WHO COULD LEAPFROG GAVIN MCKENNA AT FIRST OVERALL? | Elite Prospects Rankings Debate

The 2026 Draft is beginning to crystallize with distinct tiers, but no player has entrenched themselves at #1 as Gavin McKenna has stumbled a bit out of the gate, overwhelmed by the pace and physicality of college hockey. We had a lengthy debate at Elite Prospects before keeping him in that slot, here are the 7 players with at least an argument to steal it away. We begin by breaking down McKenna's game alongside contending wingers Ivar Stenberg and Ethan Belchetz. Next, we move on to a pair of big right-shot defencemen in Chase Reid and Keaton Verhoeff. Finally, we have 3 wild card who could surprise as they represent unique players in this draft: the top centre in Tynan Lawrence, the most dynamic offensive defenceman in Xavier Villeneuve, and a two-way locomotive LD in Carson Carels.

Elite Prospects Ranking Article: https://www.eliteprospects.com/news/2...

Recorded Ranking Meeting:    • 2026 NHL Draft Top 50 Ranking - November 2...  

00:00 Intro
03:22 Gavin McKenna
07:22 Ivar Stenberg
09:19 Ethan Belchetz
10:55 Break
12:03 Chase Reid
15:03 Keaton Verhoeff
19:37 Break
20:32 Tynan Lawrence
24:09 Xavier Villeneuve
27:00 Carson Carels

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