2026 NHL Draft Diary: Tynan Lawrence

Tynan Lawrence of Boston University in Hockey East will file a draft diary for NHL.com this season leading up to the 2026 NHL Draft, which will be held June 26 and 27 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. The 17-year-old center (6-foot, 183 pounds), who was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, is No. 7 in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters eligible for the 2026 draft. He had 17 points (10 goals, seven assists) in 13 games with Muskegon of the United States Hockey League to begin the season, and seven points (two goals, five assists) and 35 shots on goal in 18 games after joining BU on Jan. 8. Lawrence filed his June entry after his participation in the NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo.

Hi hockey fans.

It was a pretty fun week in Buffalo at the combine. 

I talked to around 20 teams during the interview days. It was a very unique experience being able to talk to that many teams. Every team's a little bit different with their point of view and how they see things, so it's kind of nice to get everyone's opinion.

There were a couple of interesting questions. One team put a brick in front of me and said how many things could you do with this or use this for in one minute, whether that's using it as a stepping stool, or building a house, or breaking something.

Another one said take a puck, throw it in a garbage can, but how far back are you willing to go? And if you miss it, we won't draft you. So just a couple unique ones like that, but it kind of makes it fun.

By the way, I put the puck in the basket from pretty far out. Can't tell you the team, though.

The testing Friday and Saturday wasn't too bad. Saturday, the big day, when you walk into the giant testing room, that's kind of a different feeling. It's not every day, with your average workout, that almost every NHL team is watching you. So it's definitely a different experience. But it's more exciting than nerve-wracking, I find.

Everyone always asks what the hardest test is, and I feel like they are all kind of unique in their own ways, depending on your build and the kind of player you are. But I feel like the Wingate bike test, the 30-second sprint, kind of has the same impact on every player, no matter who you are.

I had a few friends who have gone through the combine tell me what to expect, and they all said it would be a fun week and to enjoy it. The testing too. They're like, get ready for the bike, it's not great, but everything else is not too bad.

Overall it was definitely a fun experience getting to do what a lot of prospects, guy's your age, have done. And it was a fun week getting to learn a lot about other players you don't really get to know or only really play against. So it's good doing that stuff, and being able to talk and kind of share things in common.

Now that the combine is over, I'm going home to enjoy some time with my family and my friends. I'll continue to work out, get on the ice and get ready for the draft and development camp. But mostly, the next couple weeks is about just being able to relax, take a break, and enjoy the small part of summer you have before it kind of starts rolling again.

Thanks for reading.