{"id":304190,"date":"2025-11-24T17:42:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T17:42:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/304190\/"},"modified":"2025-11-24T17:42:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T17:42:07","slug":"gavin-mckenna-stands-alone-at-no-1-defenders-rise-in-deep-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/304190\/","title":{"rendered":"Gavin McKenna stands alone at No. 1, defenders rise in deep draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are two things TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button believes about the 2026 NHL Draft. <\/p>\n

The first is that Penn State winger Gavin McKenna remains a cut above the rest of the field, coming in at No. 1 for the second straight rankings. The second is that four defencemen are in the running to be considered the best blueliner available in the draft.<\/p>\n

While McKenna hasn\u2019t dominated the NCAA the same way he did in junior after making the jump following two seasons with the WHL\u2019s Medicine Hat Tigers, Button has no concerns about McKenna\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

\u201cGavin McKenna has had a big, big sample size of exceptional play,\u201d said Button. \u201cAnd when you project that out, no question that he\u2019s the best player in the draft for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKenna has four goals and 18 points in 16 games with Penn State this season. Last season with Medicine Hat, he had 41 goals and 129 points in 56 games as he helped the team capture the WHL championship and was named CHL and WHL Player of the Year.<\/p>\n

Climbing to No. 2 behind McKenna on November\u2019s list is Frolunda forward Ivar Stenberg.<\/p>\n

Stenberg has five goals and 20 points in 21 games playing in the top league in Sweden this season.<\/p>\n

The 18-year-old winger has represented Sweden on the international stage on several occasions, winning bronze at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup as well as silver medals at the U18s and World Junior A Challenge. <\/p>\n

Behind McKenna and Stenberg is a quartet of defencemen that Button considers very close together in the rankings, starting with University of North Dakota\u2019s Keaton Verhoeff (No. 3), followed by Tappara\u2019s Juho Piiparinen (No. 4), Sault Ste. Marie\u2019s Chase Reid (No. 5) and Prince George\u2019s Carson Carels (No. 6).<\/p>\n

Reid is second in the Ontario Hockey League in scoring by a defenceman this season with 10 goals and 28 points in 25 games. <\/p>\n

The 17-year-old split the 2024-25 season between the NAHL and OHL, but in 39 games with the Greyhounds he had seven goals and 33 assists, with the latter mark leading all OHL rookies and was named to the OHL First All-Rookie Team.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust a really well-rounded defender,\u201d Button said of Reid. \u201cThe way the game is played now, you got to be able to make plays with the puck coming out of your zone, in transition, in the offensive zone. You\u2019ve got to be able to think fast and skate fast. Chase Reid has all those qualities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carels is averaging more than a point-per-game with the Cougars this season with six goals and 24 points in 23 games. <\/p>\n

The Cypress Hill, Man., native has represented Canada three times in the past year, winning silver (World U17 Hockey Challenge), gold (U18s) and bronze (Hlinka Gretzky Cup). <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got a lot of similarities to Josh Morrissey<\/a>,\u201d said Button of Carels. \u201cI don\u2019t know what area of the game he isn\u2019t really, really good in \u2013 defending, physical play, skating, making plays.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another defenceman making waves this season is Blainville-Boisbriand\u2019s Xavier Villeneuve, who is ranked at No. 15.<\/p>\n

Villeneuve, who is in his third QMJHL season, is leading all blueliners in scoring with five goals and 27 points in 23 games.<\/p>\n

\u201cXavier Villeneuve is a fascinating player,\u201d said Button. \u201cHe patterns his game after Lane Hutson<\/a> and rightfully so because he\u2019s got all the elements. To me, he is so interesting in terms of what he could become.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tappara centre Oliver Suvanto is a player who made a big jump on Button\u2019s list this month. <\/p>\n

Rising from No. 21 in September to No. 8, Button says Suvanto has a strong understanding of what is needed in a game at a given time.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got this quality of \u2018Oh, you need a play? I\u2019ll give you a play,\u2019\u201d said Button. \u201cHe\u2019s got a massive edge to him too. He\u2019s a good player.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suvanto has two goals and six points in 24 games playing in the SM-Liiga this season. <\/p>\n

Another centre who has impressed Button this season is Cooper Williams of the Saskatoon Blades, who comes in at No. 19. <\/p>\n

Williams was the second-leading rookie scorer in the WHL last season after Everett\u2019s Landon DuPont with 57 points. This season, he has 10 goals and 21 points in 23 games for Saskatoon. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think Cooper Williams is like Ryan O\u2019Reilly,\u201d said Button. \u201cThat strong, hard, smart, two-way centre. Every winning team has a player like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

One player who has yet to suit up this season is Finnish forward Oscar Hemming. Last season, he had 35 goals with 63 points in 31 games with Kiekko-Espoo\u2019s U18 squad. <\/p>\n

Hemming has been caught in what Button calls a \u201clegal quagmire\u201d as there are issues over where the 17-year-old is eligible to play this season. Despite that, Button has him at No. 10 on his list. <\/p>\n

\u201cWatching him prior to this season, he\u2019s too good,\u201d said Button. \u201cHe\u2019s got too many attributes, too many areas of his game where the impact is significant. I think the most important thing for Oscar is he just needs to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Craig\u2019s List – Nov. 24<\/p>\n

RKPlayer
\u00a0TeamPosHTWTGPGP1Gavin McKennaPenn State (NCAA)LW5\u203211170164182Ivar StenbergFrolunda (SHL)LW5\u203211183215203Keaton VerhoeffNorth Dakota (NCAA)D6\u20323 \u00bd20812484Juho PiiparinenTappara (SM Liiga Jr)D6\u2032120120025Chase ReidSault Ste. Marie (OHL)D6\u20322 \u00bc1882510286Carson CarelsPrince George (WHL)D6\u20321 \u00bd189236247Ethan BelchetzWindsor (OHL)LW6\u203252282316288Oliver SuvantoTappara (SM Liiga Jr)C6\u20322 \u00be20724269Tynan LawrenceMuskegon (USHL)C6\u20320 \u00bd18521210Oscar HemmingK-Espoo (SM Liiga Jr)LW6\u20323 \u00bd19311Marcus NordmarkDjurg\u00e5rdens (SWE J20)LW\/RW6\u20321 \u00bd1801572312Alberts SmitsJokerit (SM Liiga)D6\u203232052361113Daxon RudolphPrince Albert (WHL)D6\u20322 \u00bc2062161714Ryan LinVancouver (WHL)D5\u2032111772452815Xavier VilleneuveB-Boisbriand (QMJHL)D5\u2032111622352716Caleb MalhotraBrantford (OHL)C6\u20321 \u00bc18223102917Egor ShilovVictoriaville (QMJHL)C6\u20320 \u00bd17723113118Nikita KlepovSaginaw (OHL)RW5\u203211 \u00bd17824143319Cooper WilliamsSaskatoon (WHL)C6\u20320 \u00bc16623102120Ilia MorozovMiami-Ohio (NCAA)C6\u20322 \u00bd1971261121Pierce MbuyiOwen Sound (OHL)LW5\u20321016026143522Viggo BjorckDjurg\u00e5rdens (SWE J20)C\/RW5\u20329177193723Adam NovotnyPeterborough (OHL)LW6\u2032120424142624JP HurlburtKamloops (WHL)LW5\u203211 \u00be18525184425Mathis PrestonSpokane (WHL)C5\u203210 \u00be1772181726Malte GustafssonHV71 (SWE J20)D6\u20324 \u00bc200133927Ryan RoobroeckNiagara (OHL)LW6\u20322 \u00be21522122228Elton HermanssonModo (SWE J20)RW6\u20321181122829Jack HextallYoungstown (USHL)C5\u203211 \u00be1882171830Thomas VandenbergOttawa (OHL)C5\u203211 \u00bd1791671331Beckham EdwardsSarnia (OHL)C\/LW6\u20320 \u00be1822391932William HakanssonLulea (SHL)D6\u20324 \u00bd207200233Adam ValentiniMichigan (NCAA)C5\u20329 \u00bc1901651634Vilho VanhataloTappara (SM Liiga Jr.)RW6\u203231872191635Niklas Aaram-OlsenOrebro (SWE J20)LW6\u2032018416112036Alexander CommandOrebro (SWE J20)C6\u2032118316112337Victor PlanteUSA NTDP (USHL)LW5\u20329 \u00bc1632191938Alessandro Di IorioSarnia (OHL)C6\u20320 \u00bc18863639Filip NovakPrague (CZE Jr.)C6\u203211982182340Nikita ShcherbakovNeftekamsk (VHL)D6\u20325187180441Liam RuckMedicine Hat (WHL)RW5\u203211 \u00be1762582442Braidy WassilynLondon (OHL)LW5\u20321119418111943Jakub VanecekTri-City (WHL)D6\u20321 \u00bd1912151444Jaxon CoverLondon (OHL)RW6\u20321 \u00bd1802361945Markus RuckMedicine Hat (WHL)C5\u203211 \u00bd1672562746Gleb PugachyovN. Novgorod (MHL)RW6\u203231982061647Giorgios PantelasBrandon (WHL)D6\u203222142221548Casey MutrynUSA NTDP (USHL)C\/RW6\u203232002151349Frantisek PoletinPelicans (SM Liiga Jr.)G6\u2032119041.97.91050Aleksei VlasovVictoriaville (QMJHL)LW5\u2032917623163051Brooks RogowskiOshawa (OHL)C6\u203272321951552Oscar HolmertzLinkoping (SWE J20)C6\u203201871951753Joe IginlaEdmonton (WHL)RW5\u20321017526102054Chase HarringtonSpokane (WHL)LW6\u20320 \u00bd1952271655Mikey BerchildUSA NTDP (USHL)LW5\u20329 \u00be1801851356Landon NyczU-Amherst (NCAA)D6\u20322201151257Blake ZielinskiDes Moines (USHL)C5\u203211 \u00bd1881831558Adam NemecHK Nitra (SVK)LW6\u203211862121159Landon HafeleGreen Bay (USHL)C5\u203211 \u00bc1851761760Samu AlalauriPelicans (SM Liiga Jr.)D6\u20321 \u00bd2031931061Vladimir DraveckyBrantford (OHL)D5\u2032111892341662Zach JovanovskiGuelph (OHL)G6\u20323187193.83.88263Luke SchairerUSA NTDP (USHL)D6\u20323196210564Colin FitzgeraldPeterborough (OHL)C6\u20322 \u00bc21124613<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There are two things TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button believes about the 2026 NHL Draft. The first…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":304191,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[712,49,48,448,79176,82],"class_list":["post-304190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-apple-news","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nhl","tag-nhl-sports-hockey-league-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=304190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/304191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=304190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=304190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}