Lin ready to carry 'poise and composure' into NHL Draft

The 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held 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). NHL.com is counting down to the draft with in-depth profiles on top prospects, podcasts and other features. Today, a look at defenseman Ryan Lin from Vancouver of the Western Hockey League. NHL.com's full draft coverage can be found here.

Ryan Lin was one of the more interested observers of NCAA hockey this season.

It was the first time Canadian Hockey League players were granted NCAA eligibility, and Lin was among the many curious about how it would affect players in his peer group, including forward Gavin McKenna at Penn State and defenseman Keaton Verhoeff at the University of North Dakota.

"It's nice not being the guinea pig in the first year and then seeing how it ends up," Lin said. "I think it's perfect for me. You see a round of guys go through it, and then you're hopping on the next train and everything gets smoothed out."

Lin's train will arrive at the University of Denver in the fall, after the 18-year-old defenseman is selected in the 2026 draft, likely somewhere inside the first 20 picks.

"I think it's just the challenge of going to the NCAA, playing against older guys," he said. "I want to challenge myself. That's how I'm going to get better, is to play against high-level guys that are really close to the NHL. Denver is just such a great spot. They win, the coaching staff, the school, everything about it. 

"Once they came into the picture, it was pretty obvious."

Lin (5-foot-11, 180 pounds), who led Vancouver of the Western Hockey League in scoring this season with 57 points (14 goals, 43 assists) in 53 games, is a smart, high-end offensive player who ranks among the best skaters in this year's draft class. The right-handed shot is No. 16 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters.

"The thing about him is, it's so impressive with the composure he has with the game," Central Scouting director Dan Marr said. "You cannot fluster this player. You can apply all the pressure you want, he just remains calm, cool and collected. When the puck is on his stick he's got his head up, his feet moving, he knows what his options are, he executes the plays, even when he's under pressure. When he's under pressure he knows to keep his feet moving, he knows the avenues where he should be placing the puck or advancing the puck. 

"It's just the way he's got that sense to see the ice, but the poise and composure when the puck is on his stick, that's what makes him such a special prospect and makes him such a good player right now."

Lin also stepped up as a leader, being named captain Jan. 9. He celebrated that night in a 4-3 overtime win against Tri-City, scoring the game's first two goals and then assisting on forward Mathis Preston's overtime goal.

"When I got named captain after the trade deadline, that was a highlight for me," Lin said. "Being in Vancouver, hometown, now the captain. I had two goals that game, we won in overtime, it was a highlight of the season for sure."

The good times wouldn't last long, however. Two days later, late in a game at Wenatchee, Lin sustained a broken wrist that kept him out six weeks.

While he was sidelined, he lived up to the leadership mantle by helping Preston, who had been acquired in a trade Jan. 5 and then sustained a serious knee injury the day after scoring that overtime goal against Tri-City.

"We grew so close together, especially off the ice, just going out to eat," Preston said. "We spent basically every second together for eight weeks straight, so it was awesome to have him there. ... You're not going through it alone, and I think he definitely helped me through it."

Lin said that feeling was mutual; it also helped that he and Preston had played together previously, from youth hockey with the BC Junior Canucks team at the 2018 Brick Invitational Hockey Tournament to winning a gold medal with Canada White at the 2024 Under-17 World Hockey Challenge.

"We were attached at the hip," Lin said. "We ate together, we worked out together, we rehabbed together, everything. We drove together. It was kind of insane, actually. But yeah, he's one of my best friends now, and such a great guy to just hang out with."

They had more together time as each was picked to play for Canada at the 2026 IIHF Under-18 World Championship. The team finished sixth, but Lin had six points (one goal, five assists) and was a plus-7 in 21:10 of ice time in five games. 

"Going to Under-18s, I felt like I had a good tournament and felt 100 percent and showed what I wanted to show there," he said. "(Stinks) that we lost in the quarters, but I feel like that was a good way for me to end the season."

Lin felt the positive plus/minus was another way for him to show he's more than just an offensive defenseman.

"I think it's just as good as my offensive game, to be honest," he said of his defensive play. "I take a lot of pride in it. I work on it. I like defending. I like playing offense more, I like taking the puck away and going on offense. So the quicker I do that, the more fun it is."

The defensive side of Lin's game is something Vancouver coach Parker Burgess got to see grow this season.

"I think what might be undervalued in his game is his play without the puck and his defending ability," said Burgess, who was fired April 14. "It's some of the best I've ever seen for his age. And I think it's a combination of, he's a great skater, so he's able to defend using his feet. He's got great stick detail. He's always attacking the blades, breaking up plays, breaking up passes. 

"He also has an innate ability to be physical. He may not be the 6-4 defenseman that people love, but he's a good size and very strong, strong on his feet. He's got a strong upper body, and then he's got a high-end IQ.

"So you combine the skating ability, the stick detail, the physicality, and then the IQ of knowing when and where to close and box guys out, and I think you have an elite defender as well."

Lin said there are a few factors he wants to focus on as he gets ready for college, among them shooting more, getting stronger and improving his already outstanding skating.

"Nothing's really NHL-ready yet for me, and I want to fix that," Lin said. "But if I can even work on my skating more and be an elite skater, that's going to help me a lot. So I'm going to work on my skating even more now."

Burgess will be watching excitedly to see how far Lin can take his game.

"When I look at what he already is right now, how coachable he is, how hungry he is to get better," Burgess said, "I can't even imagine the player he'll be in two, three, four years."