Joe's Reaction of the Week: An Emotionally Updated Top Five Mock Draft
The top of the 2026 draft board is shifting—and the Rangers could be the biggest beneficiaries. Here's how five picks could break perfectly for New York.
Things are starting to heat up as we move closer and closer to the 2026 NHL Draft. That's not atypical, but this year's draft board seems to be shaken up in ways we weren't really expecting.
Coming into the draft cycle, the top two prospects seemed to be set—Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg, in that order—and then a mix of mostly defenseman to round out the top 10.
However, the foundation is starting to shift a little, and things seem to be changing. Granted the instigating events of this article are reactionary to things that might just be normal smoke screens, but I will say this again (and bold it for good measure): This is a reactive piece to some information coming out that might be nothing more than smoke screens, or the normal cost of doing business.
To break this up, I am going to do a top-five mock here, and then a "Rangers only speculation" next week for the 26th overall pick.
1) Toronto Maple Leafs - Gavin McKenna, Left Wing
There has been some smoke that this isn't completely locked up, but I just don't believe it. I know the 51 points in 35 NCAA games feels like a massive drop off from the 129 points he posted in the WHL last year (to say nothing of his 38 points in 16 playoff games on top of that), but I don't think people full recognize how good college hockey has gotten. The NCAA is not juniors. It's a much more structured and defensive league, and his metrics were fantastic. He's the top pick here for me still.
