The 2026 NHL Draft runs June 26-27 in Buffalo. At the scouting combine in early June, theScore's Josh Wegman surveyed dozens of draft-eligible players on a variety of topics. Their answers, listed below, have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
QWhich NHL player do you model your game after?
Gavin McKenna 🇨🇦, LW, Penn State (NCAA): I grew up watching Patrick Kane quite a bit. I was a big hockey nerd watching YouTube highlights of him. I always wanted to be like him. Growing up, I was No. 88 in all my spring hockey tournaments. He's a very creative, very smart hockey player, and I think we can see little details in our game that are similar.
Ivar Stenberg 🇸🇪, LW, Frolunda (Sweden): Lucas Raymond and Nikita Kucherov. I like how they see the ice, how they carry the puck, how they read the game.
Chase Reid 🇺🇸, D, Soo (OHL): Zach Werenski. We have a lot in common - both able to run a power play, take control of games, and be go-to guys on the ice.
Carson Carels 🇨🇦, D, Prince George (WHL): I watch a lot of Jake Sanderson. Just the way he moves, two-way guy. He also has a little bit of bite and aggressiveness that I try to put in my game.
Keaton Verhoeff 🇨🇦, D, North Dakota (NCAA): Thomas Harley. Watching him after the 4 Nations last year, just seeing the way he plays and the way he's able to move the puck up the ice, create offense, but also defend and have that trust with his coaches and his teammates. It's something I really admire.
Alberts Smits 🇱🇻, D, Munich (Germany): I like to watch Moritz Seider. He's a pretty good example of a two-way defenseman. I love his physicality and the way he plays in the defensive zone. The way he plays with confidence, he can make offensive plays, too.
Daxon Rudolph 🇨🇦, D, Prince Albert (WHL): Drew Doughty, Charlie McAvoy, Brock Faber. They're all big righties, play both ends of the ice really well. They do everything for their team. They play a lot of minutes, power play, penalty kill, things like that.
Viggo Bjorck 🇸🇪, C, Djurgardens (Sweden): I've always looked up to Sidney Crosby. He's someone I've idolized. It's hard to keep anyone to his standard. Of course, he's super skilled and scores a lot of points, but I like his two-way game as well.
Tynan Lawrence 🇨🇦, C, Boston University (NCAA): I like to watch Nick Suzuki and Macklin Celebrini. They're both 200-foot players. If you watch Celebrini, obviously, he's a really talented player, but he does a lot of little things away from the puck. If he's not dialed offensively, he can still find ways to help his team and impact the game.
Chase Harrington 🇨🇦, LW, Spokane (WHL): Sam Bennett. I think I have a bit of an agitator side to my game. I love being hated by the other team. Love being a bit of a rat out there.
Nick Bogas 🇺🇸, D, USNTDP: Niklas Kronwall. He hasn't played in several years, but I love the way he played. Hard, physical, can skate well, and move pucks well. I like to play physical.
Niklas Aaram-Olsen 🇳🇴, RW, Orebro (Sweden): Timo Meier. We play similarly. But I'd like to get more like Brandon Hagel. Get more direct to the net, get more around the crease.
Jayden Kurtz 🇺🇸, D, Chicago (USHL): I like watching Brock Faber a lot. Jackson LaCombe, too. They're 200-foot defensemen. I got to watch both those guys on the Gophers growing up in Minnesota. And now being able to turn the TV on and watch Faber play for the Wild is really cool.
QIf you could steal one trait from an active NHLer, what would it be?
Ethan Belchetz 🇨🇦, LW, Windsor (OHL): Connor McDavid's speed. For me, being a big guy and skating that fast, I don't think anyone in the world could do that.
Jonas Lagerberg Hoen 🇸🇪, RW, Leksands (Sweden): Nathan MacKinnon's speed. He's so fast and powerful. It would be amazing to be able to do that.
Carels: The little details in Miro Heiskanen's game. He gets in the right areas and pockets really well. He's really sound back there.
Adam Valentini 🇨🇦, C, Michigan (NCAA): Celebrini's defensive habits. Love how he's a 200-foot player. That's how you win.
Lawrence: Connor Bedard's shot. The way he can get it off, even if he's off balance. He can find those perfect pockets to release the puck.
Elton Hermansson 🇸🇪, RW, Modo (Sweden): Sam Reinhart's play without the puck. I like how he wins battles.
Bogas: Quinn Hughes or Cale Makar's skating. Their skating is just far better than everyone else's. They're so deceptive and so smooth to escape pressure.
Thomas Vandenberg 🇨🇦, C, Ottawa (OHL): Ridly Greig's feistiness and compete. I'm trying to implement that into my game as much as I can. He's fun to watch, gets in people's faces.
QWhat's the strangest question a team asked you at the combine?
Rudolfs Berzkalns 🇱🇻, C, Muskegon (USHL): The Montreal Canadiens asked a couple. What would I do if there were an 18-foot king cobra in the closet? I said I'd fight it back, obviously. I'm not just going to sit there. Montreal had another one. If I were in the desert with another person and only one water bottle, what would I do? I said I would take the water and beat the other guy up if I had to.
Kurtz: Montreal asked one. I'm in the Sahara desert, there's a baseball bat, the nearest water is 24 hours away, one of the scouts has a water bottle, and if I drink the water bottle, I survive 24 hours to get to more water - what do I do? I said I'd probably knock him out and take the water bottle. I'm not gonna let myself die.
Verhoeff: Montreal asked if I went with Martin St. Louis to get a sandwich, and I asked for cheese on it, left, and if they forgot the cheese, would I go back? I said I'd go back and ask politely for the cheese for Marty and me.
Bogas: One from Montreal. If you find a $20 bill on the street or a $100 bill on the toilet, what are you grabbing? I said the $100 bill because I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty.
Lagerberg-Hoen: Montreal asked me to throw a puck in a bucket. I could choose the distance myself. I went about four meters back and drained it.
Ryder Cali 🇨🇦, C, North Bay (OHL): Montreal asked if I was a footwear brand, what brand would I be? I said New Balance because they're versatile. You can hike, you can walk, you can run.
Bjorck: The Hurricanes put up videos of me making mistakes and wanted me to describe them.
Zielinski: Pittsburgh showed me a couple bad clips of myself, and I had to explain what happened.
Giorgos Pantelas 🇨🇦, D, Brandon (WHL): The Rangers gave me a paper of numbers randomized from 1 to 100. In 30 seconds, I had to find as many as I could in order. Unfortunately, I only got to six. I couldn't find seven.
QWhat's the best chirp you've heard on the ice?
Landon Nycz 🇺🇸, D, UMass (NCAA): Someone told me I look like I eat rocks. That gave me a good laugh. It was creative.
Rudolph: Last year, Lukas Dragicevic (2023 second-round pick) crossed the red line in warmups. The opposing team was giving it to him about a fine, but he signed his entry-level contract already, so he told them he'd pay the fine himself. That's a pretty funny one.
Carels: I got called a psychopath this year. I thought that was a compliment, honestly.
Lagerberg-Hoen: A lot of people chirp my braces, call me ugly.
Bogas: When I was playing in Waterloo, this guy had a big nose. Someone said he can probably smell me from here. I still think it's funny to this day.
Harrington: Guys calling me a weasel or a rat.
QWhat would you change about the NHL if you were commissioner for a day?
Alessandro Di Iorio 🇨🇦, C, Sarnia (OHL): I really like three-on-three overtime. I'd put that in the playoffs. Five-on-five is really tiring on the guys when you go to double overtime.
Harrington: I like the jailbreak rule in the PWHL. It's exciting. To score a shorthanded goal and your teammate comes out of the box, it's pretty cool.
Pantelas: I'd try to encourage goalie fights. Seeing my 6-foot-8 teammate Filip Ruzicka fight was one of the most energetic moments ever.
Jonah Sivertson 🇨🇦, RW, Prince Albert (WHL): Remove the shootout and make three-on-three overtime continuous.
Bogas: Raise the salary cap.
Zielinski: I'd change the lottery system. Once a team's eliminated from the playoffs, they start collecting points that go toward their draft odds. I think that'd be a good idea to stop teams from tanking.
Nycz: I'd change the draft back to centralized. I don't dislike the decentralized draft, but I think it takes away from some of the experience of meeting the staff on site after you're drafted. There was some stuff with the broadcast last year that didn't go too smoothly.
