2026 NHL Draft First Round Best Bets:
We are just hours away from the 2026 NHL Draft. This week has seen a flurry of activity, with the Florida Panthers acquiring Brady Tkachuk from the Ottawa Senators, joining his brother Matthew in the Sunshine State. The Senators weren’t done playing let’s make a deal. Tuesday, they traded the ninth overall pick in the 2026 draft to San Jose for William Eklund. The Sharks now own the second and ninth picks in the draft and are now expected to take winger Ivar Stenberg. Stenberg was (-135) just prior to the trade, jumped to (-700) after the trade, and is now (-1000) to go second overall.
With Stenberg all but certain to go second overall to San Jose, the question remains who the Vancouver Canucks will select with the third overall pick. Do the Canucks select the best center available in Caleb Malhotra (-120 to be selected third overall), the son of Canucks head coach Manny Molhotra? Or do they select Chase Reid (-110 to be selected third overall), the best defenseman and avoid any issues that could arise from dad coaching his son and how that dynamic would work in the locker room. If center is the position the Canucks want to address and avoid the Malhotra controversy, they could go with Viggio Borjck (60/1 to be selected third overall).
Here is a look at how I see the rest of the top 10 shaking out. The Buffalo Sabres own the fourth overall pick. It would not surprise me to see them trade the pick in return for an NHL-ready defenseman to play alongside Owen Power in their top four and fill the spot of Bowen Byram traded to Chicago. If the Sabres keep the pick, then they would likely go with Chase Reid (+120 to be selected fourth overall) or Caleb Malhotra (+140 to be selected fourth overall), whomever Vancouver does not select.
Up next is the New York Rangers at number five. I am anticipating the Rangers to take Latvian defenseman Albert Smits (+350 to be selected fifth overall). Smits is considered the most NHL-ready defenseman among the five blueliners that are expected to be selected among the top 10 picks of the draft.
The Calgary Flames currently own the sixth overall pick, and with the trade earlier in the week that brought them defenseman Simon Nemec from New Jersey, I expect the Flames to take 5-9 center, Viggio Bjorck from the Swedish Hockey League. At (-110), Bjorck is the favorite to go sixth overall. Interestingly, six days ago he was (-150) selected sixth overall.
The Seattle Kraken still own the seventh pick, and for the first time in franchise history, the Kraken are expected to select a defenseman with their first-round pick. The question is, will they take Carsen Carels (20/1 to be selected seventh) who have had issues with concussions, Daxon Rudolph (+290 to be selected seventh) or Keaton Verhoeff (-120 to be selected seventh)? I would grab a piece of both Carels and Rudolph at “plus money.” Rudolph (+650) to go eighth overall to Winnipeg also presents good value.
The San Jose Sharks own the ninth pick as of late Thursday night, and this is where I would grab Keaton Verhoeff (20/1). The top 10 concludes with the Nashville Predators. Everyone that I talk to has them selecting Wyatt Cullen, the son of former NHLer Matt Cullen. I have yet to find a sportsbook that is offering any Cullen props, so best to keep checking. If Cullen does not go 10th, I would look for Nashville to select Ethan Belchetz (+220 to be selected 10th).
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