we’ve learned this week, anything can happen. And with Vincent Trocheck, Braden Schneider, and potentially others on the trade block, the possibilities for what can transpire between now and the end of the weekend are endless. Here’s where you can catch all the action.

When: Friday, June 26, 7 p.m. (ET) start.

Where: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY

How to Watch: (ESPN, ESPN+, Sportsnet, TVA Sports)

Blueshirt Banter has you covered with plenty of pre-draft reading material that we’ll list below. However, since so much has changed in the last couple of days, Roberto and I also have you covered with one final mock draft.

Pick Position	Team	Chris’ Projection	Roberto’s Projection
1	Toronto Maple Leafs	Gavin McKenna	Gavin McKenna
2	San Jose Sharks	Ivar Stenberg	Ivar Stenberg
3	Vancouver Canucks	Caleb Malhotra	Caleb Malhotra
4	Buffalo Sabres (via Chicago)	Chase Reid	Viggo Björck
5	New York Rangers	Alberts Smits	Chase Reid
6	Calgary Flames	Carson Carels	Carson Carels
7	Seattle Kraken	Keaton Verhoeff	Alberts Smits
8	Winnipeg Jets	Viggo Bjorck	Keaton Verhoeff
9	San Jose Sharks (via Florida)	Daxon Rudolph	Daxon Rudolph
10	Nashville Predators	Tynan Lawrence	Tynan Lawrence
11	St. Louis Blues	Malte Gustafsson	Malte Gustafsson
12	New Jersey Devils	Ethan Belchetz	Nikita Klepov
13	New York Islanders	Oscar Hemming	Mathis Preston
14	Columbus Blue Jackets	Nikita Klepov	Ethan Belchetz
15	St. Louis Blues (via Detroit)	Ryan Lin	Oscar Hemming
16	St. Louis Blues (via Washington)	Wyatt Cullen	Ryan Lin
17	Los Angeles Kings	Oliver Suvanto	Alexander Command
18	Washington Capitals (via Anaheim)	Xavier Villeneuve	Wyatt Cullen
19	Utah Mammoth	Adam Novotny	Liam Ruck
20	Buffalo Sabres (via Edmonton)	Tommy Bleyl	J.P. Hurlbert
21	Philadelphia Flyers	Maddox Dagenais	Oliver Suvanto
22	Pittsburgh Penguins	Ilia Morozov	Adam Novotny
23	Boston Bruins	Alexander Command	Tommy Bleyl
24	Vancouver Canucks (via Minnesota)	Liam Ruck	Xavier Villeneuve
25	Ottawa Senators (via Tampa)	J.P. Hurlbert	Ilia Morozov
26	New York Rangers (via Dallas)	Jack Hextall	Niklas Aaram Olsen
27	San Jose Sharks (via Buffalo)	Elton Hermansson	Marcus Nordmark
28	Montreal Canadiens	Mathis Preston	William Hakansson
29	St. Louis Blues (via Colorado)	Marcus Nordmark	Maddox Dagenais
30	Calgary Flames (via Vegas)	Ben Macbeath	Jack Hextall
31	Carolina Hurricanes	Niklas Aaram-Olsen	Elton Hermansson
32	Ottawa Senators	Ryan Roobroeck	Tobias Trejbal