Six Recent First-Round Picks Who Are Under The Most Pressure To Make NHL Strides In 2026-27

For some young players, this coming season will be vital to their chances at becoming a full-time NHLer.

In recent drafts, there have been players such as Ben Kindel, Michael Misa, Ivan Demidov, Artyom Levshunov and some others who have been effective contributors for their teams in the past three years or so. First overall picks Macklin Celebrini and Matthew Schaefer would certainly be included in that list.

However, for some other high picks in the last few drafts, there will be a load of pressure to finally crack the NHL in 2026-27. Here are some of the youngsters that fall into that category.

The New York Islanders do have some youth in their lineup, including reigning Calder Trophy winner and 18-year-old Schaefer and 21-year-old center Calum Ritchie. But when it comes to 19-year-old Cole Eiserman, who was selected 20th overall in 2024, it's time for him to find a spot on the Islanders' roster.

He is a pure goal-scorer who could fuel a veteran-filled Islanders team. This past season with Boston University, he scored 18 goals and 28 points in 32 appearances. He also had a brief stint with the AHL's Bridgeport Islanders - now the Hamilton Hammers - recording two goals and nine points in 12 games at the end of the year.

The signs of an elite goal-scorer are there for Eiserman, and it's time for that to translate to the NHL.

Jett Luchanko has featured at many different levels since the Philadelphia Flyers drafted him 13th overall in 2024. Already with two OHL seasons under his belt with the Guelph Storm, he played another pair of campaigns for them since his draft, including some time with the Brantford Bulldogs in the later stages of 2025-26.

The 20-year-old center also spent time in the American League with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in 2024-25, featuring in nine games and providing three assists. That was followed up by six assists in seven Calder Cup playoff appearances.

In addition to all that, Luchanko has played eight games in the NHL. His experience in the league is split in half, with four games in 2024-25 and 2025-26, without scoring a point yet.

It's expected that with all the hockey he's played around North America, he will be able to settle in Philadelphia for 2026-27.

Brayden Yager has had a lengthy Jr. career. He's featured in 265 WHL contests, most of which were for the Moose Jaw Warriors and a sliver for the Lethbridge Hurricanes, across parts of five seasons.

Drafted 14th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins and now a member of the Winnipeg Jets, Yager played his first full professional season this past year. He represented the Manitoba Moose for 68 contests, scoring 10 goals and 30 points in the AHL. He also notched four assists in seven post-season outings.

If the Jets continue to drop off like they did last season, and Connor Hellebuyck's trade request might escalate that, there will be more opportunity for Yager to find a spot.

Drafted 10th overall in 2024, the New Jersey Devils are still waiting for Anton Silayev to reach or show signs of meeting expectations.

The 20-year-old defenseman is set to play his first season in North America this coming year with the AHL's Utica Comets. This comes after Silayev played three full seasons in the KHL. This past year, he scored three points in 61 KHL contests with Nizhny Novgorod.

He's shown to be capable of holding his own in a professional and high-level environment, and his size certainly helps with that. But as high a pick as he was, New Jersey would like to see some results push him to being a helpful NHL blueliner soon.

Cayden Lindstrom's journey to the NHL is still going, and hasn't been linear in the slightest.

He was drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets with the fourth overall pick in 2024, right after the first three of Celebrini, Levshunov and Beckett Sennecke. Each player in that top three has played in at least 82 NHL games.

For Lindstrom, it's been a challenging development path that's been highlighted by a serious back injury that kept him sidelined for the entire 2024-25 WHL regular season. He rejoined the Medicine Hat Tigers for the playoffs and Memorial Cup, but he hasn't been the same player since.

This past year was with Michigan State University of the NCAA. He played 31 games but scored just three goals and 10 points. He also accumulated 94 penalty minutes, tied for the second-most in the league. 

All signs point to the 20-year-old needing some more time to get stronger and recover for the 2026-27 campaign.

David Reinbacher is another high draft pick who has seen his development take a pause because of injury. The Austrian was taken with the fifth overall pick in the 2023 draft by the Montreal Canadiens.

He suffered a serious knee injury during a 2024 pre-season game for the Canadiens, which required the defenseman to undergo surgery. That kept him sidelined for about five to six months.

Since then, he has made his NHL debut, making two appearances for the Habs this past year, but most of his time has been in the AHL with the Laval Rocket. Reinbacher played 57 games for the Rocket and registered five goals and 24 points in the process.

On top of his injury past, Montreal has emerged as a perennial playoff team, making it challenging for youngsters and unproven players to get a real opportunity in the NHL.

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