Top 15 defensemen for the 2026 NHL Draft
The 2024 NHL Draft was full of quality defenders, and the 2025 class saw Matthew Schaefer go first overall.
This year? It’s yet another strong season for blueliners.
There’s a good chance we’ll see five defensemen taken in the top 10 this year. And potentially, we’ll see another 5-7 throughout the rest of the first round. It’s a particularly strong year for right-handed defenders, with two of the top options being righties.
Chase Reid has been the projected top defenseman throughout most of the season, especially after an impressive showing at the World Juniors. Keaton Vehroeff, Carson Carels, Alberts Smits, and Daxon Rudolph have been top 10 candidates throughout the year, while Malte Gustafsson and Tommy Bleyl received a ton of love in the latter stages of the campaign.
Here’s a look at the top 15 defensive prospects for the 2026 NHL Draft:
1. Chase Reid, RHD (Soo Greyhounds, OHL)
Reid checks all the boxes you’d want in a potential No. 1 D-man. At 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, that’s a good frame to work with. He’s also a right-shot defender – you’ve probably heard teams value that. He’s also an outstanding skater – maybe the best of any top defender in the class. He has a remarkable shot, and he seems to think the game at such an advanced level. Reid rarely makes a bad pass, and he’s so elusive when he’s skating around with the puck at speed. So much of his defense is making sure he contains the puck as much as possible, giving opponents so little to work with.
2. Keaton Verhoeff, RHD (University of North Dakota, NCAA)
Verhoeff jumped from the WHL to the NCAA this year, which was good for his development. He put up solid numbers while playing top-four minutes on one of the top college teams. Verhoeff takes up a ton of space at 6-foot-4 and is willing to hit you hard while also making many high-end passes in the offensive zone. Scouts wish he’d add a bit more speed to be a true top-pairing defender, though, but there’s time for him to figure that out. I’ll also add this: yeah, his Frozen Four performance wasn’t great, and I wanted more from him at the U-18s. But the ceiling is still sky-high for such a young dude. I commend him for going to college early, and I think he’ll be much more comfortable next year.
3. Carson Carels, LHD (Prince George Cougars, WHL)
Carels was one of the best young defenders in the CHL, and scouts love him. Carels brings that rugged, heavy-lifting mentality he and his family use on the farm right onto the ice. When you combine his elite defensive awareness, seamless two-way game, punishing physique, and off-the-charts hockey IQ, you get a truly premium defensive prospect. He showed flashes during the World Juniors, and he possesses every tool necessary to become a top-pairing defender one day. Usually, right-handed defenders are a premium in the draft – but Carels could be a truly desired selection as a left-handed option this year among a sea of high-end righties.
4. Daxon Rudolph, RHD (Prince Albert Raiders, WHL)
Rudolph’s hockey sense is so impressive. He doesn’t try to do more than he’s capable of and force plays for the sake of making them. Instead, he plays to his strengths, which are quite a few. He has a booming shot, makes great breakout passes, and can knock guys down. Rudolph’s two-way game is intriguing, as is his ability to get himself out of trouble consistently with and without the puck. Rudolph finished the WHL playoffs with some fantastic numbers, although scouts are still a bit worried that he’s too passive in his own zone. I think we’re likely talking about a future top-four defender who can quarterback the man advantage.
5. Alberts Šmits, LHD (EHC München, DEL)
Šmits was a big part of Latvia’s World Junior and Olympic teams this season. The 6-foot-3 blueliner moves well for his size and makes so much happen with the puck. It’s always nice seeing an 18-year-old who plays with a ton of confidence on the power play. He also has plenty of pro experience under his belt, highlighted by a strong first half with Jukurit in the Finnish Liiga. He was loaned out to München to close out the campaign and has recently lit up the playoffs after watching his ice time stabilize in the 17-18 minute range. I really, really like Šmits’ game.
6. Ryan Lin, RHD (Vancouver Giants, WHL)
Despite his undersized frame, Lin stands out as one of the most naturally skilled defensemen in this class. High-end decision-making combined with explosive skating makes him a one-man transition machine, which explains his consistently dominant possession numbers. His dynamic upside makes him a potential fan favorite at the next level. Scouts are willing to overlook his lack of size because he consistently dictates the pace of play by rarely giving up the puck. His sheer evasiveness limits his time spent defending. He is more than capable of holding his own in his zone, too.
7. Malte Gustafsson, LHD (HV71, Sweden U-20)
If teams are looking for a blueliner with a larger frame, Gustafsson could go higher. I’m just not fully convinced he’s more than a big body. Gustafsson is a 6-foot-4 defender who played well in the SHL, despite having little to show for it on the scoresheet. His skating is good for his size, allowing him to play a very mobile game. Gustafsson rarely struggles to get the puck out of his zone. I also feel like he showed a bit more flash with the puck near the end of the year than we all first thought, especially at the U-18s. Match that with the fact that he’s one of the most competitive defenders in the NHL, and I could see a team taking him in the top 10.
8. Xavier Villeneuve, LHD (Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, QMJHL)
Just because Villeneuve will go lower due to his smaller 5-foot-11 frame doesn’t mean I dislike him. Villeneuve was one of the best defensemen at the 2025 U-18 World Championship, helping Canada win gold. He had 62 points last season in the Q and would have surpassed that this year if he hadn’t missed about 25 games due to injury. Villeneuve can drive the play from the point and is as good as anyone in this draft class on the man advantage. I loved him at the CHL USA Prospects Challenge in particular – it felt like he was playing with a boatload of confidence. Is he going to be able to defend well enough at the next level? Lin is more rounded, as a smaller defender, and I know scouts are concerned about Villeneuve’s potential in his zone.
9. Tommy Bleyl, RHD (Moncton Wildcats, QMJHL)
There’s a lot to love here. He’s a highly skilled two-way defender who came out of nowhere to register 81 points as a QMJHL rookie. He’s exceptionally crafty, skates very well and doesn’t let bigger competition bother him. Bleyl plays a calm, collected game defensively while consistently getting himself into scoring lanes in the other zone. Right now, he needs to get stronger – he gets pushed around too often, especially in front of the net. But his mobility and raw hockey sense are definitely there. Bleyl’s rise up draft boards this year has been fascinating to watch, and it’ll be fun to see if he can prove haters wrong and become the two-way defender some think he’s capable of.
10. Adam Goljer, RHD (Trencin, Slovakia)
I know I’m higher on Goljer than most, but I’m a real believer. He’s raw, but that’s fine because there’s some solid upside. At 6-foot-3, he has size. He also plays with a ton of confidence, allowing him to consistently attack and defend strongly against older competition in the top Slovak league. Playing close to 20 minutes a night against men is no small feat for a 17-year-old, no matter the league. I like his gap control, his proficiency as a passer, and the pure power he plays with. I think he can get a bit antsy and make mistakes with his defensive reads under pressure, and his foot speed needs work. Both were exposed at the U-18s, but he’d often make up for it by dominating at both ends of the ice when he was at full force. But there’s raw talent there.
11. Juho Piiparinen, RHD (Tappara, Liiga)
Piiparinen is a smart defender who doesn’t make many mistakes with the puck. He’s good when he keeps things simple, but he can also rush the puck up the ice and lower the boom when needed. Piiparinen has played decent hockey against men, and his international action has been solid, too. Piiparinen isn’t flashy, but he’s calm and collected in his own zone and is generally reliable defensively. I was hoping to see him put up more offense this season, but his game is more about shutting opponents down with his mobility. He’ll make a good fit alongside someone more offensively minded.
12. Nikita Shcherbakov, LHD (Toros Neftekamsk, VHL)
There’s bit a bit of variance in Shcherbakov’s ranking publicly. I think he’ll either go late first or early second. The 6-foot-5 defender started the year in the KHL but has primarily played in the second-tier Russian league since the end of September. He’s strong, but he moves well – which is important for a guy his size. Shcherbakov has definitely grown on me a bit over the past few months, especially after watching him play well against his own age group. His game lacks high-end thinking, and he’ll likely slot in as a third-pairing defender. But he should be a reliable one at that. If he can add some extra offensive juice, I’d be more excited about him, but not every defender needs to be a wizard with the puck – especially when they’re defensively sound like Shcherbakov.
13. Jakub Vaněček, LHD (Tri-City Americans, WHL)
Vaněček has hovered around this mark for most of the season for me. I like how he’s always moving thanks to a non-stop motor and good overall footwork. He beats opponents by taking their space away and forcing them to the perimeter. Vaněček isn’t too shabby with the puck, although his decision-making needs a bit of work. I like his two-way game and I think he’ll force his way into a bottom-pairing situation one day.
14. Maksim Sokolovskii, LHD (London Knights, OHL)
At 6-foot-8, Sokolovskii is absolutely massive. Nobody will mistake Sokolovskii for an offensive demon – he had eight points between 49 regular season and playoff games. But he’s truly a terrifying human being when it comes to 1-on-1 situations – he makes it his life mission to kill you. I loved his play against the Soo Greyhounds because he repeatedly had to go up against top forward Brady Martin and succeeded for the most part. I really like Sokolovskii as a shutdown option. His lack of offense won’t make him attractive to every team, but the fact that he, as a defenseman, makes it his mission to stop guys at any cost should allow him to get to the NHL.
15. William Håkansson, LHD (Lulea, SHL)
Håkansson didn’t get a ton of ice time at the World Juniors, but we saw exactly what he’s capable of – raw defensive energy. There’s absolutely no flash to his game. Instead, he uses his big 6-foot-4, 207-pound frame to flatten opponents while being a pain in the rear end defensively. He’s quite mobile for his frame, too. Håkansson’s lack of offensive awareness won’t help his draft stock, but I absolutely could see him becoming a solid shutdown defender in the NHL. He’d go higher if he could shoot or pass like Alberts Šmits.
PRESENTED BY THE DAILY FACEOFF NEWSLETTER
