{"id":751260,"date":"2026-06-21T17:38:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T17:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/751260\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T17:38:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T17:38:12","slug":"2026-nhl-draft-the-top-5-biggest-fallers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/751260\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 NHL Draft: The top 5 biggest fallers"},"content":{"rendered":"

So much can change in a draft year. <\/a><\/p>\n

When you see early draft rankings<\/a>, it\u2019s meant to give you a quick idea of who to keep an eye on, knowing that so much will change throughout the season. As players grow and opportunities arise, it\u2019s not uncommon to see drastic changes throughout the year. <\/p>\n

We\u2019ve already looked at 10 of the top risers<\/a>. But today, we\u2019re going to look at five of the biggest fallers. For the most part, the five players listed below seemed like early top 32 candidates, with even a few looking like first-round talents heading into Christmas. But whether it be too many flaws to overlook, inconsistent play, or the lack of a defining trait, these five players all fell in draft rankings throughout the season. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s still a good reason to keep an eye on them, though, because if they were highly regarded at one point, it might not take too much for them to get back into the good graces of NHL teams. These are the type of players that could end up becoming great value choices at some point in the future. Right now, it\u2019s hard to feel too confident about them. But all five have some interesting skill sets that could lead to them having good NHL careers:<\/p>\n

Alessandro Di Iorio, C (Sarnia Sting, OHL)<\/p>\n

You can still count me as a Di Iorio fan, even if he\u2019s nowhere close to the first-round talent he was once projected to be. The Sting forward started the year on the sidelines but ended up with just 31 points in 45 games. It felt like we never saw the two-way center take a big step forward this year, and he doesn\u2019t have any high-end qualities to rely on. That being said, I still like his work ethic, and he plays a heavy game. Di Iorio also has quick hands that he\u2019s not afraid to showcase against quality competition.<\/p>\n

I still see Di Iorio making it a bottom-line, energy-forward. I\u2019d argue he has the highest floor of anyone on this list because he plays a hard-working game away from the puck. I was just hoping to see more with the puck because it feels like he has the hockey sense to get himself into scoring lanes \u2013 but it just didn\u2019t happen. Di Iorio\u2019s ability to battle hard in tight will make an interesting third or fifth pick for a team seeking depth.<\/p>\n

\u0160imon Katolick\u00fd, LW (Tappara, Finland U-20)<\/p>\n

At one point, Katolick\u00fd looked like a potential first-round pick. He\u2019s a 6-foot-4 winger who looked great against his age group last year, putting up some of the best numbers in the Finnish U-18 junior league. But between underwhelming numbers in the Finnish U-20 ranks and some near-invisible performances with Czechia internationally, Katolick\u00fd looks more like a late-round selection, at best. Unfortunately, Katolick\u00fd fell flat again at the U-18s with just one goal in six games. In the end, it was simply too difficult to defend his lack of impact.<\/p>\n

Given his size, he needs to focus on using his muscles to win more battles. He has a good shot, and he\u2019s not afraid to fire it from anywhere when he\u2019s confident. But when he looks a little out of sorts, he can be a bit too timid. He\u2019s set to join the OHL\u2019s Sarnia Sting, returning to the city where he impressed scouts at the 2024 U-17 World Challenge. I like his speed, and he has some legit upside in multiple areas. Maybe a fresh start will boost his confidence and thrust him back into the limelight. I hope so, because I know a lot of Czech fans were really high on him at one point, and he does show flashes of raw talent.<\/p>\n

Marcus Nordmark, LW (Djurgarden, Sweden U-20)<\/p>\n

Nordmark looked like a legitimate option to go in the top 15 early in the year, but only if scouts saw him improve his compete level and his own-zone play. He blends high-end skill and hockey sense to create high-quality chances in the offensive zone. He routinely picks apart opponents in his own age group and has been truly dominant internationally. But scouts are worried that he\u2019s a ghost defensively and that if he doesn\u2019t control play offensively, he won\u2019t be good enough to crack the NHL. He has lazy habits that get him into trouble under pressure and it doesn\u2019t feel like he\u2019s taken enough steps forward to fix that throughout the year. <\/p>\n

So he\u2019s polarizing, which isn\u2019t surprising for a 17-year-old with so much room to grow. Is he legit? Scouts aren\u2019t sure yet. On one hand, he can clearly contribute offensively, and it wasn\u2019t uncommon to see him dominate the offensive zone consistently. But between trying to deke out five guys at once, or inconsistent play away from the disk, it just feels like he\u2019s a total boom-bust pick. Could Nordmark thrive on the power play? Absolutely. At his best, Nordmark can be one of the most skilled players in the draft \u2013 but his best just doesn\u2019t happen enough. A team will definitely take a chance on him in the second or third round and bank on him becoming a high-impact player at the next level, and that\u2019s fine. I just don\u2019t see a world where he goes in the first round anymore.<\/p>\n

Ryan Roobroeck, LW (Niagara IceDogs, OHL)<\/p>\n

Roobroeck was once viewed as a safe bet to go in the top 10, and it\u2019s easy to see why. His combination of size (6-foot-4, 216 pounds) and goal-scoring prowess (99 goals in 176 regular season games over three years) makes him incredibly intriguing. You don\u2019t find many forwards who can command a play like he can at his absolute best, especially after producing at a high level throughout most of his career. But for a guy his size, he often lacks the intensity required to be a true difference-maker. Few players with Roobroeck\u2019s level of talent fall asleep as frequently on plays, and it\u2019s a shame. At the very least, Roobroeck should be able to excel on the power play, and he\u2019s good as a net-front presence. But scouts are worried about his work ethic on the ice, which is why he doesn\u2019t look likely to go in the first round.<\/p>\n

Roobroeck has the highest floor of anyone on this list because of his proven scoring track record. But the biggest issue, of course, is his impact away from the puck when he isn\u2019t firing pucks at the net. He knows that\u2019s an area for improvement, and hopefully it\u2019s something that brings him into total steal territory for the draft. For now, you can still count me as a believer, and I think a team could take a chance on him late in the first round to try and win big on his upside.<\/p>\n

Braidy Wassilyn, LW (London Knights, OHL)<\/p>\n

This is a very interesting player. Wassilyn has first-round talent, but the numbers never seemed to pan out this year, and his two-way game simply isn\u2019t good enough. Wassilyn is a gifted offensive threat, with his puck control being among the best in his age group. He might not be huge, but he\u2019s tenacious, showing a willingness to take on just about anyone. Wassilyn loves to drive to the net, and while his all-around game can be a bit iffy, he\u2019s best when the pressure is on and you need to generate something, anything, late in a game. <\/p>\n

Consistency is still a major issue, though, and I\u2019m not sure he has the right tools to overcome it. With below-average skating and hockey sense, Wassilyn has to rely on his hands to do the most damage, and we didn\u2019t see that consistently enough in the OHL. That being said, I like him on the power play and it does feel like he learned to play with a bit more urgency as the season wore on. Right now, though, I don\u2019t know if he\u2019s more than an AHLer with AAAA capabilities \u2013\u00a0look for him to fall beyond the third round after entering the season as a potential first-round candidate. <\/p>\n

PRESENTED BY THE DAILY FACEOFF NEWSLETTER<\/p>\n

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Recent Articles by Steven Ellis<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"So much can change in a draft year. When you see early draft rankings, it\u2019s meant to give…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":751261,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,575,85],"class_list":["post-751260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/751260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=751260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/751260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/751261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=751260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=751260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=751260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}