As we inch closer to the 2026 NHL Draft, I surveyed six NHL scouts and executives to get a better sense of how the top of the board might actually unfold. I didn’t ask them for their personal player rankings; instead, I asked them to put on their general manager hats and project how they see the top-10 picks shaking out.Here’s the consensus pick at each spot based on the lists they provided to The Athletic. A table showing the full panel results is located at the bottom of the story.1. Toronto Maple Leafs: Gavin McKenna, LW, Penn State (NCAA)While predicting McKenna to go first feels like a foregone conclusion, the industry isn’t completely sold that he’s the undisputed best player in the class. Of the evaluators I polled, three of the six didn’t have McKenna at No. 1 on their personal list, and more than one didn’t have him in their top two, even if every single one of them projects Toronto to take him. One evaluator preferred Ivar Stenberg, one had Caleb Malhotra and one said he was split between defensemen Chase Reid and Alberts Smits. The rationale for a lot of the voters is simply that McKenna fits at No. 1 as a player, and with his pedigree, it would be highly controversial for Toronto not to take him.2. San Jose Sharks: Chase Reid, D, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL)Every evaluator gave Reid to the Sharks. The rationale here was straightforward: he fits the profile as the best defenseman in the draft and has the premium potential to run a first power-play unit. Beyond his pure talent, the scouts pointed to the Sharks’ desperate need for a high-end defenseman in their rebuild, especially given the tight, close group of prospects available in this tier of the draft. Like McKenna, not everyone had Reid as a top-two prospect in the draft on their personal list, but most had him either in that range or very close to it.