Initial Observations From 2026 NHL Draft Combine

It was another sunndy day at the LECOM Harborcenter in Buffalo as NHL Draft prospects and media pundits descended on the city for another year of the NHL Combine. This time around, the headliners are Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg. However, there are a number of players – and teams – with interesting storylines heading into the 2026 NHL Draft.

While the Toronto Maple Leafs hold the first overall selection, this week might’ve been more about what comes next for the franchise. Other teams wined and dined their projected prospects, while some prospects were just content with taking in the experience of being considered a top prospect by some NHL franchises.

With a lot more to come over the next couple of days, here are a few of the initial takeaways from this season’s event in Buffalo.

Juho Piiparinen Was Popular in the Interview Stage

He was one of the last 15 prospects to take to the testing floor, but all things pointed to it being a busy week for Juho Piiparinen. The 17-year-old defenceman, who played with both the U20 and men’s level of Tappara in Finland, interviewed with 28 teams over the week-long combine.

While he didn’t mention which four teams weren’t included in that list, stating that there were so many to remember them all, Piiparinen did mention that he spoke with some teams like the Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins and Maple Leafs during the interviewing process.

His focus? It was to be himself and show teams what they would get in drafting him. As for his season, Piiparinen did get some experience with Tappara in the Liiga. He played 29 games at Finland’s top level of hockey and with the club going on to win the league championship, Piiparinen was named as a Liiga champion, given that he played in 30 percent of the team’s regular season games in 2025-26.

It’s not a bad hook to hang his hat on heading into the NHL Draft.

Maple Leafs Are Digging on Defensemen

It seems like it’s a yearly conversation and while I didn’t get a chance to speak with every defenceman at the combine, the impression that was received from the ones that were spoken to is that the Maple Leafs could be focused on taking a player for their back end with their second round pick.

There were at least 11 defensemen that the Maple Leafs spoke to at the combine or had some kind of commitment to speak to in the days to follow, back in Toronto. They all had their own strengths – some were puck-movers and others were big physical defensemen – but they all had one commonality. They all play the same position – defense.

Some rumblings amongst the media tables at the event suggested the Maple Leafs could look to package picks 60 and 69 to move up in the second round which would be interesting considering some of the names they interviewed at the combine. That said, the list of defensemen they spoke – or planned to speak with – included Vladimir Dravecky, Maksim Sokolovskii, Luke Schairer, Jakub Vanecek, amongst others.

How Swede This Draft Will Be

This draft, while heavily still overloaded with North American born players, has a strong Swedish showing to it as well. Of course, there’s Ivar Stenberg leading the charge. He’s a player that could go anywhere from first to fifth based on what teams are looking for in the top four. While I’m still hard-pressed to believe he drops below third, anything can happen.

Beyond him however, Viggo Björck might be one of the more undersized and underrated players in the top end of the draft. He could go in the top-five, but seems more likely to be a top-10 selection.

From there, other top Swedish players that will likely hear their names called in the first or second rounds include Malte Gustafsson, Alexander Command, Niklas Aaram-Olsen and William Hakansson.

While Sweden has proved to be a top producer of hockey talent for quite some time now, this draft will further solidify their spot amongst top feeder countries for the NHL.

Belchetz Bound to Get More Love

If you want to talk about size, Ethan Belchetz is a prime example of an up-and-coming power forward. This kid has size, physicality and skill on the offensive side of the puck and still could fall the outside the top-10 in the 2026 NHL Draft.

Could he land himself as the steal of the first round over the next decade of his career? It’s quite possible. If he can develop and hone his skills to the point of being a legitimate comparable to a player like Tom Wilson, Belchetz could be looked back upon as a player who teams missed on at some point down the road.

Simply put, he has makings of a true playoff piece for teams that are looking for that type of power forward in their lineup. If he does fall outside the top-10 in the draft, teams will be salivating to take him in the 11 to 15 range. It shouldn’t take long before he cracks an NHL lineup and if the interest in him at this week’s combine was any indication, he will be a popular name amongst draft tables as the top half of the first round closes out come draft day.