Defender Landon Nycz was picked 107th overall by the St. Louis Blues at the 2026 NHL Draft. 

Nycz is a six-foot-three, 209-pound defender who played last year at UMass. As one of the youngest players in the NCAA, Nycz mostly played in a depth role on the blue line behind much more experienced defenders. Still, he showed flashes of a depth defender in the NHL over the course of the year. 

Nycz is a Detroit native and another big defenseman in the draft at six-foot-two, 209 pounds. He played for Compuware and the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies in Michigan before being drafted in the ninth round by the Waterloo Black Hawks of the USHL. Nycz played a season and a half with the Black Hawks before he was traded to the Sioux City Musketeers. In the USHL, Nycz generally averaged around half a point per game. 

That production didn’t continue at UMass as Nycz accumulated just three points in 35 games for a 0.09 point-per-game average. He averaged about 15 minutes per night on the blue line. Nycz is highly mobile and very active, swatting away pucks and always looking for the next move, and at his size, that’s a very appealing prospect. 

However, Nycz has his downsides. His hockey IQ isn’t high, making him prone to poor decisions. He’s prone to losing wall battles, as well. Nycz’s development over the next few years will determine if he can play in the NHL in a depth role or not. It’s particularly important that he leans into his size to gain more leverage.