BSP's 2026 Scouting Report

[Iceland Crazy Vikings GM]

Hello everyone! Here is my scouting report for this 2026 draft class. These players were a lot more difficult to evaluate than the previous drafts, but I believe you will be plenty able to make optimal picks based on the information provided here. I chose to do it in this scouting report style rather than the draft list style since it was harder figure out who would go where. It seemed easier and more useful to do it this way.


Top Talent

C Indiana Grossbard SNP 6’2 198lbs (R) (USA) U-17 (USDP)
Grossbard is easily the best player in this draft class. He is the first draft-eligible prospect to finish over a point-per-game in a tournament this era with 57 points in 55 games. He is a 6’2 center sniper, so his physique and skill makes him immediately an NHL-level star. Some scouts speculate that he has a special talent for passing given his 35 assists.

C Kayden Brand - PLY - 6’3 192lbs (R) (CAN) - Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
Brand is the second best center and second best forward in this draft class. He scored 11 goals and 37 points. His 26 assists were second highest of prospects in this draft class, second only to Grossbard’s impressive 35 assists. He led his team with his 37 points despite only playing about 15 minutes per game. His only potential weakness is his faceoffs, but he has time to improve. Brand is a certain top 5 pick.

C Aidan Yu PLY 5’11 168lbs (R) (USA) Chicago Steel (USHL)
Yu scored an incredible 15 goals with 15.2% shooting percentage. He scored 33 points total and finished +10. He did this averaging just 14 minutes a game. Additionally, he is very solid on the draw; he won 420 out of 780 faceoffs, a 53.8% ratio. He is one of the better players in this draft class and could potentially be a top 5 pick, but will definitely be a top 10 pick. He is a very good all-around player.

LD Alexis Storck DFD 6’3 197lbs (L) (SWE) Brynäs IF (J18 Elit)
Storck put up the best defensive numbers of any draft eligible player, putting up 93 blocks, the second most blocks of any player in the tournament. He likes to shoot a lot—he shot 100 times in 52 games; however, his shooting is not accurate. In the right lineup, Storck could produce well offensively and defensively, so he is sure to be a top 10 pick, or even a top 5 pick.

RD Bo Damphouse OFD 6’3 191lbs (R) (CAN) Kingston Frontniacs (OHL)
Damphouse is a solid offensive defenseman. He scored 23 points in his first tournament and 17 points this past event. He is actually better in his own end, putting up 91 blocks—tied for fourth in the tournament. Damphouse is the best right-handed defenseman in this draft class.

LD Dominic Pajkic TWD 6’2 179lbs (L) (USA) US-U17 (USDP)
Pajkic was the highest scoring defenseman of this draft class with 23 points, tied fourth for points scored on the draft team. He also had a solid 76 blocks, third only to Storck and Damphouse but averaging about 3 minutes left per game than both players. Pajkic had both more giveaways and more takeaways than the other two defensemen, with 43 giveaways and 26 takeaways. He is the best two-way defenseman in this draft class.

G Aidan Eskit HYB 5’11 175lbs (L) (CAN) Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
Eskit is the best goalie in the draft class with the most goaltender talent this era. He had two exceptional tournaments in a row, making him a valid top 5 pick if a team in that range needs a goaltender. He is guaranteed to be a top 10 pick.

G Filip Vavro HYB 6’2 175lbs (R) (SVK) Saint John Sea Dogs (QMJHL)
Vavro is the second best goalie in this draft class and also had two great tournaments in a row. If it were not for Eskit being so elite, Vavro would be the top goalie pick in this class, and likely would have been in previous draft classes this era. If Eskit goes top 5, it is likely that Vavro also ends up as a top 10 pick.


Risers

C Vladimir Provorov PLY 5’9 175lbs (L) (RUS) Sarnia Sting (OHL)
Provorov blew away scouts with his 30 points and 14 goals, both of which were the highest on his team, as well as his 17.9% shooting percentage—one of the highest among all players in the tournament. He will definitely go much higher than his originally-projected 34th overall.

C Caleb Malhotra - TWF - 6’2 207lbs (L) (CAN) - Mississauga Steelheads (OHL)
Mahltora led his team in goals scored with 13 goals, but overall was not exceptional offensively for being projected as the 2nd overall pick, scoring just 27 points. He was great defensively, though; he had 75 hits, won 53.3% of his faceoffs, and had 45 takeaways to 38 giveaways. He likely drops to around fifth overall, but there is an argument for him to still be a top 5 pick.

C Awrelij Fomenko TWF 6’5 212lbs (L) (GER) Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL)
Fomenko was only given 12 minutes a game on average but still put up 86 hits, second on his team. He also put up 33 takeaways with 31 giveaways. He played on the wing and did not take many faceoffs, but that is probably ideal because he only had a 44.1% win-rate on the draw. He might be best played as a winger. He is not a scorer, though, as he only had 7 points. Maybe this changes with more ice time.

RW Jakub Frolo SNP 6’1 172lbs (R) (CZE) Sparta Praha (CZE Extraliga)
With expectations low for Frolo before the tournament, he surprised everyone with 25 points, third most on his team, in just 12 minutes of ice time per game. He is a must-have in the first round, likely a top 25 pick.

RW Jaxon Johnson - SNP - 6’0 182lbs (L) (USA) - US-Under-17 (USDP)
Johnson put up solid numbers for a player projected to go 17th overall: 26 points and +8 for North America. He is a good top 15 pick.

RW Tobias Krestan PLY 5’9 155lbs (R) (GER / CZE) Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL)
Krestan put up great numbers with 32 points. He will probably go before his original draft position of 12th overall.

LW Daniil Kazimov PLY 6’0 185lbs (L) (ISR / GER) Adler Mannheim (DEL)
Kazimov scored a decent amount considering his projection at 36th overall. With 22 points, he will probably go late in the first round.

LD Stanislav Borodin - DFD - 6’6 236lbs (L) (RUS) - Monty Yugry (MHL)
Borodin was the tank he was expected to be. He scored 8 goals and totaled 14 points as a 6’6 defensive defenseman. He had a surprisingly accurate shot with a 12.7% shooting percent, even scoring 3 game-winning goals. One to make use of his size, he fought four times this tournament. He only had 65 blocks, but he finished +8 so his physicality may have been preventing his opponents from shooting.

G Radek Novak HYB 6’3 188lbs (L) (CZE) London Knights (OHL)
In terms of raw performance for the draft-eligible goaltenders, Novak was second only to Eskit during the round robin stage of the tournament; however, Novak was the best goaltender during the elimination rounds considering how he netminded Czechia to a gold medal. His ability before the tournament was considered very low, so unfortunately he is not at the ability of Eskit or Vavro, but he has very high potential and could start as a backup after another season in the WJC.

G Dylan Durno - HYB - 6’4 191lbs (L) (CAN) - Hamilton Bulldogs (OHL)
Durno was technically the best goaltender this draft class in terms of the numbers he put up, but he only played five games, which is why he is not described as being the best goaltender. He won all five games he played, putting up the best numbers in the tournament with a 0.938 save percentage and a 1.57 GAA, but this is called into question when considering the team for which he played. Whitehead had a 0.923% in 29 games played and 2.15 GAA while Gaudreau had a 0.936% and 1.75 GAA in 18 games played. Gaudrea also won goaltender MVP. Can Durno put up these insane numbers for another team, or is it the team that allowed Durno (and perhaps these two other goalies) to have such high numbers? Did Gaudrea even deserve MVP? Regardless, Durno is likely higher in ability than Novak, but conversely has less potential.

G Yefim Filimonov - HYB - 6'3 185lbs (L) (KAZ) - HC Sochi (KHL) (59,60,61,62,63,64,65) (19)
Filimonov was right behind Vavro in terms of performance for the draft team, putting up 0.918% and a 2.32 GAA. He had a better GAA than Vavro, but he also played 6 less games. Expect Filimonov to be right behind Novak in terms of ability coming out of the draft.

G Yegor Rybkin HYB 6’1 180lbs (L) (RUS) Avto Yekaterinburg (MHL)
Rybkin did not perform nearly as well as other goaltenders in this draft class, but that does not mean he was bad. He put up 0.912% and 2.82 GAA in 14 games played for the draft team, so he could be a very good second round pick.



Mediocre

C Morgan Hackman - TWF - 6’2 189lbs (R) (CAN) - Niagara IceDogs (OHL)
Hackman may have done better if he were given more ice time. He only played 27 games and barely played each game. He put up 6 points in those 27 games and went +5, so maybe he could be worth developing.

C Mykola Ovchynnikov TWF 6’0 180lbs (R) (UKR) Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (QMJHL)
Ovchynnikov is another player who likely would have done better with more ice-time. He scored 7 goals and 13 points with fourth-line minutes, also having a 14.7% shooting percentage. He seems to be solid defensively so he could be someone to look at late in the first round.

C Linus Eriksson TWF (SWE) - Leksands IF (SHL) (19)*
Eriksson was decent offensively with 21 points but was a mess defensively; he went -15 and only had 46 hits. He is very mediocre.

LW Ivar Stenberg PLY 5’10 169lbs (L) (SWE) Frolunda HC (J18 Elit)
Stenberg had 12 goals but otherwise was not impressive. He would be a solid top 20 pick.


Disappointments

C/LW Mason St Louis PLY 5’7 155lbs (L) (CAN) Quebec Ramparts (QMJHL)
St Louis made a name for himself in his first WJC tournament, but he did not live up to the hype this past event. He is still likely a top 5 pick, but he is certainly not going first overall.

C/LW Ryan Roobroeck PWF 6’5 220lbs (L) (CAN) Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)
For a 6’5 powerfoward projected 4th overall, Roobroeck was extremely disappointing. He only scored 23 points and put up only 61 hits. Titov had more than double Roobroeck’s hits, and Titov is 5’8.

RD Brett Liske - DFD - 6’5 232lbs (R) (CAN) - Brandon Wheatkings (WHL)
Liske only had 56 blocks in about 18 minutes per game. He has no offensive value as he only scored 2 points in 44 games. He only went -1, though, so maybe he develops to be a decent defenseman from the second round.


Busts

C Adam Nemec TWF 5’11 187lbs (R) (SVK) TPS (Liiga)
Nemec was not good; he only had 12 points and he was -14. He also had no noticeable defensive stats.

LW Marek Ziak - SNP - 6'1 190lbs (L) (SVK) - Kladno (Extraliga) (19)
Ziak only scored 5 goals and 12 points in 44 games—not great for a 19 year old sniper. He was the lowest scoring forward on the draft team, and he went -9. If he is drafted, it would be later in the 2nd round.

RD Gavin Callahan - TWD - 6’0 190lbs (R) (USA) - US-Under-17 (USDP)
Callahan was awful for a player projected to go 6th overall. He scored 13 points and only had 57 blocks in about 17 minutes per game. He seems to be a decent passer with 12 assists, but he is dreadful shooter.

RD Martin Kozak TWD 6’1 180lbs (R) (SVK) Peterborough Petes (OHL)
Kozak was Swiss cheese on defense this past tournament, going -17 and only putting up 54 blocks in about 15 minutes each game. He might end up as a decent second round pick, though, as he was originally projected to go 41st overall.

LD Ian Lepsa - TWD - 6'4 215lbs (L) (SVK) - Pardubice (Extraliga)
Lepa does not produce well: 3 points in 52 games, -2, and only 54 blocks as a 19 year old defenseman. Maybe he is a late second-round pick.

LD Rodrigo Antulis - TWD - 6’1 181lbs (L) (LAT) - HK Riga (MHL) (19)
Antulis had 6 points in 43 games and went -14. He only had 59 blocks. He is definitely a 2nd round pick, perhaps a risky one.


Confusing players

LW Nikita Titov PLY 5’8 165lbs (L) (RUS) MHK Spartak Moskva (MHL)
Despite being a 5’8 playmaker, Titov led this draft class in hits with 129, also being top 8 in hits overall. He only scored 19 points and went -16, which makes him questionable as to how he can fare in the NHL, especially considering his 43 PIMs. While he gets a lot of hits, is he really good enough to be a top 10 pick? According to Titov’s coaches, he would best be utilized more as a two-way forward or perhaps a power-forward instead of a playmaker. This transition could maybe make him worth taking as a top 10 pick.

LW Landon Maltby - PWF - 6’2 192lbs (L) (USA) - US-Under-17 (USDP)
Maltby is a good shooter and is reliable defensively; he scored 12 goals with a 15.2% shooting percent and finished +11. He only had 50 hits, though, so he may more be of a sniper with good defense than he is a power-forward. He is a good top 20 pick.

RW Tij Iginla SNP (CAN) - Calgary Hitmen (WHL) (70,71,72,73,74,75) (19)*
Iginla is a very aggressive player. In his first tournament, he scored ten goals and had a lot of hits. In this tournament, he had 12 goals and 66 hits—not very impressive. Reports say he wants to transition into a center power-forward, though, as he believes this would better suit his style of play. He takes good faceoffs, so a center role could benefit his production.