NHL Central Scouting releases final 2026 draft rankings: Gavin McKenna, Ivar Stenberg top lists

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Richard T Gagnon / Getty Images Share articleNHL Central Scouting released its final rankings for the 2026 NHL Draft class on Thursday. Penn State winger Gavin McKenna tops their list of North American skaters, while Frölunda winger Ivar Stenberg ranks first on their list of international skaters. Here are the top 10 players on both rankings, plus some thoughts from our draft expert Scott Wheeler. On NHL Central Scouting’s mid-term rankings, Keaton Verhoeff was the No. 1-ranked D in North America. Now that’s Chase Reid, and Verhoeff has fallen to fourth on the list and third among D behind Reid and Carson Carels. That reflects my own upcoming list at the moment and the view of most scouts I’ve talked to about those three recently. The college game revealed some weaknesses in Verhoeff’s game (particularly in his boots and decision-making) while Reid has built momentum over the last two years with continued development defensively around his impressive offensive package. I was happy to see Nikita Klepov, who led the OHL in scoring this season, rise from No. 16 in North America on NHL Central Scouting’s mid-term rankings to No. 8. He’s a favorite of mine and possesses top-six talent. He has gone from late-first/second-round pick to top-20 candidate. Shifty NTDP standout Wyatt Cullen and 2024 Q No. 1 pick Maddox Dagenais have also strengthened their first-round cases over the course of this season, and they’re now No. 13 and No. 15, respectively, on NHL Central Scouting’s final ranking for North America. The Ruck twins also both rose, with Liam moving from No. 26 to No. 20 in North America and Markus rising from No. 31 to No. 23. Scouts are partial to Liam’s scoring tilt, but Markus led the CHL in scoring this year with 108 points. They’re 5-foot-11 forwards who work but lack the skating teams prioritize in players of that size. They’re both going to be top-two-round picks now, but where still feels up in the air. They’re in the midst of the WHL playoffs with Medicine Hat. There has been a lot of talk about the trio of 5-foot-11-and-change CHL D this year, and NHL Central Scouting has them back-to-back-to-back on the North American list like this: 16. Ryan Lin, RHD, Vancouver Giants 17. Tommy Bleyl, RHD, Moncton Wildcats 18. Xavier Villeneuve, LHD, Blainville-Boisbriand Armada Bleyl has debatably been the best D in the QMJHL this year, and his blend of consistency, playmaking, vision, feel, hockey sense and skating has deservedly pushed him up into the conversation with Lin and Villeneuve, who’ve been names to watch for a couple of years already. The talented but 5-foot-10 Axel Elofsson landed all the way down at No. 29 on the international skaters list. I still think Lin is the first one taken, but Bleyl might be the second now. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Scott Wheeler covers the NHL draft and prospects nationally for The Athletic. Scott has written for the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, The Toronto Sun, the National Post, and several other outlets in the past. He's also the author of ‘On The Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Toronto Maple Leafs at the NHL Draft’. Follow Scott on Twitter @scottcwheeler