We are still a ways away from the 2026 NHL draft, with plenty to be decided in the lead-up over the next 10 months.
The 2025 draft class was widely regarded as somewhat of a weaker crop of players, particularly when compared to what was coming in 2026. Any of the top five or six players in next year’s class could have made a case to go first overall instead of Matthew Schaefer in 2025, so there’s no need to fret over not winning the lottery.
That being said, whichever team is lucky enough to land the number one pick in 2026 will have hit the jackpot.
Superstar forward prospect Gavin McKenna has captured the attention of the hockey world with his dominance and production as a teenager, and according to NHL prospect analyst Scott Wheeler of The Athletic, the 17-year-old remains the clear-cut best player in his draft class.
“McKenna is a captivating offensive winger who just had one of the most productive age-adjusted seasons in modern CHL history last season,” Wheeler wrote. “When he’s on the ice, the talent divide is always clear, even when he has played with top players. He projects as a first-line, star and maybe even a superstar winger,” Wheeler added.
As Wheeler mentioned, McKenna just wrapped up a spectacular 2024-25 campaign where he racked up 41 goals and 88 assists for 129 points in just 56 games playing for the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL.
Gavin McKenna will transform the future of an NHL franchise
The hype around Gavin McKenna is unlike anything we’ve seen in quite some time. The production during his age 16-17 season was better than that of Connor Bedard and on par with the likes of Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid.
While those are large shoes to fill, and you don’t want to put those kinds of expectations on the kid, it’s impossible not to see his talent and envision the next NHL superstar. The 6’0″, 165-pound winger is set to play next season at Penn State University, further preparing himself to make the jump to the pros come 2026-27.
Nobody is ever going to purposely attempt to finish near the bottom of the standings, but teams like the Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Philadelphia Flyers, just to name a few, will certainly have McKenna in their minds if things don’t go well to start the year.
