McKenna tops Central Scouting midterm rankings for North American skaters ahead of 2026 NHL Draft

Gavin McKenna, a left wing with Penn State University, is No.1 among North American skaters ellgibile for the 2026 NHL Upper Deck Draft on NHL Central Scouting's midterm rankings presented by BODYARMOR Sports Drink.

Central Scouting revealed its midterm rankings of the top North American skaters and goalies, along with the top International skaters and goalies, on Monday. Left wing Ivar Stenberg of Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League is No. 1 among International skaters.

"Gavin McKenna is an elite talent with exceptional hockey sense, quickness and maturity which has allowed him to dictate the play and influence games at every level he's played," said Dan Marr, director of NHL Central Scouting. "He possesses a combination of unteachable skills and attributes which have been on record-setting display the last couple seasons and place him in a category of his own as the top prospect for the 2026 NHL Draft.

"He was the consensus number one for mid-season and belongs in that special player category. The projection is not based on when he plays in the NHL; rather, once he gets established in the NHL."

RANKINGS: North American skaters | North American goalies | International skaters | International goalies

Rounding out the top five North American skaters are defenseman Keaton Verhoeff of the University of North Dakota (NCAA), defenseman Carson Carels of Prince George in the Western Hockey League, defenseman Chase Reid of Sault Ste. Marie in the Ontario Hockey League, and center Caleb Malhotra of Brantford (OHL).

"The remainder of the first round contains a diverse mix of talented players with the next 8-to-10 considered top-end prospects who will be hard to displace in the second half while the remainder of the first round is considered interchangeable going forward," Marr said.

McKenna (5-foot-11, 170 pounds), who has 19 points (four goals, 15 assists) in 18 games as a freshman at Penn State, was the third-youngest player for Canada at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship.

McKenna won a bronze medal with Canada at the World Juniors and was twice named Canada's player of the game, after having a hat trick in a 9-1 victory against Denmark in the preliminary round, and again after having one goal and three assists in a 6-3 win against Finland in the bronze-medal game.

"He's had so much pressure for so long, and he's dealt with it great," Canada captain and Michigan State University forward Porter Martone (Philadelphia Flyers) said. "He gets [criticized] a lot, but I talked to him. I went through it my draft year. Sometimes you got to avoid the outside noise and really just focus on yourself and what you can control. You can't control the uncontrollable. He did an amazing job. He was unbelievable for us, and I expect big things from him in the coming years."

McKenna had 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) to tie for the seventh-most all-time by a draft-eligible player at the WJC, and fourth-most all-time among draft eligible Canadians at the tournament.

Stenberg tops midterm International rankings for 2026 NHL Draft

The 2026 draft will be held at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, the Sabres hosting for the first time in a decade. The first round will be on June 26 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS) and rounds 2-7 on June 27 (10 a.m. ET; NHLN, ESPN+, SN).

The NHL Draft Lottery to determine the first 16 picks will be announced at a later date.

Verhoeff (6-3, 208), the second-youngest player on Canada's roster at the WJC, has 12 points (four goals, eight assists) and 22 blocked shots in 18 games as a freshman at North Dakota. He played in five games at the WJC and was effective, getting four assists and averaging 11:10 of ice time for Canada.

"He doesn't look like a 17-year-old and doesn't play like a 17-year-old," North Dakota forward Will Zellers said of Verhoeff. "He's such a big body out there and a right-handed shot ... that's a scout's dream. I think anyone would be dumb not to take him No. 1 or No. 2 overall right now. He's got such a hard shot. The sky's the limit for him and he's got such a good work ethic, too."

Carels (6-1, 202) was the youngest player on Canada's roster at the WJC. The left-handed shot has 34 points (nine goals, 25 assists) and 16 power-play points (three goals, 13 assists) in 32 games with Prince George. He had one assist and five shots on goal and averaged 10:12 of ice time in five games for bronze medal-winning Canada at the WJC.

Reid (6-2, 188), a right-handed shot, has 38 points (15 goals, 23 assists) and 14 power-play points (five goals, nine assists) in 33 games with Sault Ste. Marie. He provided big minutes for the United States at the 2026 WJC when defenseman Cole Hutson (Washington Capitals) missed two games with an undisclosed injury. The 18-year-old had four points (two goals, two assists) and 11 shots on goal while averaging 20:06 of ice time for the U.S. in five WJC games.

Malhotra (6-1, 182), the son of former NHL forward Manny Malhotra and nephew of former NBA point guard Steve Nash, leads Brantford with 53 points (20 goals, 33 assists) in 39 games.

"Malhotra is one of many draft-eligible players who are competing and contributing as first-year players in the CHL," Marr said. "He has been a productive competitor all season for Brantford and the hockey world took notice with his continued standout play at the CHL-USA Prospect Challenge series in November. The NHL DNA aside, he is a complete hockey package in this draft class and has a bright future."

There are six college hockey players listed among the top 32: McKenna (Penn State), Verhoeff (North Dakota), center Tynan Lawrence (No. 7; Boston University), center Ilya Morozov (No. 8; Miami), left wing Oscar Hemming (No. 11; Boston College) and defenseman Landon Nycz (No. 28; Massachusetts).

The No. 1 North American goalie is Brady Knowling (6-5, 202) of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program Under-18 team. He's 5-7-1 with a 3.63 goals-against average and .887 save percentage in 15 games. Committed to Boston University for 2027-28, Knowling played one game for the United States at the WJC, losing 6-3 to eventual gold medalist Sweden in the preliminary round on Dec. 31.