The first NHL Draft for any incoming hockey operations regime is always extremely high stakes. When that draft is also the first of a nascent rebuild, and the franchise holds a top-three selection, an additional first-round pick from the trade of a franchise player and four picks in the top 50, well then it’s something else entirely.Whichever players the Canucks pick when the 2026 NHL Draft unfolds in late June, their development and the path they take in professional hockey will define the initial phases of this rebuild.The results of this draft will mold perceptions of new co-presidents Henrik and Daniel Sedin, and recently promoted general manager Ryan Johnson. It will shape the look and feel of this team for years to come.If Vancouver can emerge from the 2026 draft with a couple of building block prospects in hand, the sort of young players that hit a rocket ship trajectory in their draft-plus-one seasons, produce and trend rapidly in the direction of becoming difference-makers, it would do wonders for this franchise’s ability to sell short-term hope during an upcoming several seasons that promise to be very lean from a results perspective.If, however, the Canucks struggle to identify those players with star potential in the draft class, then Vancouver fans will soon know that they’re in for a longer ride than what fans in, for example, Montreal have enjoyed tracking over the past few seasons.As we continue to dive deep into the draft, and with the NHL combine kicking off this week in Buffalo, N.Y., we’ll conduct our second Canucks Mock Draft of the cycle. This time, we’re using Will Scouch’s mock draft simulator over at scouching.com to simulate the picks made by non-Canucks teams, and Vancouver’s picks will be made by The Athletic’s senior NHL prospects reporter Corey Pronman. Pronman has been asked to make the picks based on what he believes the club would do, but will share his insights into what he’d like to see the team do as we go through this exercise.PickPositionPlayer1LWGavin McKenna2LW/RWIvar Stenberg3CCaleb MalhotraThomas Drance: So, as expected, it’s Gavin McKenna first, and it’s Ivar Stenberg second, and now the Canucks are on the clock with neither of the elite wingers remaining on the board.Corey Pronman: That takes the whole premium position versus winger debate out of the conversation. Even if Stenberg is still on the board, that’s still the most important conversation that Vancouver is going to be having this summer: can you find a player like Stenberg on the open market, or is it easier to find a really good top-six centre or a really high-end top-four calibre defender more easily on the open market?This is especially loud when it comes to centres. I know there’s been a prolific debate about Caleb Malhotra in Vancouver, who’s the clear top centre in this class, but it’s not just happening in Vancouver. In a lot of front offices, there’s a lot of discussion about a player who has a chance to be a real top-line centre. Even if it’s not the likeliest outcome, he has a real chance to be a first-line centre, and that’s the most valuable role arguably on any NHL team. It’s so difficult to get those players.Drance: I’m curious to get your thoughts on this, Corey, because I get a little bit worried about teams drafting for positional need. Obviously, it’s important in team building, but I suspect teams have it wrong when they think about building out their NHL team at the draft, as opposed to just building organizational value.Let me give you an example from last year’s draft. So, it’s hard to find a first-line centre, we all know this, but say Connor McDavid or Auston Matthews were to shake loose at some point in the next 24 months. These are the true, top, best in the league first-line pivots, and the idea that one of those players could change teams over the next few years isn’t exactly viewed as an impossible scenario around the league at the moment.