Follow along with our THN - Pittsburgh Penguins' live draft tracker, and join the discussion
Well, folks, after a long, eventful week, the 2026 NHL Draft is here.
The Pittsburgh Penguins' draft board looks like this:
- Round 1, Pick 22 - RW Liam Ruck
- Round 2, Pick 39 (acquired from Winnipeg Jets) - C Markus Ruck
- Round 2, Pick 54 - D Tomas Galvas
- Round 3, Pick 86 - LW Pierce Mbuyi
- Round 4, Pick 111 (acquired from BOS/DET) - D Parker Von Richter
- Round 5, Pick 160 (from CAR) - G Matvei Nikonovich
Follow along LIVE for updates on the draft as well as the Penguins' selections:
First Round
1. Toronto Maple Leafs - LW Gavin McKenna
2. San Jose Sharks - LW Ivar Stenberg
3. Vancouver Canucks - C Caleb Malhotra
4. Buffalo Sabres (from CHI) - D Daxon Rudolph
5. New York Rangers - D Alberts Smits
6. Calgary Flames - D Carson Carels
7. Seattle Kraken - D Chase Reid
8. Winnipeg Jets - C Viggo Bjorck
9. San Jose Sharks (from FLA) - D Keaton Verhoeff
10. Nashville Predators - C Wyatt Cullen
11. St. Louis Blues - C Tynan Lawrence
12. New Jersey Devils - C Alexander Command
13. New York Islanders - D Malte Gustafsson
14. Columbus Blue Jackets - LW Oscar Hemming
15. Anaheim Ducks (from STL/DET) - RW Nikita Klepov
16. St. Louis Blues (from WSH) - C Maddox Dagenais
17. Utah Mammoth (from LA) - LW Ethan Belchetz
18. Washington Capitals (from ANA) - C Oliver Suvanto
19. Los Angeles Kings (from UTAH) - RW Elton Hermansson
20. Buffalo Sabres (from EDM) - C Ilia Morozov
21. San Jose Sharks (from PHI) - D Ryan Lin
22. Pittsburgh Penguins - RW Liam Ruck
23. Detroit Red Wings (from Utah) - LW J.P. Hurlbert
24. Vancouver Canucks (from MIN) - LW/RW Adam Novotny
25. Ottawa Senators (from TBL) - RW Jonas Lagerberg Hoen
26. Montreal Canadiens (from VGK) - RW Gleb Pugachyov
27. Philadelphia Flyers (from SJ) - D Maksim Sokolovskii
28. Anaheim Ducks (from VGK/MTL) - LW Marcus Nordmark
29. Vegas Golden Knights (from MTL) - D Juho Piiparinen
30. Calgary Flames - C Jack Hextall
31. Nashville Predators (from CAR) - D Tommy Bleyl
32. Ottawa Senators - Jaxon Cover
Second Round
33. Vancouver Canucks - C Brooks Rogowski
34. Chicago Blackhawks - D Xavier Villeneuve
35. Chicago Blackhawks - LW Ryan Roobroeck
36. Calgary Flames - LW Chase Harrington
37. New Jersey Devils - LW Matias Vanhanen
38. Seattle Kraken - RW Casey Mutryn
39. Pittsburgh Penguins - C Markus Ruck
40. Florida Panthers - RW Simas Ignatavicius
41. Vancouver Canucks - LW Nicklas Aaram-Olsen
42. Calgary Flames - G Tobias Trejbal
43. Colorado Avalanche - C Egor Shilov
44. New Jersey Devils - LD Nikita Shcherbakov
45. Anaheim Ducks - RD Jayden Kurtz
46. Los Angeles Kings - C Liam Lefebvre
47. Detroit Red Wings - LW Victor Plante
48. Florida Panthers - C Ryder Cali
49. Los Angeles Kings - RD Adam Goljer
50. Anaheim Ducks - RW Preston Mathis
51. Carolina Hurricanes - LD William Hakansson
52. Tampa Bay Lightning - RW Oleg Kulebiakin
53. Philadelphia Flyers - RD Brek Liske
54. Pittsburgh Penguins - LD Tomas Galvas
55. Calgary Flames - RW Alan Shaikhlislamov
56. Boston Bruins - G Yuri Ivanov
57. Montreal Canadiens - RD Timofei Runtso
58. Edmonton Oilers - C Rudolfs Berzkalns
59. Dallas Stars - LD Jakub Vanecek
60. Toronto Maple Leafs - LD Alexander Bilecki
61. Carolina Hurricanes - C Wiggo Sorensson
62. Philadelphia Flyers - G Martin Psohlavec
63. Vegas Golden Knights - FORFEITED
64. New York Rangers - LD Ben MacBeath
Third Round
65. Calgary Flames -
66. Chicago Blackhawks - RD Samu Alalauri
67. New York Rangers - G Danai Shaiikov
68. Carolina Hurricanes - RW Zachary Lansard
69. Toronto Maple Leafs - LD Ethan MacKenzie
70. Nashville Predators - G Dmitri Borichev
71. Winnipeg Jets - G Samuel Hrenak
72. Ottawa Senators - LW Adam Nemec
73. Toronto Maple Leafs - RW Zach Olsen
74. Colorado Avalanche - C Beckett Hamilton
75. St. Louis Blues - RD Luke Schairer
76. Toronto Maple Leafs - RD Mans Gudmundsson
77. New York Rangers - LD Charlie Morrison
78. Vancouver Canucks - G Dmitri Ivchenko
79. Detroit Red Wings - G Michal Orsulak
80. Los Angeles Kings - C Blake Zielinski
81. New York Rangers - C Tomas Chrenko
82. Anaheim Ducks - RW Rian Chudzinski
83. Minnesota Wild - C Adam Andersson
84. Edmonton Oilers - C Milton Gastrin
85. Toronto Maple Leafs - G Juuso Ainasto
86. Pittsburgh Penguins - LW Pierce Mbuyi
87. Ottawa Senators - C Oscar Holmertz
88. Boston Bruins - RW Nils Bartholdsson
89. Los Angeles Kings - G Yegor Rybkin
90. Tampa Bay Lightning - D Tomas Kralovic
91. Ottawa Senators - RW Louis Felix Bourque
92. Vegas Golden Knights - C Benjamin Wilmott
93. Montreal Canadiens - D Cooper Cleaves
94. Columbus Blue Jackets - C Alessandro Di Iorio
95. Vegas Golden Knights - D Sean Burick
96. Utah Mammoth - C Adam Valentini
Fourth Round
97. Vancouver Canucks - LW Yaroslav Bryzgalov
98. Florida Panthers - Jonas Kemps
99. Seattle Kraken - Viktor Fedorov
100. Calgary Flames - C Egor Barbanov
101. Washington Capitals - C Tyus Sparks
102. New York Rangers - LW Spencer Bowes
103. Los Angeles Kings - C Thomas Vandenberg
104. Boston Bruins - RW Matvei Kotkov
105. Carolina Hurricanes - LW Michael Berchild
106. Nashville Predators - D Jakub Floris
107. St. Louis Blues - LD Landon Nycz
108. Detroit Red Wings - C Adam Levac
109. New York Islanders - RD Lincoln Kuehne
110. Ottawa Senators - C Elliot Lennon
111. Pittsburgh Penguins (from BOS/DET) - RD Parker Von Richter
112. Minnesota Wild - RW Kayden Lemire
113. Vegas Golden Knights - RW Jonah Sivertson
114. Seattle Kraken - G Patriks Plumins
115. Utah Mammoth - G Carl Axelsson
116. Winnipeg Jets - LW Zach Wooten
117. Montreal Canadiens - D Brayden Klimpke
118. Nashville Predators - LW Justin Graf
119. New Jersey Devils - C Lavr Gashilov
120. Philadelphia Flyers - G Marek Sklenicka
121. Columbus Blue Jackets - LW Evan Jardine
122. Boston Bruins - LW Oscar Olsson
123. St. Louis Blues - G Vladimir Proskurin
124. Buffalo Sabres - C Olivers Murnieks
125. Carolina Hurricanes - G Ryder Fetterolf
126. Colorado Avalanche - G Tobias Tvrznik
127. San Jose Sharks - G Brady Knowling
128. Colorado Avalanche - D Axel Elofsson
Fifth Round
129. Vancouver Canucks - RW Connor Davis
130. Utah Mammoth - D Theodor Knights
1`31. Seattle Kraken - D Finn Kearns
132. Calgary Flames - LW Simon Katolicky
133.
134. Tampa Bay Lightning - C Morgan Anderberg
135. Winnipeg Jets - D Alexandre Taillefer
136. Philadelphia Flyers - RD Kent Sauer
137. Minnesota Wild - G Filip Ruzicka
138. Nashville Predators - LW Philip Hemmyr
139. St. Louis Blues - LD Nicholas Bogas
140. Colorado Avalanche - D Cole Tuminaro
141. New York Islanders - Rd Vladimir Dravecky
142. Columbus Blue Jackets - G Parker Snell
143. Detroit Red Wings - C Beckham Edwards
144. Washington Capitals - D Brian McFadden
145. Los Angeles Kings - D Vertti Svensk
146. Anaheim Ducks - D Eric Frossard
147. Utah Mammoth - RW Florent Houle
148. Seattle Kraken - D Luken Huff
149. New Jersey Devils - G Daniil Rusakovich
150. St. Louis Blues - G Colin Stevens
151. Ottawa Senators - D Harris Pangretitsch
152. Colorado Avalanche - Theodore Lechner
153. Los Angeles Kings - Giorgos Pantelas
154. Tampa Bay Lightning - C Cooper Soller
155. Dallas Stars - RD Ryan Brown
156. Buffalo Sabres - C Doman Szongoth
157. Boston Bruins - D Jacob Vandeven
158. Toronto Maple Leafs - C Cooper Williams
159. Vegas Golden Knights - D Will McLaughlin
160. Pittsburgh Penguins (from CAR) - G Matvei Nikonovich
Sixth Round
161. Toronto Maple Leafs - D Yaroslav Fedoseyev
162. New York Rangers - LD Andre Mondoux
163. New York Rangers - RW Dallas Anderson
164. Calgary Flames - D Bode Laylin
165. Carolina Hurricanes - G Zachary Jovanovski
166. Seattle Kraken - D Ola Palme
167. Winnipeg Jets - C Landon Hafele
168. Florida Panthers - RW Vilho Vanhatalo
169. Toronto Maple Leafs - RW Brody Pepoy
170. Boston Bruins - G Roberto Henriquez
171. St. Louis Blues - RW Lars Steiner
172. New Jersey Devils - C Luke Wilfley
173. New York Islanders - C Artyom Matyuk
174. Philadelphia Flyers - C Jake Gustafson
175. Detroit Red Wings - LW Luke Arkko
176. Vancouver Canucks - RW Lucian Bernat
177. Los Angeles Kings - RW Alex Kostov
178. Anaheim Ducks - G Gleb Peshkov
179. Nashville Predators - D Benjamin Cossette Ayotte
180. Edmonton Oilers - C Caden Harvey
181. Florida Panthers - RW Cole Zurawski
182. Columbus Blue Jackets - C Anttoni Uronen
183. Ottawa Senators - D Alexander Grunin
184. Vancouver Canucks - D Samuel Eriksson
185. Columbus Blue Jackets - RD Jonas Woo
186. Tampa Bay Lightning - G Stepan Shurygin
187. Dallas Stars - G Anton Emil Wilde Larsen
188. Buffalo Sabres - RW Dylan Dumont
189. Montreal Canadiens - LW Parker Trottier
190. Montreal Canadiens - RW Wesley Royston
191. Vegas Golden Knights - G Matthew Minchak
192. Carolina Hurricanes - C Noah Kosick
Seventh Round
193. New York Rangers - D Ivan Patrikhayev
194. Chicago Blackhawks - C Alexei Ivanov
195. Colorado Avalanche - LW Shawn Carrier
196. Detroit Red Wings - D Myles Brosnan
197. Dallas Stars - C Jasper Kuhta
198. Seattle Kraken - D Rylan Singh
199. Winnipeg Jets - D Alofa Tunoa Ta'Amu
200. Florida Panthers - C William Sorbrand
201. San Jose Sharks - D Alexander Karmonov
202. Nashville Predators - C Charlie Puglisi
203. St. Louis Blues - C Colin Fitzgerald
204. Seattle Kraken - C William Tomko
205. New York Islanders - RW Robert Cowan
206. Columbus Blue Jackets - Filip Novak
207. Vegas Golden Knights - LW Noel Pakarinen
208. Washington Capitals - C Logan Stuart
209. Los Angeles Kings - RW Tobias Krestan
210. Anaheim Ducks - D James Rieber
211. Utah Mammoth - LW Artem Prima
212. Edmonton Oilers - LD Randy Cameron
213. Philadelphia Flyers - D Max Laatikainen
214. Colorado Avalanche - D Ondrej Ruml
215. Colorado Avalanche - G Alain Raymond
216. Boston Bruins - D Cullen McCrate
217. Florida Panthers - G Louis-Antoine Denault
218. Tampa Bay Lightning - D Max Vilen
219. Dallas Stars - D Mikhail Cherepanov
220. Winnipeg Jets - G John Parsons
221. Montreal Canadiens - LD J.J. Daigneault
222. New Jersey Devils - C Quinn McKenzie
223. Montreal Canadiens - D Lucas Ambrosio
224. Anaheim Ducks - RW Tyler Deakos
Trade Board
- Boston Bruins acquire F JJ Peterka from the Utah Mammoth for the 2026 23rd overall pick and a 2028 first-round pick (from FLA)
- New York Rangers acquire F Pavel Dorofeyev from the Vegas Golden Knights for the 2026 26th overall pick, a 2026 third (92nd overall), and a 2028 top-10 protected first-round pick
- St. Louis Blues acquire C Mason McTavish from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for picks 15 and 29 in the 2026 draft
- The Utah Mammoth acquire the 17th overall pick from the Los Angeles Kings for the 19th and 83rd picks in 2026.
- The San Jose Sharks acquire the 21st overall pick from the Philadelphia Flyers for picks 27, 62 and 120.
- The Detroit Red Wings acquire the 23rd overall pick from the Utah Mammoth in exchange for Sebastian Cossa.
- The Montreal Canadiens acquire the 26th overall pick from the Vegas Golden Knights for the 28th overall pick and a 2027 third-round pick.
- The Anaheim Ducks acquire the 27th overall pick from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for the 28th overall pick and the 128th overall pick.
- The Nashville Predators acquire the 31st overall pick from the Carolina Hurricanes for the 42nd and 57th picks.
What to keep an eye on
- At 13th overall, two higher-touted defensemen, LD Malte Gustaffson and RD Ryan Lin, are still on the board. If they make it to 15, the St. Louis Blues select back-to-back. Don't be surprised to see Pittsburgh look to move a few slots up.
- Welp, never mind. But we are at 14, and Lin is still on the board...
- Lin is still on the board at 17... and 18... and 19...
- This is starting to get very interesting. I'm high on Lin, Bleyl, Novotny, and Hurlbert, and there's a good chance one of those guys is going to be available at 22, especially with Elton Hermansson left on the board.
- Morozov at 20 is a bit of a surprise to me.
- Lin and Novotny are both in play for the Penguins with just one selection to go before they pick, and either of them would be my first pick out of the field left.
- The Penguins select Liam Ruck. Gotta think they're going to do what they can to get Markus, too.
- I love the Cover pick at 32 for Ottawa. What a story he is. Played roller hockey until a little over four years ago, and he was selected in the first round of the NHL Draft with such little actual time on ice. Great stuff.
- No surprise whatsoever that the Penguins selected Markus Ruck to join his brother, Liam. Markus is a center and edged Liam in points last season with 108 to Liam's 104, but Liam is the goal-scorer. This could either end up aging very well for the Penguins or very poorly, especially if the brothers end up taking very different development paths.
- LOVE the Pierce Mbuyi pick. This guy has a motor, he's got speed, he's got tenacity, and he's got a scoring touch. Relentless. There is a ton of upside here, and this is a case where the size should be ignored because he doesn't play his size.
- The pick by Carolina at 125 to draft goaltender Ryder Fetterolf means another Pittsburgh kid. He's from Sewickly.
- Never a bad idea to let the Penguins cook with late-round Russian goaltender selections.
