The 2026 NHL Draft isn't until late June in Buffalo, but NHL Central Scouting released its midterm rankings, which means it's time to do one thing.
React.
In all, nine locals got ranked, which is relatively strong. A lot can change between now and the draft. It's common for players to boost (or plummet) their stock in the next few months.
A couple of housekeeping things before we get into the takeaways. Players were ranked in order by round.
But just because a player was ranked doesn't mean they'll get picked. A whole half of a season has still yet to be played, and the rankings consist of 244 North Americans and 148 international players. It’s competitive.
Here are the New Englanders taken:
New Englanders
- Round 1, No. 30: Casey Mutryn, Norwell, Mass.
- Round 3, No. 81: Niko Tournas, Redding, Conn.
- Round 3, No. 90: Rian Chudzinski, Needham, Mass.
- Round 4, No. 104: Myles Brosnan, Winchester, Mass.
- Round 4, No. 111: Brian McFadden, Holbrook, Mass.
- Round 4, No. 114: Will Manchuso, Concord, Mass.
- Round 5, No. 133: Kaiden Donia, Townsend, Mass.
- Round 6, No. 182: David Bosco, Winchester, Mass.
- Goalie No. 37: Jacoby Weiner, Riverside, Conn.
Now, let's dive into the takeaways.
1. I'm a sucker for comparing things to the year before, so that's where I'll start. Six New Englanders were ranked at the halfway mark last year, which, last I checked, is fewer than nine this season. That's an improvement for the region.
Of the six New Englanders ranked last year, five were picked. If I had to predict, I think five are definite this year. So all in all, it could come out around the same as last season.
2. For prep locals, Central Scouting has Brosnan (Dexter), McFadden (Thayer) and Manchuso (St. Mark's) in the fourth round, and then Donia (Groton) in the fifth round. I'd love to have some big issue with that, but I don't.
Where it gets interesting is that prep hasn't had a player picked before the fifth round since 2022. According to Central Scouting, Brosnan, McFadden and Manchuso could change that.
The big question is, will they?
Manchuso is undoubtedly productive with 29 points in 12 games to start the season. But as a 6-foot left winger, I'm not sure he goes before the fifth round.
READ MORE: 11 standouts, takeaways from Tabor’s upset win over St. Mark’s
Brosnan, McFadden and Donia are the ones to watch here. Brosnan has 26 points in 14 games so far. If a team feels his skills as an offensive defenseman can translate to higher levels, there's a shot he goes before the fifth. Usually, if teams like a player, they have to get them higher than where they're projected, and that could be the case with Brosnan. That also could be the case with McFadden and Donia — two 6-foot-5, right-shot defensemen. Teams love big, right-shot defenders and will take a swing on them whenever they can. There's a chance one (or both) go before the fifth.
3. From talking to scouts, Mutryn feels more like a second-round pick, but I wouldn't be stunned to see him go in the first. He's a leader, a two-way forward who can play center or wing, and he's projectable as a middle-six stalwart for a team someday. At 6-foot-3 and 201 pounds, I could see a team with two first-round picks taking him late on Night 1.
4. A lot of props to Tournas. The 6-foot-2, 198-pound winger had five points in 41 games for the USHL's Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in 2023-24. Many players would've wilted, but he picked himself back up, went to the NAHL's Danbury Junior Hat Trick last season, and was one of the league's top scorers. He's doing the same thing for Moncton in the QMJHL this season, and has catapulted himself into being a third-round candidate in his final year of eligibility.
5. I was surprised Bosco wasn't on NHL Central Scouting's preliminary rankings. Since then, the Belmont Hill alum has been strong with the USHL's Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, scoring 10 goals and tallying 17 points in 28 games. At 5-foot-10 and 165 pounds, he doesn't have the size that NHL teams love, but he does have production in the USHL, which is legitimate. The Harvard commit has offensive skills and instincts that are worth taking a chance on in the sixth or seventh round.
6. Last year, Andover's Grayden Robertson-Palmer, a non-New England native playing in prep, was picked in the seventh round by the Detroit Red Wings. The non-New England natives ranked at the midterm this year are Winchendon's Charlie Puglisi (Round 7, No. 201) and Andover's Alex Theodore (Round 7, No. 206) for skaters, while Deerfield's Elliot Lennon (No. 28) and Hotchkiss' Neilan Johnson (No. 36) were ranked for goalies. All four of this year's prospects are long shots, but all it takes is one team.
READ MORE:Â New boys prep rankings
7. As for omissions, I'm surprised Dartmouth defenseman Cooper Cleaves (Riverside, Conn.) wasn't ranked. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound defender has proved it in the USHL and is now doing it in college. As I said earlier, NHL teams love big, right-shot defensemen, and I wouldn't be shocked to see an NHL team take him in a later round to avoid having to try and sign him out of college down the road. Other interesting names omitted were Justin Graf (Lincoln, Mass.), Will Bent (Dover, Mass.) and Owen McHale (Charlestown, Mass.).
