{"id":224604,"date":"2025-10-19T13:00:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T13:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/224604\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T13:00:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T13:00:08","slug":"ethan-belchetz-might-be-a-top-3-prospect-in-stacked-2026-nhl-draft-the-hockey-writers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/224604\/","title":{"rendered":"Ethan Belchetz Might Be a Top-3 Prospect in Stacked 2026 NHL Draft – The Hockey Writers –"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the early stages of the 2025\u201326 hockey season, the top projected picks for the 2026 NHL Draft have underwhelmed a bit. While top prospects such as Gavin McKenna<\/a> and Ryan Roobroeck are still fantastic, it could be argued that they\u2019ve taken a step back at this point.<\/p>\n

Related: Chase Reid Poised to Climb 2026 NHL Draft Boards<\/a><\/p>\n

Ethan Belchetz, a high-skill power forward from the Windsor Spitfires, has only gotten better. He\u2019s making the case that he should be a top-three pick in a very competitive class.<\/p>\n

Belchetz Has Been the Spitfires\u2019 Engine<\/p>\n

With a record of 10\u20132\u20131, the Spitfires are plowing through the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). But they\u2019re doing it without some key names that led them to a West Division title last March<\/a>. Perhaps their best player in 2024\u201325, Ilya Protas, is now playing for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL). Liam Greentree, one of the OHL\u2019s most talented forwards, was suspended for three games between Oct. 11 and 17.<\/p>\n

So, who\u2019s been leading the charge? Belchetz, even when Greentree has played, has done the heavy lifting. Sitting at 10 goals and six assists for 16 points in 13 games, he\u2019s tied for first in OHL goal-scoring and sixth in points. The eye test, though, has been even more impressive.<\/p>\n

At 17 years old, Belchetz is the engine of a contender\u2019s offence. He\u2019s had relentless puck possession, both distributing scoring opportunities and taking them himself. Threading cross-ice passes constantly, simultaneously on pace for a 52-goal campaign, it says a lot about his dominance.<\/p>\n

Belchetz\u2019s Frame Is Another Selling Point<\/p>\n

Belchetz didn\u2019t go No. 1 in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection<\/a> for his skill alone. Today, he stands at 6-foot-5 and 227 pounds\u2014one of the biggest prospects in hockey. The term \u201cunicorn\u201d gets overused just a smidge, but Belchetz is an exception. He uses his size incredibly well for his age, and combined with the skill, is totally unstoppable.<\/p>\n

\"EthanEthan Belchetz, Windsor Spitfires (David Jewell \/ The Hockey Writers)<\/p>\n

Even compared to fellow 6-foot-5 linemate Jack Nesbitt<\/a>, selected 12th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2025 NHL Draft, Belchetz is more physically impactful in my opinion. He doesn\u2019t play like a 2008-born player\u2014more like 2006. It\u2019s a testament to his maturity at such a young age.<\/p>\n

Why Belchetz Should Go Early in 2026<\/p>\n

Belchetz is playing himself into the top-three conversation at the same time that others are playing themselves out of it. Roobroeck, another huge forward from the OHL, has taken a step back this season, per my eye test. When I looked at the numbers, I wasn\u2019t surprised: eight points in 11 games. He\u2019ll likely find his footing, but this is a player coming off an 87-point campaign across 64 contests.<\/p>\n

Ethan Belchetz wins a puck battle along the wall, then immediately cuts to the middle (sitckhandling through a defender) and fires one home short side. <\/p>\n

This guy is looking more and more like the complete package offensively. pic.twitter.com\/XKOV3ALiif<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 F\u00e9lix Sicard (@Felix_Sicard) October 18, 2025<\/a> <\/p>\n

Inside the consensus top 10 for the 2026 NHL Draft, only a few players have truly increased their stock. Belchetz is one of them, and perhaps the most jaw-dropping of them all. He\u2019s looked like a true game-breaker so far, and I don\u2019t expect that to change.<\/p>\n

To me, McKenna and Keaton Verhoeff<\/a> should still be the first two players off the board, and in that order. But it\u2019s really anyone\u2019s game after that. Dynamic Swedish Hockey League (SHL) winger Ivar Stenberg has a case, and Western Hockey League (WHL) center Mathis Preston has lived up to the hype, but Belchetz has the edge right now. In June, the same might be true.<\/p>\n

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