2026 goalie draft prospect Harrison Boettiger (7th ranked North American goalie per NHL Central Scouting) looks to help Kelowna of the WHL win the Memorial Cup championship this spring. As the host of this year’s annual event, Kelowna receives an automatic bid to May’s four-team showdown. In 33 games this season, Boettiger has posted a record of 19-9-4, along with a 3.15 goals against average and .901 save percentage. Boettiger also played in this season’s CHL USA Prospects Challenge, and had the unique distinction of competing for Team USA in 2024, then for Team CHL in 2025. The Colorado native will attend Denver University in 2026-27.
2026 forward draft prospect Ivar Stenberg (1st ranked International skater) remains on pace to break NHL Hall of Famer Daniel Sedin’s SHL record for scoring rate by a draft-eligible player. Stenberg currently sits at 32 points (11G 21A) in 36 games. This is good for a scoring rate of 0.91 points per game, well ahead of Sedin’s 0.84 PPG average in 1998-99. Also, Stenberg sits atop of the February draft rankings published by Tony Ferrari of The Hockey News, one spot ahead of Penn State University’s Gavin McKenna. Stenberg’s stock was enhanced further by his stellar performance in helping Sweden win the gold medal at the pressure-packed World Junior Championship.
2026 d-man draft prospect Malte Gustafsson (8th ranked International skater) has continued his rise this season in Swedish hockey, as well as the draft rankings. After starting 2025-26 at Sweden’s U18 Region level, he has climbed the ladder to become a steady contributor in the SHL, Sweden’s top pro league. Also, Ferrari’s above-referenced February ranking lists him as being taken 7th overall.
My personal opinion is that Ferrari’s ranking of Gustafsson at #7 is a bit high. For comparative purposes, my assessment of Gustafsson includes fellow 2026 d-man prospect Chase Reid (4th ranked North American skater) of the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds. Ferrari has Reid as 11th overall, while all other rankings have him rated as a top 10 pick. I agree with the other rankings that Reid should be ranked in the top 10. As Reid continues to learn the defensive side of things, he also has more offensive upside than Gustafsson. Although I agree that Gustafsson belongs in the top half of the first round, I still think he will land outside the top 10. Therefore, sticking with Ferrari’s assessment, Reid and Gustafsson should be reversed, with Reid at #7 and Gustafsson at #11.