2026 Prospect Media Day | BLOG

The NHL held its annual prospects media day ahead of the 2026 NHL Draft in Buffalo this weekend. Below are several interviews and notable quotes from a few of the players that were made available.

On possibly going No. 1 overall:

I've just been super excited. Obviously, I've thought about it, but at the end of the day, wherever I get picked, I'm excited. It's the NHL Draft. I get to experience it with my family and go through with them. So, the fact it's here, I know me and my family are pumped. 

On the Draft process:

I'm just really trying to take it all in. You only get to go through this once in your life, so like I said, going through it with my family and to experience all this stuff, all the media, and getting to go through it with all your buddies, it's been a fun time and just trying to take it all in. 

On his Yukon pride:

I think just the support I've gotten from that community. Growing up, I had to travel pretty much every weekend to find some competition. So, it wasn't cheap flying every weekend, so the community helped support me, and I had some sponsors throughout the community. And I get texts all the time from people saying how proud they are, and I just want to represent the Yukon well. And I have a lot of young fans from that place. And whenever I get the chance to go home and meet with those kids and see the smiles they have, it means a lot to me, and I just carry that pride with me. 

On playing a year in the NCAA:

I think, I was lucky with my birthday and getting the opportunity, especially with that rule change to take that next jump before the NHL. And I think you watch guys like Celebrini and Will Smith and how they did in college and then stepping right into the league and just being comfortable. I think college kind of does that. So, I was very lucky to have that, and this year, I think I've learned a lot just with the college style of play, and I think it will help me making that jump smoother.

On the past year: 

It's been pretty much media and stuff like that. So, kind of not think too much. Just go out and play and have fun and do your best every day and get better every day and, yeah, then it's going to be good. 

On if he close to playing pro:

I think I'm close. I think I was feeling more and more confident every day at this Worlds, that I could play here against those guys, and I could compete against them. So I was more and more confident every day, and I think I'm ready. 

On handling media in the Canadian market:

I think I'm ready. Maybe my English isn't the best, but I think I can deal with media pretty good, and yeah.

On players he models his game after:

I've always idolized Sidney Crosby. But it's hard for anyone to keep to his standards. I think Brayden Point and Nick Suzuki is superstars in the NHL, the kind of want yourself to be at when you maximize your potential. I think for Point, skillness and grit and how he works. And I think Suzuki is a very good two-way. Seems to be very smart and yeah, a good center. 

On being reflective with the Draft coming up:

Yeah, well, it's hard also to try and think back all the time because you want to keep moving forward. But yeah, I'm super grateful for all the people that helped me this far. But the draft is a milestone, but it isn't the finish line. So it's the work from here on forward that is more important, I would say. 

On nerves ahead of the Draft:

Yeah. I don't know if you're supposed to be nervous, because there's no bad alternatives. But it's going to be maybe you get the sense of things getting closer and exciting times.

On the past week leading into the Draft:

Yeah, it's really exciting to be here with my family in Buffalo and just know that the moment's coming here in 40 hours, 24 hours from now, I guess. It's really special and happy to be here. 

On visiting the New Era HQ:

Yeah, it's been cool. We got a tour of the facility, see the history of all the hats and kind of what they've gone through. And early on in baseball, kind of the main thing that they took a big step in in their company, and yeah, it's been really neat to see all the different hats and styles and things like that, that you don't really get to see too often. 

On picking an Arizona hat over Toronto:
We got quite a few draft hats. I got a couple for my parents with their initials on it, and we got to pick one from the place. So I picked up a Arizona Diamondbacks baseball hat. So, it's been really neat. I was a Jays guy. I already got a Jays hat, so I switched it up. I like the style of the Diamondbacks.

On acclimating to college life:

I think the game thing, I think that went pretty fast. I got kind of used to the pace and all that, and then I don't think it was too hard to get used to the college life. (The food) was probably, yeah, the hardest. Just kind of have to look forward to what you're going to eat, not just take anything from there. But, yeah, it was fun. 

On his off-season focus to improve:

Just skating, being more agile, being more explosive, and then just filling out my body just to get ready for the NHL games.

On recovering from a broken clavicle injury:

It sucks. You never want to go down with an injury and you can't control those things. All you can control is how you recover and how quickly you can come back and becoming a better person and a better player and coming out stronger. So, one guy who called me right away was Matthew Schaefer. He called me pretty much the day after I broke my collarbone and he found out, and kind of just had a conversation on how he dealt with it and how he dealt with it in his draft year and how he went into the summer and then went into the next season and stuff. So, I've been working out with him and we're comparing scars right now, so it's pretty fun. 

When you go through adversity, you learn to become mentally tougher. And, I've been working with a mental performance coach, Scot McFadden, for the past couple of years, and he's been really good on working past those setbacks and, if you take a step back, it's taking more steps forward. So, just becoming stronger physically and mentally as well. 

On having a lot of family and friends present at the Draft:

One nice thing about the draft being in Buffalo is it's only about an hour-and-a-half drive for me. So I think I got about 60 people coming down for the draft, so I'm pretty excited. All family, friends, friends of mine, guys I play hockey with, and obviously all my family. It'll be a lot of fun, I think. 

On areas of his game on which he'd like to improve:

For sure. I think for me, I'm a big, strong, power forward who uses my size and is physical, but at the same time can use my skill at soft areas in front of the net and, I'm good at finding space in the offensive zone to put the puck in the net or set up a teammate. I think those are my biggest strengths, and then, for me, just that first step quickness. For me, being a bigger guy, like I said, it's always been hard to get off the line, but for me, if I can up the pace of play and all that, it will just lead me for more success so I can get to the puck quicker, get into open areas quicker.

On his 2025-26 season in Liiga: 

I think in the big picture, it was pretty positive. I think I improved a lot in the two-way game and overall playing all over the ice. But maybe biggest improvement point for me is offensive zone game. I want to be a bigger threat in there and be better with the puck and create a lot more chances.

On his focus post-combine:

It was a lot of training. Before the combine, I didn't have that much time to train, so we just focused on getting the physique training going and the summer get started. That was the big point. 

On the trades of recent days effecting his future positioning in the Draft:

I don't know. That's a tough question. Obviously, it's hard to say before the draft where you're going, like always. So when the trades happen, I don't know if it's even harder to say. Can be, but I think the teams are not that much saying that, 'Yeah, we're going to pick you.' They're not giving that much signs, so it's tough to say. And I don't know if that's easier or harder after the trades.

On reflecting back on his hockey life with the Draft coming:

I think especially this week, you kind of look back on everyone that's kind of helped you along, every coach, whether you're 9 years old or 15 years old, everyone that's kind of helped you along the way. It's been a great week so far and just being able to spend time with them, and then I know back home there's going to be a lot of people rooting for me, too. So it's kind of nice having all the support from all those people. 

On draft advice he's received from Boston University teammates;

A bunch of my BU teammates kind of went through the similar thing, so they all just say, 'Enjoy it.' It's a fun week. A lot happens. You never really know what to look forward to and what not to. So it's just take it slow, enjoy every second of it, and kind of don't take it all for granted.

On playing with Devils prospect Mikhail Yegorov at BU:

He's a great teammate. He's really fun to be around, always brings the energy from practice, whether that's if he's doing good or bad, he always tries his hardest and kind of pushes everyone around him, whether that's in practice or in the gym. He just wants everyone to get better, and I feel like we're lucky to have him.