2026 NHL Mock Draft: Debut

Round 1 Picks 17-31

Chris Ransom follow @DraftUtopia Last Updated: August 9, 2025.

17. Winnipeg Jets: Chase Reid, D, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
    
    
    Winnipeg needs more bodies on the blue line besides Josh Morrissey and Neal Pionk. This team was 1.6 seconds away from losing to the St. Louis Blues in the first round because of this before tying that game 7 and winning in overtime before losing to Dallas in the next round. Winnipeg added Jonathan Toews at center to compliment Adam Lowry, Vladislav Namestnikov, and Mark Scheifele. Meanwhile Winnipeg should have Kyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi back as the first line wingers. Cole Perfetti will be the second line left winger replacing Nioklaj Ehlers with Gustav Nyquist moving to second line right winger where Perfetti played. Colby Barlow should be in the NHL as a third line left winger with Nino Neidereitter on the fourth line. I believe Winnipeg has one of the NHL's bottom 10 defensive pairings, but they are deeper at both center and left winger. As long as Connor Hellebuyck stays healthy at goalie with the two time Vezina Trophy winner back at goalie, it's hard to argue that Winnipeg misses the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs even if the team regresses due to poor defensive play.
    
    
    
    Teams with complete lines at forward and defenseman will give Winnipeg their best this season. Sascha Boudemine could be a good second line defensemen down the road, but he's still developing at Boston University.
    
    
    
    One guy whose still on the board that may end up going a lot higher than where I am mocking him is Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds defenseman Chase Reid as the Greyhounds seventh round pick in the 2023 OHL Draft has defied team expectatins for a seventh round OHL Draft pick with a few scouting services putting him in the top 10 of their NHL Draft boards.
    
    
    
    Chase Reid has the speed, explosion, burst, agility, skating, playmaking, passing, vision, offensive awareness, defensive awareness, and hockey IQ to succeed in the NHL. Chase Reid needs to develop his shot with both his wrist shot and his slap shot in terms of shooting power as well as shooting accuracy with both shots, but he's probably the best shot blocking defenseman in the 2026 NHL Draft outside of Keaton Verahoeff and Daxon Rudolph.
    
    
    
    Chase Reid played on the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds third line, second line, and first line. He spent most games on the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds second line, but was the number one first line defenseman in the game I watched on Prospect Shifts. Chase Reid has the floor of a third line defenseman and the ceiling of a first line defenseman making Chase Reid my seventeenth player with first line potential in the 2026 NHL Draft. I would say Reid is closer to his ceiling than his floor from what I saw on tape, but his best fit would be to go to a team where he can start as a second line defenseman and then earn the right to play on the top line if he exceeds expectations.
    
    
    
    The 6-2 185 Chase Reid had 7 goals, 33 assists, 40 points, 32 penalty minutes, and a +4 +/- ratio in 39 OHL games in 2024-2025. Chase Reid had 0 goals, 3 assists, and 3 points in 5 games during the 2025 OHL Playoffs.
    
    
    
    Chase Reid was Brady Martin's quarterback on the power play. Reid is probably my favorite quarterback on the power play outside of Keaton Verhoeff, Ryan Lin, Daxon Rudolph, and Xavier Villeneuve with five excellent quarterbacks on the power play in terms of defenseman. I had three defensemen in my top 10 with Villenueve as my fourth defensemen thinking the drop off for defenseman would start after Villeneuve, but Chase Reid really impressed me on tape against the North Bay Battalion. Chase Reid had me thinking why did I mock this guy so low at 17 what the hell is wrong with me.
    
    
    
    There are two reasons why Chase Reid fell to 17. First the shooting needs to be fixed with wrist shot power, wrist shot accuracy, slap shot power, nd slap shot accuracy all being areas of improvement. Second he's got two more OHL seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyounds before he enrolls at Michigan State in 2027. Even if an NHL team loves Chase Reid, he will not be in the NHL until 2028 at the earliest. With the amount of star power in the top half of the 2026 NHL Draft there's a chance a team would rather draft a guy that can play in the NHL by 2026 or 2027 versus a guy that will not be in the NHL until 2028.
    
    
    
18. New York Rangers: Beckham Edwards, C, Sarnia Sting (OHL)
    
    
    The New York Rangers get the earlier of the Carolina Hurricanes two first round picks either Carolina's 2026 first round pick or the Dallas Stars 2026 first round pick for trading K'Andre Miller to Carolina. Carolina has the fowards and goaltending to get back to the playoffs, but I don't see K'Andre Miller being a upgrade over Brent Burns since he's a second line defenseman. I also think Carolina will struggle defensively on their second and third lines relying heavily on their goalie and forwards to win them games. I gave the New York Rangers Sarnia Sting center Beckham Edwards which means the Carolina Hurricanes get the Dallas Stars 2026 first round pick in this mock draft.
    
    
    
    Beckham Edwards was the Sarnia Sting's 2024 third round pick as Beckham Edwards has the versatility to play all three forward roles at left winger, center, and right winger. Beckham Edwards outperformed Alessandro Di Iorio who was drafted second overall by the Sanria Sting in the 2024 OHL Draft. Not only did Beckham Edwards get more points than Alessandro Di Iorio, he also played more games with the Sarnia Sting on the first line last year in his plus 1 year.
    
    
    
    Beckham Edwards has the speed, explosion, burst, versatility, agility, skating, foot speed, playmaking, passing, sniping, wrist shot power, wrist shot accuracy, slap shot power, slap shot accuracy, vision, offensive awareness, defensive awareness, and hockey IQ to succeed in the NHL. Beckham Edwards has the floor of a third line forward at center as well as left winger with the ceiling of a first line forward at center as well as left winger makign Beckham Eddwards the eighteenth player with first line potential in the 2026 NHL Draft.
    
    
    
    The 6-1 181 lb Beckham Edwards had 25 goals, 20 assists, and 45 points in 62 OHL games in 2024-2025. Beckham Edwards can play any forward role, but I believe he will end up playing center in the NHL.
    
    
    
    
    
19. New York Rangers: Carson Carels, D, Prince George Cougars (WHL)
    
    
    Carson Carels is someone who could replace K'Andre Miller with the pick that the New York Rangers own since the New York Rangers opted to send their 2025 first round pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins with Adam Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov on the first line. Carson Carels was drafted fifteenth overall by the Prince George Cougars in the 2023 WHL Draft.
    
    
    
    Carson Carels has the speed, explosion, burst, agility, skating, playmaking, passing, vision, offensive awareness, defensive awareness, and hockey IQ to succeed in the NHL. Carson Carels needs to develop his shot with both his wrist shot and his slap shot in terms of shooting power as well as shooting accuracy with both shots, but he's probably the best shot blocking defenseman in the 2026 NHL Draft outside of Keaton Verahoeff, Daxon Rudolph, and Chase Reid.
    
    
    
    The 6-2 194 lb Carson Carels had 6 goals, 29 assists, 35 points, 42 penalty minutes, a +22 +/- ratio iin 60 WHL games with the Prince George Cougars in 2024-2025. Carson Carels had 1 goal, 3 assists, and 4 points in 7 games in the 2025 WHL Playoffs.
    
    
    
    Carson Carels has the floor of a third line defenseman and the ceiling of a first line defenseman. Like with Chase Reid, Carson Carels is closer to his ceiling than his floor and is the ninteenth different player with first line potential in the 2026 NHL Draft.
    
    
    
    If New York can find a way to get one of the top seven defenseman in the 2026 NHL Draft to replace K'Andre Miller it will do wonders for the New York Rangers. The New York Rangers could compete for a Stanley Cup Finals appearance as early as 2028 and as late as 2030 with the core they have as long as Chris Drury stays patient with his core players.
    
    
    
20. St. Louis Blues: Joe Iginla, RW, Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)
    
    
    St. Louis has a well rounded roster for the most part. This gives the St. Louis Blues the luxury to draft for value over need at 20. Joe Iginla is the younger brother of 2024 first round pick Tij Iginla who was drafted sixth overall by Utah and the youngest son of former NHL player Jarome Iginla. The Edmonton Oil Kings drafted Joe Iginla twelfth overall in the 2023 WHL Draft.
    
    
    
    Joe Iginla has the speed, explosion, burst, agility, skating, playmaking, passing, shooting, sniping, wrist shot power, wrist shot accuracy, slap shot power, slap shot accuracy, vision, offensive awareness, and hockey IQ to succeed in the NHL. Joe Iginla needs to improve his defensive awareness, but he is the twentieth player with potential to play on first line in the 2026 NHL Draft as Joe Iginla has the floor of a third line right winger and the ceiling of a first line right winger.
    
    
    
    The 5-10 166 lb Joe Iginla only had 9 goals, 7 assists, and 16 points in 61 WHL games with the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2024-2025. Joe Iginla had 0 goals, 0 assists, and 0 points in 3 games in the 2025 WHL Playoffs. Joe Iginla can hit shots in the upper corner of the goalie net just like Anton Frondell. Not only does Iginla do that, he did that in a game on film against the eventual WHL Champion Medicine Hat Tigers. Also Tij Iginla had 18 points before he popped with 84 points in his draft year. I'm putting zero stock into Joe Iginla having only 16 points because like Tij, I believe Joe Iginla ends up popping in his draft year with a 70 to 80 point season incoming for Joe Iginla in his draft year.
    
    
    
    
    
21. Boston Bruins: Landon Nycz, D, Massachusetts
    
    
    Boston owns the Toronto Maple Leafs 2026 first round pick thanks to the Brandon Carlo trade that sent Carlo from Boston to Toronto. Boston goes for a defenseman with this pick as this draft only has one more defenseman with experience on a first line. Landon Nycz got drafted by the Waterloo Blackhawks, but was traded to the Sioux City Musketeers.
    
    
    
    Landon Nycz has the speed, explosion, burst, agility, skating, playmaking, passing, vision, offensive awareness, defensive awareness, and hockey IQ to succeed in the NHL. Landon Nycz needs to develop his shot with both his wrist shot and his slap shot in terms of shooting power as well as shooting accuracy with both shots. Landon Nycz has the floor of a third line defenseman given his time with the Waterloo Blackhawks and the ceiling of a first line defenseman if you watch his tape on the Sioux City Musketeers. I believe Landon Nycz is closer to his ceiling than his floor as he is the twenty first player with first line potential in the 2026 NHL Draft.
    
    
    
    The 6-2 201 lb Landon Nycz had 8 goals, 18 assists, 31 penalty minutes, and a +13 +/- ratio in 56 USHL games in 2024-2025. Landon Nycz had 0 goals, 1 assist, and 1 point in 3 games during the 2025 USHL Playoffs. Landon Nycz` was the only defender I watched on tape outside of Keaton Verhoeff to go two periods without giving up a goal on tape as Landon Nycz is going to Massachusetts to play college hockey in 2025.
    
    
    
22. Vancouver Canucks: Simon Katolicky, LW, Tappara (SM Liiga)
    
    
    Evander Kane only has one year on his contract and drafting a future second line left winger makes a lot of sense for Vancouver. Simon Katolicky looked great in the film I saw, but despite playing in Finland he was born in the Czech Republic with one person calling him the best skater in the Czech Republic since Jaromir Jagr.
    
    
    
    Simon Katolicky has the speed, explosion, burst, agility, skating, playmaking, passing, shooting, sniping, wrist shot power, wrist shot accuracy, slap shot power, slap shot accuracy, vision, offensive awareness, defensive awareness, and hockey IQ to succeed in the NHL. Simon Katolicky has the floor of a first line left winger in the AHL and ceiling of a first line left winger in the NHL making Simon Katolicky the twenty second player with first line potential in the 2026 NHL Draft.
    
    
    
    The 6-4 198 lb Simon Katolicky had 24 goals, 28 assists, and 52 points in 30 games with the Tappara Under 18 Team as their first line left winger. He will play on the Tappara Under 20 Team this Fall and has a shot to get promoted to Tappara's main roster in Liiga with a strong performance on Tappara's Under 20 Team. Simon Katolicky models his game after Matthew Tkachuk on the Florida Panthers.
    
    
    
    
    
23. Washington Capitals: Pierce Mbuyi, LW, Owen Sound Attack (OHL)
    
    
    Pierce Mbuyi was drafted seventh overall by the Owen Sound Attack in the 2024 OHL Draft. Pierce Mbuyi was a player I wasn't enamored with entering the OHL as I gave the Owen Sound Attack a B+ grade instead of an A+ grade when they drafted him, but he's lived up to the draft hype with a strong rookie season and looks like someone that is a strong bet to get picked in the back end of the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft.
    
    
    
    Pierce Mbuyi has the speed, explosion, burst, agility, skating, playmaking, passing, shooting, sniping, wrist shot power, wrist shot accuracy, slap shot power, slap shot accuracy, vision, offensive awareness, defensive awareness, and hockey IQ to succeed in the NHL. Pierce Mbuyi has the floor of a third line left winger in the NHL and ceiling of a first line left winger in the NHL making Pierce Mbuyi the twenty third player with first line potential in the 2026 NHL Draft.
    
    
    
    The 5-10 153 lb Pierce Mbuyi had 29 goals, 23 assists, 52 points, 46 penalty minutes, and a +8 +/- ratio in 63 OHL games in 2024-2025. Pierce Mbuyi had 1 goal, 1 assists, and 2 points in 4 games in the 2025 OHL Playoffs. Pierce Mbuyi lined up as a first line left winger in one game recording a hat trick by scoring 3 goals in the first period. Pierce Mbuyi is the only player to do this in the 2026 NHL Draft unless Gavin McKenna also managed to do this with the Medicine Hat Tigers in the WHL last year.
    
    
    
24. Minnesota Wild: Elton Hermansson, RW, Modo Hockey (Elitserien)
    
    
    Elton Hermansson is the son of Lennart Hermansson who had a 17 year career as a professional hockey player in Sweden. Elton Hermansson has the versatility to play both right winger and left winger even though right winger is his main position. Minnesota can draft Elton Hermansson to be a right winger of the future on either the first or second line.
    
    
    
    Elton Hermansson has the speed, explosion, burst, agility, versatility, skating, playmaking, passing, shooting, sniping, wrist shot power, wrist shot accuracy, slap shot power, slap shot accuracy, vision, offensive awareness, and hockey IQ to succeed in the NHL. Elton Hermansson needs to improve his defensive awareness, but he is the twenty fourth player with potential to play on first line in the 2026 NHL Draft as Elton Hermansson has the floor of a third line right winger and the ceiling of a first line right winger.
    
    
    
    The 6-1 181 lb Elton Hermansson had 17 goals, 19 assists, and 36 points in 41 games with Orebro HK's Under 20 Team in 2024-2025. Elton Hermansson will play on Modo Hockey's Under 20 Team this upcoming season.
    
    
    
    
    
25. Columbus Blue Jackets: Arseni Ilyin, LW, SKA Saint Petersburg (KHL)
    
    
    Ottawa and Columbus are the two teams that I picked to advance past the first round in the Eastern Conference this year. Columbus has a first round pick and Ottawa does not.
    
    
    
    Columbus gets a left winger to stash and develop for the future. Arseni Ilyin is the top Russian prospect in the 2026 NHL Draft and he has the versatility to play both winger roles at left winger and right winger.
    
    
    
    Arseni Ilyin has the speed, explosion, burst, agility, versatility, skating, playmaking, passing, shooting, sniping, wrist shot power, wrist shot accuracy, slap shot power, slap shot accuracy, vision, offensive awareness, defensive awareness, and hockey IQ to succeed in the NHL. Arensi Ilyin is the twenty fifth player with potential to play on first line in the 2026 NHL Draft as Arseni Ilyin has the floor of first line left winger in the AHL and the ceiling of a first line right winger in the NHL.
    
    
    
    The 6-2 181 lb Arseni Ilyin had 9 goals, 7 assists, 16 points, 10 penalty minutes, and a +4 +/- ratio in 40 games with SKA Saint Petersburg's MHL team in 2024-2025.
    
    
    
    
    
26. Los Angeles Kings: Cooper Williams, C, Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
    
    
    The Los Angeles Kings can win a playoff series if they avoid drawing Edmonton in the first round with the team they have. Something tells me they play someone other than Edmonton in the first round as I have the Oilers and Kings as the top two teams in the Pacific Division next season.
    
    
    
    Los Angeles drafts a successor to Anze Kopitar here. One center that has wowed me early in the draft process that could be a late first round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft is Saskatoon Blades center Cooper Williams.
    
    
    
    Cooper Williams has the speed, explosion, burst, agility, skating, playmaking, passing, shooting, sniping, wrist shot power, wrist shot accuracy, slap shot power, slap shot accuracy, vision, offensive awareness, defensive awareness, and hockey IQ to succeed in the NHL. Cooper Williams has the floor of a first line center in the AHL and ceiling of a first line center in the NHL making Cooper Williams the twenty sixth player with first line potential in the 2026 NHL Draft.
    
    
    
    The 6-0 150 lb Cooper Williams had 21 goals, 36 assists, 57 points, 24 penalty minutes, and a +19 +/- ratio in 68 WHL games in 2024-2025 as the Saskatoon Blades first line center. Cooper Williams had 0 goals, 2 assists, and 2 points in 4 games in the 2025 WHL Playoffs. Cooper Williams has two more seasons of eligibility in the WHL before he goes to the NCAA to play for North Dakota in 2027. Cooper Williams can be an asset for the NHL team that drafts him, but he will not be an asset until 2028 at the earliest and may not make the NHL until 2028 at the latest if Williams plays three years at North Dakota after his time in the WHL as Williams showed flashes of Connor Bedard and Nate Mackinnon in his rookie WHL season. I don't think Williams will be as good as those two, but Williams showed similar traits as those two on tape.
    
    
    
27. New York Islanders: Nils Bartholdsson, RW, Rogle BK (Elitserien)
    
    
    The New York Islanders got this 2026 first round pick from the Colorado Avalanche in the Brock Nelson trade. Colorado is three lines deep at forward, three lines deep at defenseman, and has a quality goalie but Colorado is not four lines deep at forward and they do not have a top 5 goalie in the league like the best team in the Central Division that has had their number three times this decade since 2020. Unfortunately that matters against a team like the Dallas Stars which is the team Colorado avoided when winning the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals. Even if Colorado won the Central Division they would probably still lose to Dallas in 7 games in overtime in a 4 to 3 high scoring contest while Dallas would beat Colorado in 5 or 6 games with Jason Robertson and Miro Heiskanen at full health. The gap between the Stars and Avalanche is that wide with or without Peter DeBoer. Let's get back to the New York Islanders since they own this draft pick from the Colorado Avalanche.
    
    
    
    Nils Bartholdsson on Rogle BK is one of the best right wingers from Sweden in the 2026 NHL Draft. Most have him projected at the end of the second round right now, but he's a player who could end up creeping into the late first round by the time the 2026 NHL Draft rolls around.
    
    
    
    Nils Bartholdsson has the speed, explosion, burst, agility, skating, playmaking, passing, shooting, sniping, wrist shot power, wrist shot accuracy, slap shot power, slap shot accuracy, vision, offensive awareness, defensive awareness, and hockey IQ to succeed in the NHL. Nils Bartholdsson has the floor of a first line right winger on an AHL team and the ceiling of a first line right winger on an NHL team making him the twenty seventh player in the 2026 NHL Draft with first line potential in the 2026 NHL Draft.
    
    
    
    The 5-10 174 lb Nils Bartholdsson had 15 goals, 22 assists, 37 points, 39 penalty minutes, and a +2 +/- ratio in 39 games with the Rogle BK Under 20 Team in 2024-2025. Nils Bartholdsson had 2 goals, 2 assists, and 4 points in 6 playoff games.
    
    
    
    
    
28. New Jersey Devils: Maddox Dagenais, C, Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
    
    
    Last year I only had five teams in consideration for the 2025 Stanley Cup with the Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils, and Florida Panthers among that group of five with Florida needing to make a couple of splashes at the trade deadline to have a shot at repeating. Colorado replaces Toronto as that fifth best team for me in 2026, but I don't think they are as complete as New Jersey, Dallas, Edmonton, or Florida when those four are fully healthy. I had New Jersey making the Eastern Conference Finals last year too only to lose to Toronto in the preseason and get the growing pains experience of losing in the conference finals. This year the New Jersey Devils might get that Eastern Conference Finals growing pains expereince. Most have Carolina coming out of the Metropolitan Division again, but I believe New Jersey and Columbus are the two best teams in the Metropolitan Division when fully healthy that have the best chance to make a run to the Eastern Conference Finals and push a team like Florida to 7 games like Toronto did last year before losing to Florida in 7.
    
    
    
    New Jersey has two centers that are UFA's in 2027 and Dawson Mercer is an RFA in 2027 with Jack Hughes as the only center under contract for 2027 at the moment. Drafting the best center on the board and reloading at center is the smartest play the New Jersey Devils can make if they keep their 2026 first round pick. The top center available is Maddox Dagenais the Quebec Remparts center. Maddox Dagenais was drafted first overall by the Quebec Remparts in the 2024 QMJHL Draft.
    
    
    
    Maddox Dagenais has the speed, explosion, burst, agility, skating, playmaking, passing, shooting, sniping, wrist shot power, wrist shot accuracy, slap shot power, slap shot accuracy, vision, offensive awareness, defensive awareness, and hockey IQ to succeed in the NHL. Maddox Dagenais has the floor of a third line center on an NHL team and the ceiling of a first line center on an NHL team making him the twenty eighth player in the 2026 NHL Draft with first line potential in the 2026 NHL Draft. The 2025 NHL Draft had 28 players with first line experience while the 2026 NHL Draft had 28 players with first line potential making this the strongest NHL Draft class since the Connor McDavid draft back in the 2015 NHL Draft.
    
    
    
    The 6-4 196 lb Maddox Dagenais had 12 goals, 14 assists, and 26 points in 43 QMJHL games in 2024-2025. Maddox Dagenais had 0 goals, 0 assists, and 0 points in 4 games in the 2025 QMJHL Playoffs.
    
    
    
29. Carolina Hurricanes: Tomas Chrenko, C, HK Nitra (Tipos)
    
    
    Carolina owns the Dallas Stars 2026 first round pick thanks to the Mikko Rantanen trade. If Dallas can avoid the Edmonton Oilers or the Florida Panthers, this may be their year to win their first Stanley Cup with this core and their first Stanley Cup since 1999. For now, I got Dallas slotted in the same draft spot as last year with Carolina picking here.
    
    
    
    Carolina has the forwards and defensemen to compete for a Stanley Cup on a year to year basis. They do not have a defenseman outside of Jaccob Slavin that commands respect as I believe K'Andre Miller is a huge downgrade over Brent Burns. There are some good second and third line defenseman, but I think Carolina will opt for best player on their board over a defenseman, especially if there is a player that has interviewed well still on the board at 29.
    
    
    
    Tomas Chrenko has the speed, explosion, burst, agility, versatility, skating, playmaking, passing, shooting, sniping, wrist shot power, wrist shot accuracy, slap shot power, slap shot accuracy, vision, offensive awareness, defensive awareness, and hockey IQ to succeed in the NHL. Tomas Chrenko may not be a top line forward, but he interviewed extremely well and his interview will get him drafted somewhere in the first round. Tomas Chrenko could end up going a lot higher than this.
    
    
    
    The 5-11 170 lb Tomas Chrenko had 2 goals, 7 assists, and 9 points in 26 games in Tipos against the best men in Slovakia in 2024-2025. His father of the same name played professionally in Slovakia.
    
    
    
    
    
30. San Jose Sharks: Marcus Nordmark, RW, Djurgardens IF (Elitserien)
    
    
    San Jose owns the Edmonton Oilers 2026 first round pick. San Jose can either double dip at defenseman or get a fourth line right winger to round out their core of forward prospects. I have San Jose doing the latter of those two and getting their fourth line right winger of the future with this pick.
    
    
    
    Marcus Nordmark has the speed, explosion, burst, agility, versatility, skating, playmaking, passing, shooting, sniping, wrist shot power, wrist shot accuracy, slap shot power, slap shot accuracy, vision, offensive awareness, defensive awareness, and hockey IQ to succeed in the NHL. Marcus Nordmark has the floor of a fourth line right winger and the ceiling of a second line right winger meaning he could develop into the final fourth line right winger San Jose needs.
    
    
    
    The 6-1 183 lb Marcus Nordmark had 9 goals, 9 assists, 18 points, 10 penalty minutes, and a +17 +/- ratio in 17 games with the Djurgradens IF Under 20 Team. Marcus Nordmark also had 3 goals, 1 assist, and 4 points in 5 playoff games.
    
    
    
31. Chicago Blackhawks: Adam Valentini, C, Michigan
    
    
    Chicago owns the Florida Panthers first round pick in large part due to the Seth Jones trade. Chicago takes a hometown guy that played on the Chicago Steel even though he joins the Kitchener Rangers this fall. Many USHL scouts had Adam Valentini graded as the best player in the 2024 USHL Draft outside of Mikey Berhchild. Adam Valentini was also a first round pick in the 2024 OHL Draft drafted by the Mississauga Steelheads who later became the Brampton Steelheads.
    
    
    
    Adam Valentini has the speed, explosion, burst, agility, versatility, skating, playmaking, passing, shooting, sniping, wrist shot power, wrist shot accuracy, slap shot power, slap shot accuracy, vision, offensive awareness, defensive awareness, and hockey IQ to succeed in the NHL. Adam Valentini may not be a top line forward, but he interviewed extremely well and his interview will get him drafted somewhere in the first round as this is a guy with top end speed who emphasized working on his strength.
    
    
    
    The 5-11 185 lb Adam Valentini had 52 goals, 82 assists, and 134 points in 57 games with the Toronto Marlboros Under 16 AAA Team in 2023-2024. Adam Valentini had 17 goals, 22 assists, and 39 points with the Chicago Steel in 2024-2025. Adam Valentini was going to play for the Kitchener Rangers this season in the OHL, but he decommitted from them to go to the NCAA to play for Michigan. He heads to Michigan in 2026. His favorite player that he looked up to was Dallas Stars center Wyatt Johnston as he also got to train with him.