Welcome to my pick-by-pick breakdown of the entire first round of the 2026 NHL Draft.Over the next two days, I’ll review and rank the draft classes of all 32 NHL teams. Today’s Round 1 analysis will be followed on Day 2 by a look at almost all of the 223 selections made across seven rounds, analyzing the complete hauls of each club.After another season of travel, video, phone calls and texts, it’s my educated view of each team’s selections, carefully considering both my own evaluations of the prospects and each player’s consensus expected draft range. The goal is for this to be the most comprehensive draft review available anywhere.Note that this isn’t a look at the total value each club got out of its picks, but rather an examination of each team’s class relative to the location of its selections. Teams with more picks (or higher picks on average) are not guaranteed good grades, just as teams with few picks (or lower picks on average) are not guaranteed bad ones.As always, my analysis of each team’s class is sorted into the following categories:
Winners: Teams I believe will outperform where they selected.
Overtime winners: Teams I believe will perform in line with or just above where they selected.
