Will Mathis Preston, Adam Valentini, Casey Mutryn and other prospects who weren't selected in the first round of the NHL draft make everyone wonder why they weren't selected higher?
Very good players fell out of the first round of the NHL draft.
Some of the best players in the NHL were taken outside of the first round. Lane Hutson and Matthew Knies are recent examples. Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Mark Stone are elite NHLers chosen on Day 2.
There are various reasons for players slipping. Poor performance, an undersized frame or simply just not being the best player on any team's board can result in passing on a prospect.
This year, there are a few really intriguing players who were left out of the first round. Some of them were ranked quite highly by various analysts and possess massive upside. We should hear many of these names called early on Day 2.
Let's look at some of the best players available for Day 2 of the 2026 NHL draft.
Mathis Preston, LW, Vancouver (WHL), 5-foot-11, 172 pounds
Preston is the most purely skilled forward remaining in the draft who suffered from a down year at the worst time.
He didn't have the production expected of him early in the year, and then he was traded from Spokane to Vancouver in the WHL, but was injured before he could even get going with his new club.
Preston plays with a ton of pace, and he has a wicked shot. He had a great performance at the World Men's Under-18s.
Part of the catch with Preston is that he's an undersized left winger as well. But he is the exact kind of player who finds his way into the discussion of "How did he fall so far?" when we talk about the 2026 draft in a few years.
Xavier Villeneuve, D, Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL), 5-foot-111, 164 pounds
You can argue that Xavier Villeneuve is the most skilled defenseman in the draft class.
He suffered a hip injury later in the year, but his dynamism and skill are truly special. The way he operates in the offensive zone is akin to some of the most impressive puck-movers in the NHL.
He's undersized, which clearly scared off some NHL teams. But if Villeneuve hits his ceiling, he could easily be one of the best two or three defensemen in this class.
Villeneuve is not a shutdown defenseman by any means, but he has shown flashes of being an effective defender when he skates forward and closes gaps quickly.
He could easily be a point producer in the NHL, yet teams will still doubt smaller defenders in his mold.
Casey Mutryn, RW, U.S. NTDP (USHL), 6-foot-3, 206 pounds
Mutryn is one of the most interesting power forwards in the draft.
His fearless style of play and tendency to attack defenders head-on made him a player widely discussed behind the scenes as a first-round talent.
Mutryn was one of the top players at the USA Hockey National Team Development Program this year. His physicality was the obvious standout trait, but his flashes of skill were intriguing. If he can round that out, he could easily become a very solid complementary winger on a middle-six line.
He has many of the same traits that Matthew Knies had in his draft year.
Adam Valentini, Michigan (NCAA), 5-foot-10, 183 pounds
Another undersized player who went undrafted in the first round, Valentini also faced plenty of criticism for how he handled his summer.
NHL personnel seemed to take issue with his off-season commitment and decommitment. But his play on the ice was impressive all season, and that continued into the U-18s.
Valentini is a relentless worker who is a true hound, hunting down pucks and getting in on defenders when they have the puck. When he has the puck, he's a ball of energy with a whippy shot and some slippery passing ability.
Simas Ignatavicius, RW/C, Geneva (Sui), 6-foot-3, 201 pounds
A U.S.-born Lithuanian playing in Switzerland, Ignatavicius is a north-south forward who is center-driven and net-focused.
He plays a very pro-style game already, simply finding open space and getting in tight to the net. Ignatavicius is a nifty player around the crease, getting on rebounds and either getting the puck on net or finding a teammate in open space.
What Ignatavicius suffered from is simply being a bit of an unknown quantity. Playing in Switzerland doesn't put him in front of a ton of eyes, but his pro tendencies, along with his great size and solid mobility, should make him the kind of project NHL teams are happy to take on.
Wiggo Sorensson, C/W, Boro/Vetlanda (Swe.4), 5-foot-10, 183 pounds
One of the draft's great unknowns, Wiggo Sorensson played the vast majority of the season at the U-18 level due to a personal decision. That meant he wasn't on the radar of many until much later in the season. Some NHL scouts hadn't really seen him play until the U-18s, where he was a quality player for the Swedes.
He plays with a ton of speed and some really impressive skill. He must refine his game as he hasn't played at the highest or most competitive levels, but he has the tools to do so and be an impact player.
William Hakansson, D, Lulea (Swe.), 6-foot-4, 217 pounds
One of the best pure defenders in the 2026 draft class, Hakansson is a big, beefy blueliner who loves to lay the body. He has the size and mobility that NHL teams love to see. His puck skills need some work, but there is so much to like about his defensive floor that he should get ample opportunity to play if he gets to the NHL level.
He doesn't need to be a high-end puck-mover, but he needs to find a baseline that allows him not to be a liability.
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