Color of Hockey: Singh healthy, hopeful heading into 2026 NHL Draft

William Douglas has been writing The Color of Hockey blog since 2012. Douglas joined NHL.com in 2019 and writes about people of color in the sport. Today, he profiles Rylan Singh, a defenseman with Guelph of the Ontario Hockey League, who is No. 201 on NHL Central Scouting’s final ranking of North American skaters ahead of the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft June 26-27 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. The first round will be June 26 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS) and rounds 2-7 on June 27 (11 a.m. ET; NHLN, ESPN+, SN).

Rylan Singh is looking forward to the 2026 NHL Draft, but he’s also taking the long view when it comes to his potential path to the League.

The 18-year-old defenseman with Guelph of the Ontario Hockey League had hoped to sparkle in his first year of draft eligibility and was No. 144 on NHL Central Scouting’s midterm ranking of North American skaters.

He was a standout performer at the 2026 Connor McDavid OHL Top Prospects game on Jan. 14 with a goal and an assist, playing with and against potential NHL draft first-round picks like Sault Ste. Marie defenseman Chase Reid, Brantford forward Caleb Malhotra, Saginaw forward Nikita Klepov and Windsor forward Ethan Belchetz.

“That was something that I wanted to be at at the start of the year and I kind of circled it on my calendar,” Singh said. “Whenever you're in an event like that, you always want to just play your best, and I think that’s what I did.”

Though Singh planned for the Top Prospects game, he didn’t foresee injuries and an appendectomy in February that limited him to 52 games at a pivotal moment in a young player’s career.

Still, Singh (5-foot-11, 175 pounds) hopes he has shown enough to hear his name called at the Draft, set for June 26-27 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. He’s No. 201 on NHL Central Scouting’s final ranking of North American skaters.

The Pickering, Ontario, native was second among Guelph defensemen with 23 points (four goals, 19 assists) and 116 shots on goal in 52 regular-season games.

He missed 14 games due to the appendectomy and recovery but returned to the lineup to score one goal in four OHL playoff games.  

“I'm a huge believer, and everything happens for a reason, and I think if the appendectomy happened and if it affects my draft, I mean, that's what it does,” he said. “But that doesn't mean that I can't still play in the NHL.”

Guelph coach Cory Stillman gave Singh credit for persevering through a difficult season.

“He got bitten in a draft year," Stillman said. "All the games he missed were based on injury. And that’s tough when you want to showcase yourself all the time, especially coming down the stretch. He would be in the lineup; he hurt his shoulder and then he had the appendectomy.”

When healthy, Singh was a top-four defenseman and a minutes-eater with Guelph this season, Stillman said.

“He played in all situations,” Stillman said. “Played on the power play, played on the penalty kill. His game defensively from my first year here to the second year grew big time. His defending away from the puck, when it got better, it allowed him to create more chances offensively.”

Stillman, who had 727 points (278 goals, 449 assists) in 1,025 NHL games and won the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004 and Carolina Hurricanes in 2006, said a team that drafts Singh would get “a player that's committed, who wants to be an NHL player.”

“You have a kid who loves coming to the rink, loves playing hockey and you’re going to get a kid that has skill that we haven’t seen the best of yet,” he said.

Singh said he’s motivated to continue proving himself, drafted or not. He’s looking forward to returning to Guelph, which hosts the 2027 Memorial Cup, which features the champions of the OHL, Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, Western Hockey League and the host city’s team.

“I'm super excited about that,” Singh said. “We want to win the OHL (championship) rather than backdoor our way in. It’s going to take a lot of work, but I think the guys in the room and the coaching staff and our general manager are ready for it.”

Singh said he’s also excited about the draft, but isn’t obsessing over it or how his injuries could affect his standing.

He noted that he finally has his health, another year of draft eligibility, the 2026-27 OHL season and the Memorial Cup on the horizon.

“Hopefully we can go on a run there, and then after that, hopefully, I'll be going to the NCAA, and then, hopefully one day to the NHL,” he said. “That’s the goal.”