The Toronto Maple Leafs won the golden ticket of the first selection in the upcoming draft. While Gavin McKenna is the favourite to hear his name called at #1, we make the case for four other players -- Chase Reid, Carson Carels, Ivar Stenberg, and Caleb Malhotra -- who could be enticing for various reasons. That said, we view McKenna as the likely and correct selection by the Leafs, but the conversations behind closed doors surrounding this pick will be extensive.

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To little surprise, Matthew Schaefer won the Calder trophy in a landslide, securing each and every one of the 198 votes for 1st place, but Demidov, Sennecke, and Dobeš round out a particularly strong top-end in the Calder race. We break down the progress and development each of the 14 players to receive a top 5 vote, with some players who hit a wall in the back half of the season and others who gained nothing but steam.

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If your team is on the lookout for a potential number 1 defenseman in the 2026 NHL Draft, there are a couple great options, and Keaton Verhoeff was the runaway leader among blueliners coming into the season. With high-end aggression, a Shea Weber-esque bomb from the point, and some real promising playmaking flashes, Verhoeff is a beast when he's on his game. Inconsistent on-puck decision-making, breakout breakdowns, and a huge leap in quality of competition led to some steeper lows this season, however. Still, he's one of a handful of defencemen in the 2026 class who possess top-pairing upside. Where should he go on draft day?

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