NHL Central Scouting releases updated mid-term rankings for 2026 NHL Draft
The NHL Central Scouting has released their updated mid-term rankings for North American and international prospects eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft on Monday.
While a gold medal win for Sweden at the 2026 World Junior Championship has begun more of a conversation for Ivar Stenberg to be selected ahead of Gavin McKenna, that question won’t be answered today. However, both players were the top of their respective lists for skaters.
McKenna hasn’t blown away the competition in the NCAA, but has still had a solid season for a U18 player with four goals and 15 assists for 19 points in 18 games for Penn State. Despite Canada only winning bronze at the World Juniors, McKenna was excellent with four goals and 10 assists for 14 points in seven games.
Stenberg has put together an excellent season with Frolunda HC in the SHL so far this year, with six goals and 18 assists for 24 points in 25 games. He also got four goals and six assists for 10 points in seven games at the World Juniors on route to a bronze win.
Following McKenna in the North American rankings was three defensemen in Keaton Verhoeff, Carson Carels and Chase Reid, while center Caleb Malhotra rounds out the top five. For the international skaters, Latvian defenseman Alberts Smits follows Ivar Stenberg, with forwards Oliver Suvanto, Elton Hermansson and Viggo Bjorck rounding out the top five.
As for the goaltenders, Brady Knowling was ranked the top North American netminder, while Dmitri Borichev led the way for international goalies. Michal Orsulak, Tobias Trejbal, Jan Larys and Tobias Tvrznik followed Knowling in the top five North American list, while Yegor Rynkin, Douglas Lindberg Nilsson, Viggo Tamm and Frantisek Poletin rounded out the international lists’ top five.
Daily Faceoff prospect analyst Steven Ellis ranked the top 50 prospects ahead of the World Juniors, with McKenna, Verhoeff and Stenberg leading the way.
The 2026 NHL Draft will take place on June 26th (first round) and 27th (second to seventh rounds), with the league announcing the event is taking place at KeyBank Center in Buffalo earlier on Monday.