It’s that time of the year for The Win Column’s NHL Draft Rankings and Draft Profiles! Earlier on, we released the TWC consolidated 2026 NHL Draft rankings. The 2026 NHL Draft will take place on June 26 and 27 in Buffalo. Today, we’re looking at QMJHL centre Maddox Dagenais.
The Montreal-born centre was a point-per-game player in the Q this past season, and was one of the biggest draft risers across every league this season.
Who is Maddox Dagenais?
| Position | Shoots | Height | Weight | Nationality | Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centre | Left | 6’4″ / 193cm | 196lbs / 89kg | Canada | TWC Rank #35 / CS NA Rank #15 |
Dagenais offers size, size, and more size down the middle. Standing at 6’4″ already, he offers the exact profile NHL teams look for in centre icemen. With plenty of room to grow, Dagenais is already an imposing player at 18 years old.
Dagenais’ on-ice production
| Year | Draft Rel. | League | Team | GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–24 | D-2 | OMHA U16 | Quinte Red Devils AAA | 35 | 42 | 39 | 81 |
| 2024-25 | D-1 | QMJHL | Quebec Remparts | 43 | 12 | 14 | 26 |
| 2025-26 | D+0 | QMJHL | Quebec Remparts | 62 | 30 | 32 | 62 |
A big step in his D+0
It’s not an exaggeration to say Dagenais wasn’t on anyone’s draft radar entering the 2025-26 season. He didn’t exactly light the world on fire in his rookie season in the QMJHL in 2024-25, totalling just 26 points. Fast forward to now, and Dagenais is a projected first-round pick. That’s what 30 goals and 62 points in 62 games as a 6’4″ centreman will do.
Dagenais’ strengths
Physicality
One of the hallmarks of Daganeis’ game is his physicality and willingness to battle. He’s got a huge frame, and he isn’t afraid to use it to his advantage, regularly outmuscling and pushing opponents around. He’s able to use his size to win board battles and come out with the puck more often than not. He’s a bull in a china shop type player, a pure wrecking ball. He can take over a shift by laying out a huge hit or by dominating down low.
Because of everything mentioned above, he’s a possession demon. Once he has the puck, it’s incredibly tough to get it off him.
Speed
What makes Dagenais so intriguing is his combination of size and speed. For a big guy, he gets around the ice very quickly. He has quick first few steps, and once he’s up and running, he can fly for a guy his size. He’s well above average in the speed category when you consider how big he is. Add those two traits together, and you’ve got yourself a perfect middle-six energy forward.
Dagenais’ areas of weakness
Consistency
When a player experiences such a drastic rise in his draft year, one can’t help but wonder if the improved play is here to stay or more of a flash in the pan. Dagenais completely transformed his game this season, going from a sniper to a pure power forward, but there are still question marks around his consistency. In the QMJHL playoffs, he dominated round one before being held pointless in round two while posting an ugly minus seven. It’s times like that you wonder if Dagenais can be an everyday impact player, or only in short spurts.
Hockey IQ
Another area Dagenais needs to work on is his overall hockey IQ. While he’s able to process the game at an acceptable level, he makes some head-scratching plays sometimes. He’s prone to firing off shots from terrible angles instead of making smarter plays with the puck. He can also ignore open passing lanes to fire low danger shots towards the net. Again, showing he still needs to work on making the right plays with the puck at the right time.
Dagenais’ comparables
I think a good comparison is current Avalanche centre, Nicolas Roy. Both coming out of the QMJHL, Roy is also an imposing centre who carries some sneaky offensive upside. While he is never going to be a top-line player, he can provide consistent physical play down the middle while also chipping in 30 to 40 points a year. I’d argue Dagenais has a higher offensive ceiling than Roy as well.
Fit with the Flames
| Organizational need addressed | Middle-six centre |
| Realistic pick range | 20-30 |
| NHL timeline | 2-3 years |
| Fit verdict | Good fit |
Dagenais could be a good fit for the Flames if they envision him sticking at centre down the line. The Flames currently don’t have a lot of size in their prospect pool, and Dagenais has it in spades. A big, heavy middle-six centre could be a really good fit for the Flames with Vegas’ first-round pick, depending on what they do at sixth overall.
Summary
Dagenais isn’t the flashiest player, but he offers the exact type of profile NHL teams love. A big, physical, imposing centre who can rip the puck and dominate physically. There’s a good chance Daganeis goes higher than expected, given his size. If he can continue to round out his offensive game, he could become a second-line forward one day. If not, his size and profile ensure he’ll at the very least be a dependable bottom-six forward one day.
Risk: 2/5
Reward: 3/5
Projection: Middle-six power forward