From a 7-foot-1 Moldovan defender to a Cayman Islands winger, a new wave of global prospects threatens to disrupt the traditional scouting map and make history.
The top end of the 2026 NHL Draft still has the usual heavy hitters, the names everyone already knows, but what’s quietly interesting this year is how rare the draft is could turn out to be.
According to a recent Daily Faceoff breakdown, there are a handful of prospects coming from places that don’t usually show up in draft conversations. And yet, here they are, not just hanging around lists, but pushing their way into actual consideration.
Here are the five that stand out from the DFO article from Steven Ellis.
Jaxon Cover, LW (Cayman Islands):
A bit of a unique path here. Cover grew up around inline hockey in the Caribbean before eventually making the jump to ice. This past season, he played with the London Knights in the Ontario Hockey League. Not the typical development track at all, but he’s carved out real attention anyway.
Domán Kristóf Szongoth, C (Hungary):
A steady two-way centre who already has a pretty mature feel to his game. He even got a look as the youngest player at the IIHF World Championship, which says a lot on its own. This year he spent time with KooKoo in Finland’s U20 setup, and it feels like scouts keep circling back to him for the reliability more than anything flashy.
Simas Ignatavicius, RW (Lithuania):
There’s some real momentum here. Ignatavicius had a strong season in Switzerland, playing against men with Genève-Servette in the National League. Big frame, skill to match it, and the kind of year that tends to move a player up boards quicker than expected.
Alexander Karmanov, LHD (Moldova):
This one is hard to ignore just because of the physical profile. He’s listed at 7-foot-1, which still feels unreal when you read it. Karmanov split his year between the Brantford Titans in the GOJHL and the North Bay Battalion in the OHL.
Illia Shybinskyi, LW (Ukraine):
A more creative, offence-driven winger who spent the season flashing skill in junior hockey. He can take over shifts when he gets space, and that upside is really what keeps him in the conversation.
As DFO pointed out, the Cayman Islands and Moldova have never had an NHL player drafted. Lithuania has had two players drafted, and Hungary has had four. Ukraine has had the most on this list with 30 players. This NHL draft could be a historic one if these players all hear their names called.
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