We at Iceberg Scouting feel that the team that selects Daxon Rudolph receives the number one right handed Defencman in this draft. Daxon Rudolph was born in Lacombe Alberta on March 6, 2008, he played his early years in the Lacombe minor hockey association. Rudolph at 6'3" and a mere 205 lbs plays an uptown hard physical game. This past year he lead his team in total points with 78. 28 of those points were goals, and 50 assists with a +32. Pretty darn impressive for a defencmen, not to mention that he was benched by officiating staff for 75 minutes so 1 full game plus some change. If he hadn’t been in the sin bin he likely would have had at least 80 points. That’s nearly 1.2 points per game as a defenseman. Now here is the good stuff, he scores from range, he is a shot blocker, gets his stick in lanes to defeat passes. He will absolutely decimate an opponent trying to break down the wall on his side. He is like a big dog marking his territory. Rudolph has a wicked accurate wrist shot with NHL ready passing skills. He has a very high Hockey IQ, he plays with grit, integrity, intensity, poise, determination, good hussle with overwhelming stamina. Best of all he plays with heart.

 Beckett Hamilton plays for Red Deer Rebels in the WHL, a team that squeezed into the playoffs with the help of certain teams losing. Yet Beckett somehow managed to mass nearly a point per game in the regular season. He had 62 points in 67 games. When we listen to him speak about his game in post interviews he is well spoken and matured past his age. He usually speaks highly about the game and other players. As a right handed winger he plays either side of the wing with poise. His strengths are his quick reads when a turnover occurs in the neutral zone. He knows where to station himself when playing away from the puck, and at times you will see him creating the turnover or grinding out a puck retrieval himself to make a crisp pass to a teammate.

Known for being an NHL factory the Hunter Brothers have churned out some of the NHL’s recognizable names such as; Patrick Kane, John Tavares, Mitch Marner, and so many more. A player looking to add his name to that list of first round talent out of London is Braidy Wassilyn. Braidy in just first preseason game with Niagara suffered a lower body injury that lead to him missing six weeks and a slow return back to Niagara, however; following a trade to the London Knights Wassilyn has recorded 15 points in 15 games and has become a key piece to the Knights very young lineup. Wassilyn is a very crafty playmaking forward and although not the best skater, his speed and craftiness is undeniable, a very quick release that has seemed to fool most goalies he has faced, with 9 goals in his 15 games as a Knight. Although he has been good with the Knights and has fit like a glove on their top power play unit, there has an alarming lack of defensive positioning and very inconsistent offensive zone plays. The good news is that the Hunter brothers are known for their ability to patch up those vulnerabilities and push players to their limit. With a comparison to Jonathon Drouin and his trade to the Knights on top of his commitment to Boston University next season I’d say a good team would be willing to take him high in the first round and take a wait and see approach.   - Written by Joshua 

We got one heck of a hot take for you, but we need to take a trip to Sweden for this one. European players get overlooked as they are not in a major league in North America, and do not get the media attention they deserve. As our Swedish evaluator said ”If Stenberg was Canadian and played on Canadian ice, he would get the same attention as McKenna” - Markus R. You may have first noticed him during the World Juniors last year as he stood out for Sweden as he played five games and got seven goals, four assists, totaling eleven points. He also played in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup where he played five games and got four goals, and six assists giving him ten points. Watching him play during the world juniors I can say he stood out for me and is now on my radar for players to watch this year. If Ivar can get some size to him and keep working hard he will be top three in the 2026 NHL entry draft.  

The prospect pool for the 2026 NHL entry draft is something we should all be excited about, the talent is getting better and better year after year. 2026 might be the best draft year since Connor McDavid's year where we saw players like Jack Eichel, Mikko Rantanen, Mitch Marner, and Zach Werenski get drafted. If your team lands themselves in the bottom of the standings, you should be excited as your team will have plenty of talent to choose from. Let's take a look at some players that could make a big impact.