Ivar Stenberg Emerging As Potential First Overall Pick

The 2026 NHL Draft Big Board - mid-season edition

Welcome to Year 4 of the Sound Of Hockey Big Board. As we did last year, we’re kicking off our NHL Draft coverage midway through the hockey season with a “mid-season” version of the Big Board. What is the Big Board? It’s a composite ranking of 2026 NHL Draft–eligible prospects based on reputable draft analyst and public scouting service lists—in this case, lists published midway through the season to account for draft-year performance. Put diffe…

Are we overanalyzing Gavin McKenna as the 2026 NHL Draft’s top prospect? - Daily Faceoff

Has the hockey world gone too far in its assessment of Gavin McKenna? Coming into the season, McKenna was viewed as the headliner for the 2026 NHL Draft, the no-doubt first overall pick. The Whitehorse, Yukon native cemented himself in the WHL record books with back-to-back historic seasons. As a 16-year-old, McKenna posted 34 goals and 97 points in 61 games, averaging 1.59 points per game in 2023-24. His totals from that season have him tied fo…

Ivar Stenberg Emerging As Potential First Overall Pick

Entering the 2025-26 season, the scouting community following NHL draft prospects generally shared a clear consensus: the top prospect for the 2026 NHL Entry Draft was WHL star Gavin McKenna. McKenna, who was an otherworldly scorer with the Medicine Hat Tigers, was slated to begin his NCAA career with Penn State. Most believed he’d ride a highly productive college season all the way into the summer, where he’d become the No. 1 overall pick. So f…