{"id":935902,"date":"2026-10-17T02:32:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T02:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/935902\/"},"modified":"2026-10-17T02:32:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T02:32:10","slug":"2027-nhl-draft-prospect-roundup-whos-boosting-their-stock-the-most-right-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/935902\/","title":{"rendered":"2027 NHL Draft Prospect Roundup: Who\u2019s boosting their stock the most right now?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, we published our first in-season NHL Draft rankings<\/a> ahead of the 2027 selection process.<\/p>\n

The list included 40 players, with Landon DuPont understandably holding the top spot. The early season Draft rankings don\u2019t typically give us the most accurate picture of what\u2019s going to happen in June \u2013 so much will change.<\/p>\n

For example, there were many who thought Caleb Malhotra was projected way too high at 27 when we put him in our top 40 list last September<\/a>. He ultimately went third, while a few players listed above him weren\u2019t even taken until later on Day 2. That\u2019s what makes the draft year so fascinating. You\u2019re looking for trends, improvements, and anything that can help build one of the most accurate lists available. <\/p>\n

Today, as we bring back the NHL Draft Prospect Roundup series, we\u2019re looking at five players who weren\u2019t included in the top 40 earlier this month but have still earned a lot of praise from scouts:<\/p>\n

Noah Laus, LW (Soo Greyhounds, OHL)<\/p>\n

Ryan Kaczynski and Trevor Daley Jr. both deserve some serious love for their offensive exploits. But Laus has been one of the OHL\u2019s more impactful all-around forwards so far. The mid-sized 17-year-old has five goals and nine points through eight games while sharing the team scoring lead with Kaczynski (while averaging a goal per game through nearly a month of play). Laus is the one guy making things happen consistently; he\u2019s always looking for his linemates in high-danger scoring situations and seems to rarely get beat.<\/p>\n

There aren\u2019t many high-end traits in Laus\u2019 game. Instead, he\u2019s well-rounded in that he always works hard to retrieve pucks, hits hard and possesses a good shot. I think he\u2019s just an OK skater at best, but it\u2019s not something that\u2019s probably going to hold him back too much in the NHL. I think we\u2019re talking about a player who has the hockey sense and work ethic to be a bottom-six energy guy who can push himself up the lineup every now and then in more of a playmaking role. As it stands, I think Laus could be a second-round pick.<\/p>\n

Maxmilian Mare\u0161, C (Rimouski Oc\u00e9anic, QMJHL)<\/p>\n

Mare\u0161 was an absolute madman with Czechia\u2019s Hlinka Gretzky squad. He looked dominant physically while continuously creating high-quality chances. Mare\u0161 has since carried that hot play over to Rimouski, where he\u2019s tracking for more than 70 points in his first year playing in North America. He had a two-point QMJHL debut, followed that up with a handful of multi-point efforts, and has been one of the Oc\u00e9anic\u2019s top players during their losses, too.<\/p>\n

Mare\u0161 is a physical force already at 6-foot-6, but he moves exceptionally well, too. Most bigger players struggle to find their way at a young age, but you can tell Mare\u0161 \u2013 Czechia\u2019s No. 1 center in August \u2013 is as competitive as they come and isn\u2019t afraid of anyone. Big forwards are all the rage these days, and Mare\u0161 obviously fits the bill. For now, I want to see his skating improve, but his raw base is intriguing.<\/p>\n

Oliver Sundberg, RW (Djurg\u00e5rdens, Sweden U-20)<\/p>\n

Sundberg was Djurg\u00e5rdens\u2019 top U-18 player last year and has been a standout with the U-20 team, too. He\u2019s been battling with Hampus Zirath and Viktor Hedlund for the scoring lead, but it\u2019s been Sundberg\u2019s quick shot and nifty hands that have been fascinating to watch. Sundberg was one of Sweden\u2019s better players at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup as well \u2013 a rare bright spot in an otherwise lackluster effort from Tre Kronor.<\/p>\n

Sundberg is one of the flashier players in the Swedish junior league, but he is also a hard worker. His two-way game has come a long way over the past year or so, allowing him to become more engaged defensively. Sundberg finds open space as well as anyone in this draft class, and he\u2019s got the footwork to make sure he\u2019s always in a scoring lane. I could see Sundberg becoming a late first-round pick at this rate.<\/p>\n

Odin Vauhkonen, LHD (Victoria Royals, WHL)<\/p>\n

Vauhkonen looks like a legitimate top-64 pick to me. The Harvard University commit had 23 points a year ago with Victoria, but he\u2019s tracking for 90 this year as one of the WHL\u2019s most dangerous defenders. He\u2019s playing north of 20 minutes a night while seeing some power-play time, too. Vauhkonen has points in every game this season, which is bonkers. The Newport Beach, Calif., native isn\u2019t huge by any means, but he\u2019s physically strong and defends well. Vauhkonen doesn\u2019t let more skilled wingers get to him; he\u2019s typically in the right spot at the right time.<\/p>\n

Overall, I think Vauhkonen\u2019s biggest weakness is his skating; it feels like he struggles going backward, but he has some decent speed to work with. Scouts have noticed that he\u2019s more of a passive defender than an aggressive one; a 180 in that regard would go a long way in ensuring he\u2019s taken in the first two rounds. Vauhkonen has the puck skills and all-around capabilities to make some noise. With some refinement, I could see him becoming a second-pairing NHLer.<\/p>\n

Easton Walos, C (Sarnia Sting, OHL)<\/p>\n

Walos was born a few months after the 2026 NHL Draft cutoff, so expectations were higher for the Hartland, Wisc., native. He had 25 goals and 48 points in Sarnia a year ago, but he\u2019s on track for over 50 goals and 90 points this season. He\u2019s already up to five two-point performances this year, with three of those being multi-goal efforts. And the best part? Walos\u2019 defensive game is already miles better than it was a year ago. For the most part, we\u2019re talking about a forward who loves having the puck and is willing to put the effort in to get it in his possession.<\/p>\n

On the flip side, Walos\u2019 lack of physicality is something scouts are worried about. He can struggle to win individual battles, leaving him on the outside looking in. He\u2019s a decent skater with a solid shot, so he\u2019s got that down pat. But if he\u2019s going to be a top-75 pick in 2027, we\u2019ll need to see a bit more intensity and puck-handling ability. At the very least, I could see him emerging as a defensive-minded forward in the NHL, but he\u2019ll have to evolve his physical tools to make that happen.<\/p>\n

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Recently by Steven Ellis<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last week, we published our first in-season NHL Draft rankings ahead of the 2027 selection process. The list…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":935903,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":["post-935902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/935902","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=935902"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/935902\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/935903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=935902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=935902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=935902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}