2026 NHL Draft Odds, Predictions, And Best Bets

Written by: Nicholas Martin Fact checked by: Greg Warren

Last Updated: June 25, 2026

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The 2026 NHL Entry Draft will take place Friday evening in Buffalo, and if the week leading up to the draft is any indication, we may be in for some fireworks and unexpected moves on the draft floor, which means there is some significant value with our NHL Draft predictions.

Gavin McKenna is currently priced at -20000 (bet365) to go first overall to the Toronto Maple Leafs, while Ivar Stenberg is now priced at -1000 to go second overall following San Jose’s blockbuster trade with the Ottawa Senators to acquire the ninth overall selection.

After that things become a little more murky, and based on line movement that has taken place on Thursday at the best NHL betting sites, the possibility of the Vancouver Canucks surprising and taking consensus No. 1 defender Chase Reid as opposed to Caleb Malholtra at No. 3 is growing.

In this article, we’ll outline our favourite pair of betting angles from what will hopefully be a very exciting event and touch on some potential selections that may shake up the draft board. This is a very fluid market, so keep in mind that this article was written Thursday morning, and new information may become available that would lead to significant line movement.

NHL Draft prediction: Chase Reid to Go Third Overall +100 (Play to -110)

Chase Reid to be selected 3rd overall

+100

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After the San Jose Sharks traded William Eklund to Ottawa in exchange for the ninth overall pick, it seems far less likely that the Sharks will go a little off the board and select Chase Reid and will seemingly select Stenberg, which would be logical given that he seems quite likely to be the best player available in that spot, and then that would obviously leave Reid available for Vancouver at pick No. 3.

For much of the lead up to the draft, it has been somewhat of a foregone conclusion that the Canucks would select Malholtra, who is the son of recently hired coach Manny Malholtra. While this take may age horribly, the idea that the Canucks may pass on Malholtra to take Reid seems to be picking up momentum.

There’s a fairly strong argument that Reid is the superior of the two prospects, and while obviously there’s logic in the team taking Malholtra’s offspring, it would also set up a dramatic situation that would be looked at in a downright horrific light if (Caleb) Malholtra were to struggle early on in his career.

Chase Reid’s 1.03 point-per-game rate was the third-best mark among draft-minus-one skaters in OHL history. He’s a tremendous skater, and showed fairly strong ability to defend at his own blue line and above-average awareness in the defensive zone. Reid did make some mistakes coming out of his own zone at times, but that is essentially par for the course among all play-driving defenders handling 25+ minutes a night.

At +100, there seems to be some value in backing the Canucks to make what is considered to be somewhat of a surprising move and select Reid, who seems to hold the most upside of any defender on the board by a wide margin.

NHL Draft prediction: Viggo Bjorck to Go Sixth Overall -120 (Play to -130)

Viggo Bjorck to be selected 6th overall

-120

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Earlier in the week, I posted two draft bets to my Action Network profile, one being Stenberg to go second (when it was at -150) and the other being Keaton Verhoeff to go sixth to the Calgary Flames, who have reportedly grown quite high on the hefty Albertan blue-liner.

The Flames then traded the Golden Knights’ 2027 first-round pick (top-10 protected), the Avalanche’s 2028 first-round pick (top-10 protected) and Etienne Morin for former second overall selection Simon Nemec.

While it’s far from impossible that the Flames may simply like Verhoeff enough to select add another blue-liner after just acquiring one, it would seem more logical at this point to think they will go with Bjorck, barring the slight possibility that he is gone by that point in the draft.

Bjorck had a strong performance at the World Championship for Team Sweden, which may help quell concerns about the centre’s ability to compete in the NHL checking in at just five-foot-nine. And if there’s one thing that is becoming more clear in recent years, it’s that skaters that are being slighted for their small stature entering the draft can often be the most undervalued.

Bjorck has shown tremendous positional awareness and already offers a well-rounded game in all three zones. He’s unlikely to be a full-blown offensive superstar, but showed enough offensive upside at the WJC (nine points in seven games) to warrant a high selection given the winning style of play he offers in all areas of the ice.

With Carolina just winning the Stanley Cup with Logan Stankoven playing the role of second-line centre, perhaps the stigma surrounding a player of Bjorck’s stature is currently a little reduced, and he won’t fall down the draft board the way comparable undersized forwardss have in previous years.

2026 NHL Draft Order (First Round)