NHL Mock Draft: Islanders like Oliver Suvanto at No. 13; Rangers can go big with two first-round picks

Year 2 of the decentralized two-day NHL Draft model brings the prospects to Buffalo while team officials stay at their respective facilities and, overall, there will be less fanfare locally than last year when the Islanders improbably won the Draft Lottery for the first selection.

The Rangers do own two first-round picks – Nos. 5 and 26 – while the Islanders are slated to select 13th.

Round 1 is Friday night with rounds 2-7 on Saturday.

Here’s how Newsday projects the first round as of Sunday night following the Brady Tkachuk trade:

1. Toronto: Gavin McKenna, LW, 5-11, 170 (Penn State/NCAA). He’s not Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini or Matthew Schaefer, the last three players taken No. 1 overall, but McKenna is the consensus best player in the draft. The Maple Leafs have reportedly told the dynamic playmaker — 15 goals, 35 assists in 36 games at Penn State; four goals, 10 assists in seven games at the World Juniors) — he’ll be their pick.

2. San Jose: Chase Reid, D, 6-2, 190 (Sault Ste. Marie/OHL). Many believe Swedish wing Ivar Stenberg is the second-best player available but the Sharks are loaded with talented young forwards and need help on defense. They did just acquire defenseman Michael Kesselring from Buffalo but Reid, a puck-moving right shot who had 18 goals, 48 points in 45 games and two goals and four points at World Juniors, won the CHL’s award as the league’s top draft prospect. He’s committed to Michigan State.

3. Vancouver: Caleb Malhotra, C, 6-2, 185 (Brampton/OHL). Although Stenberg and Reid are rated higher, the son of former Ranger Manny Malhotra is a center, a high value position. Plus, the Canucks just hired his father as their new coach. Would they pass on drafting his son?

4. Chicago: Ivar Stenberg, LW, 5-11, 190 (Frolunda/Sweden). He had 11 goals and 33 points in 43 games in Sweden’s men’s league and shined at the World Juniors and World Championships. A total no-brainer if he’s available.

5. Rangers: Alberts Smits, D, 6-3, 209. (Jokerit/Finland). The Rangers, thin at center in their prospect pool, would love to get Malhotra. Assuming he’s gone, they’ll likely take one of the highly-regarded defensemen. Smits, loaned to German team Munich for that league’s playoffs, played for Latvia in the Olympics and World Championships and is the most NHL-ready. For a team looking to turn its fortunes around quickly, why not take a guy who could be at training camp in September?

6. Calgary: Viggo Bjorck, C, 5-9, 180 (Djurgarden/Sweden). He’s small, but skilled and unafraid to go to the hard areas. Stood out at World Juniors and turned heads playing on Lucas Raymond’s line for Sweden at the World Championships.

7. Seattle: Carson Carels, D, 6-2, 194 (Prince George/WHL). A smooth skater with hockey smarts, he’s a strong two-way player who had 20 goals and 73 points in 58 games and projects as a top-four defenseman. The Rangers may favor him. Carels is committed to North Dakota.
8. Winnipeg: Keaton Verhoeff, D, 6-4, 215 (North Dakota/NCAA). The big, righthanded shot plays a solid two-way game and had six goals and 20 points in 36 games as a 17-year-old freshman.
9. 9. Ottawa (from Florida): Daxon Rudolph, D, 6-2, 205 (Prince Albert/WHL). A playmaker with a big right-handed shot, he plays a two-way game that produced 28 goals and 78 points in 68 games, plus nine goals and 27 points in 19 playoff games. He’s committed to the University of Denver.

10. Nashville: Wyatt Cullen, LW, 6-1, 176 (USNTDP/USHL). The son of three-time Stanley Cup-winner and former Ranger Matt Cullen, still 17 and committed to the University of Minnesota, had 16 goals and 29 assists in 40 games as both his offensive game and body continue to develop.
11. St. Louis: Tynan Lawrence, C, 6-1, 185 (Boston University/NCAA). A strong skater with a two-way physical presence, Lawrence left the USHL to challenge himself at the collegiate level as a 17-year-old, notching two goals and five assists in 18 games.

12. New Jersey: Ethan Blechetz, LW, 6-5, 228 (Windsor/OHL). Blechetz, committed to Michigan State, uses his size and skating ability to great advantage in the offensive zone and had 34 goals and 25 assists in 57 games.
13. Islanders: Oliver Suvanto, C, 6-3, 207 (Tappara/Finland). The Islanders, with a need for forward prospects, did well selecting Schaefer while he was still 17 and could follow suit with the 17-year-old Suvanto, who had two goals and nine assists in 48 games playing in his country’s top league. He plays a two-way, physical game despite his youth.
14. Columbus: Malte Gustafsson, D, 6-4, 200 (HV71/Sweden). A strong skater with poise and power-play potential, Gustafsson earned regular ice time in Sweden’s top league as a 17-year-old.
15. St. Louis (from Detroit): Nikita Klepov, RW, 6-0, 180 (Saginaw/OHL). Klepov is committed to Michigan State after becoming the first OHL rookie since future Hall of Famer Patrick Kane to lead that league in scoring (37 goals, 60 assists in 67 games).
16. Washington: Alexander Command, C, 6-1, 183 (Orebro Jr./Sweden-Jr.). A strong skater and forechecker with good vision and a developing two-way game who earned a late-season call-up to Sweden’s top league after notching 17 goals and 27 assists in 30 games in the junior circuit.
17. Los Angeles: Oscar Hemming, LW, 6-4, 193 (Boston College/NCAA). A dispute with his Finnish squad cost him a full season at Boston College but his size, shot and skating have him scouted as pro-ready.
18. Washington (from Anaheim): Ilia Morozov, C, 6-3, 200 (Miami, Ohio/NCAA). The Russian had eight goals and 12 assists in 36 games while playing strong in all three zones as a 17-year-old.
19. Utah: Thomas Bleyl, D, 6-0, 165 (Moncton/QMJHL). The upstate New Yorker, a righthanded shot, is still undersized but one of the most offensive-gifted defensemen available. He had 13 goals and 68 assists in 63 games and is committed to Michigan State after one more season of junior hockey.
20. Buffalo (from Edmonton via San Jose): Adam Novotny, LW, 6-1, 205 (Peterborough/OHL). The power forward had 34 goals and 31 assists in 58 games and starred for Czechia at the World Juniors.

21. Philadelphia: Elton Hermansson, RW, 6-1, 181 (MoDo/Sweden-2). Hermansson was named the top forward in the World Under-18s with four goals and eight assists in seven games thanks to his skating and blistering shot.

22. Pittsburgh: Jack Hextall, C, 6-1, 188 (Youngstown/USHL). A smooth-skating playmaker who had 20 goals and 38 assists in 59 games and is committed to Michigan State.

23. Boston: J.P. Hurlbert, LW, 6-0, 183 (Kamloops/WHL). A 200-foot player who led all WHL rookies with 97 points (42 goals, 55 assists) in 68 games and is committed to the University of Michigan.

24. Vancouver (from Minnesota): Ryan Lin, D, 5-11, 178 (Vancouver/WHL). The right-shooting puck-mover with a strong defensive presence had 14 goals and 43 assists in 53 games and is committed to the University of Denver.
25. Florida (from Tampa Bay via Seattle): Maddox Dagenais, C, 6-4, 196 (Quebec/QMJHL). The son of former NHLer Pierre Dagenais notched 30 goals and 32 assists in 62 games and shined on the power play.

26. Rangers (from Dallas via Carolina): Brooks Rogowski, C, 6-7, 235 (Oshawa/OHL). The Rangers do love 6-7 guys, though normally later in the draft. But a skilled center of that size seems too good to be true. Rogowski, a Michigan native, thought for a time he’d be a baseball player.

27. San Jose (from Buffalo): Liam Ruck, RW, 6-0, 174 (Medicine Hat/WHL). A pure finisher who had 45 goals and 104 points in 68 games.
28. Montreal: Juho Piiparinen, D, 6-2, 204 (Tappara/Finland). The two-way, puck-moving, righthander spent most of the season with the men’s team, at 17. He had one assist in four World Junior games.

29. St. Louis (from Colorado via Islanders): William Hakansson, D, 6-4, 217 (Lulea/Sweden). A defensive-minded defenseman who played in the junior league, got loaned to the second division, then finished in the top men’s league. And you can’t teach size.
30. Calgary (from Vegas): Xavier Villeneuve, D, 5-11, 164 (Blainville-Boisbrand/QMJHL). The slick skater and playmaker missed two months with an undisclosed injury but returned to notch six goals and 14 points in 17 playoff games. He’s committed to Boston University.
31. Carolina: Casey Mutryn, RW, 6-3, 206 (USNTDP). A project but he’s big, and wins puck battles, rising from 30th in the NHL’s midseason prospect ratings to 24th. He’s committed to Boston College.
32. Ottawa: Egor Shilov, C, 6-0, 177 (Victoriaville/QMJHL). He played a half-season for the Under-16 Long Island Gulls in 2024-25 after arriving from Russia, then led all QMJHL rookies with 82 points in 63 games. Shilov is committed to Penn State for 2027-28.