There hasn’t been a great deal of drama regarding which player is the top prospect this season. Matthew Schaefer began the season as a slight favourite, and despite his campaign being limited by illness and injury he showed enough to improve his stock while others who were regarded in similar esteem had their stumbles in 2024-25. At this point, it would be a surprise if the New York Islanders didn’t select him first overall.
The process is going to be different this year as the NHL has gone to a decentralized format that no longer has all the teams’ representatives in the same place, but staying home to make their picks. It also means fewer prospects will be in attendance, so the typical routine of the prospects going to the stage to put on their new jerseys will have some breaks this season.
How to watch
Round 1
Date: Friday, June 27
Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
TV Channel: Sportsnet, TVA Sports (Canada), ESPN (USA)
Online stream: ESPN+, Sportsnet+
Rounds 2-7
Date: Saturday, June 28
Start time: 12:00 PM EDT / 9:00 AM PDT
TV Channel: Sportsnet, TVA Sports (Canada), NHL Network (USA)
Online stream: ESPN+, Sportsnet+
After Schaefer, there is significantly less consensus, with some defined tiers of quality but no predictable order. With so many NHL teams thinking they can contend for the post-season in 2025-26, the choice may be to aim for prospects who are the closest to being ready for the pros than selecting based on long-term outlooks. For that reason, there could still be some highly talented players on the board later than we usually see.
First round order
- New York Islanders
- San Jose Sharks
- Chicago Blackhawks
- Utah Mammoth
- Nashville Predators
- Philadelphia Flyers
- Boston Bruins
- Seattle Kraken
- Buffalo Sabres
- Anaheim Ducks
- Pittsburgh Penguins
- Pittsburgh Penguins
- Detroit Red Wings
- Columbus Blue Jackets
- Vancouver Canucks
- Montreal Canadiens
- Montreal Canadiens
- Calgary Flames
- St. Louis Blues
- Columbus Blue Jackets
- Ottawa Senators
- Philadelphia Flyers
- Nashville Predators
- Los Angeles Kings
- Chicago Blackhawks
- Nashville Predators
- Washington Capitals
- Winnipeg Jets
- Carolina Hurricanes
- San Jose Sharks
- Philadelphia Flyers
- Calgary Flames
