The 2026 NHL Entry Draft begins tonight with first-round selections to be announced. Live coverage is on ESPN and ESPN+. Centers Tynan Lawrence and Caleb Malhotra are certain to hear there names called; possibly Xavier Villeneuve and Niklas Aaram-Olsen, too.
In a USCHO Draft Preview video, Head Coach Jay Pandolfo looks
at Lawrence’s half-season as a Terrier and looks ahead to his first full
campaign.
McKeen’s Hockey takes a deep dive–with video–into Malhotra, who is considered the top center available in this year’s draft, and who might be selected at #3 by Vancouver, who just named his father, Manny Malhotra, as its new head coach, or at #5 the Rangers who made Manny the seventh overall selection in 1998.
Given his impressive in-season
progression and transformation, Malhotra presents as both a high floor
and high ceiling option to teams. At the very least, he’s going to be an
elite level third line center who can provide secondary offense and top
notch penalty killing ability. Best case, he’s an all situations top
line pivot who can be an anchor for his team.
● McKeen’s Hockey 2026 NHL DRAFT: DETAILED SCOUTING REPORT – Caleb Malhotra, C, Brantford Bulldogs (OHL)
►►The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler’s final pre-draft post offered some thoughts on two future Terriers.
I don’t think Xavier Villeneuve goes in the first round,
but I do think Tommy Bleyl does. Villeneuve will go early on Day 2 and
interviewed well at the combine, but I get the sense teams are too wary of his
defending to take him in Round 1.Boston University
head coach Jay Pandolfo on Caleb Malhotra: I’ve watched most of his
playoff games, and you can still see that the strength portion for him will
show up more at this level than it does in the OHL, but his sense and
everything that goes along with it, he’s just a player. He’s actually fun to watch.OHL general manager on Caleb Malhotra: I like him.
Super smart, super skilled, I think he’s going to need a little more time than
people think. And that team had a lot around him. But all of these guys need
time. He just continued to get better, though, too.
● Daily Faceoff Final Ranking Top 130
● ESPN Final Top Prospect Projections (Malhotra #8, Villeneuve #15, Lawrence #17. #40 Aaram-Olsen, #61 Luke Schairer,
● FloHockey Final Mock Draft
Looking back
Jordan Greenway has been traded
from Buffalo to Chicago in a deal that gives the Sabres the #4 pick in
tomorrow’s NHL Entry Draft. As a result, the Blackhawks might have five Terriers
among the 22 rostered players. He’ll join blueline mainstay Alex Vlasic, Ryan
Greene, who is coming off a strong rookie season, and Sacha Boisvert, who made
several starts after BU’s season ended. The fifth Terrier would be Drew
Commesso who picked up his first NHL win—and first shutout. He’s expected to challenge
for the #2 goaltending spot on the Blackhawks this fall.
Greenway, who was the co-points-leader on BU’s 2018 Hockey
East championship, had begun his pro career with Minnesota who drafted him in
the second round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.
Another former BU power forward, Luke Tuch, was traded
to Columbus by Montreal. Tuch has spent the past three seasons in the AHL
with Laval. He scored BU’s only goal in the 2-1 OT loss to Denver in the 2023
Frozen Four semifinal.
Who are the 26 Terriers who played in the NHL last season? Eighteen were in the NHL either all or virtually all season:
Macklin Celebrini – San Jose, Charlie Coyle – Columbus, Jack Eichel – Vegas, Dante Fabbro – Columbus, Joel Farabee – Calgary, Ryan Greene – Chicago, Jordan Greenway – Buffalo, A.J. Greer – Florida, Matt Grzelcyk – Chicago, Lane Hutson – Montreal, Clayton Keller – Utah, Charlie McAvoy – Boston, Jake Oettinger – Dallas, Evan Rodrigues – Florida, Brady Tkachuk – Ottawa, Alex Vlasic – Chicago, Tom Willander-Vancouver, Trevor Zegras – Philadelphia
Eight others each played a handful of NHL games:
Domenick Fensore-Carolina, Quinn Hutson-Edmonton, Drew Commesso– Chicago, Cole Hutson-Washington, Sacha Boisvert-Chicago, Cam Crotty-Ottawa, Wilmer Skoog – Florida, Shane Lachance – NJ.