The 2026 NHL Draft is about a month out. For most teams the picture is already in: rosters have aged through another season, the prospect pool is what it is, and front offices know which slots they need to fill. This is the third of four articles, one per division, looking at every team through the same data lens: who qualifies as top-6, who qualifies as top-4, who is under 25, who is in the pipeline, and what that all says about the team's draft lean.
How to read the data
Each team gets a card below with four columns: Forwards, Defense, Goaltending, and Draft Lean. The Top-6: N and Top-4: N counts tell you how many players cleared the production bar at each position. The colored pill beside the count is the average age of that group: green for healthy, amber for trending older, red for aging out.
What it means to qualify
- Top-6 forward: 20+ games played AND at least 0.55 points per game this season.
- Top-4 defenseman: 20+ games played, at least 0.25 points per game, AND average ice time of 17:30 or more per game.
- Under 25: active NHL player under 25 years old, regardless of games played. Captures both the franchise-building tier (Power, Sanderson, Knies) and the call-ups.
- Top prospects: ranked from each team's prospect pool by current-season points within their league. Skater prospects are tiered AHL first, then NCAA, then KHL, then everything else. Goalie prospects stay in NCAA / AHL only, with OHL / WHL / QMJHL as a fallback if the team has fewer than two in primary leagues. Players with 20+ NHL games this season are filtered out as graduates.
The right-most column is the draft lean. It is never goaltending. In modern drafts only a goalie or two goes in round 1, so even teams with shaky goalie depth get pointed at forward or defense, with a "Watch G depth" note when it is warranted.
A full division-wide overview table sits at the bottom of the article if you want to scan everyone at a glance.
Team by team
Chicago Blackhawks · Forward (priority)
Samuel Savoie AHL 62gp · 12G · 26P
Martin Misiak AHL 63gp · 4G · 15P
Dmitry Kuzmin AHL 46gp · 6G · 15P
Ryan Mast AHL 46gp · 0G · 14P
Soderblom (26) 26gp 0.880
Stanislav Berezhnoy AHL 16gp · 0.886 SV% · 3.30 GAA
Adam Gajan NCAA 33gp · 0.908 SV% · 2.25 GAA
Chicago is years into the rebuild and the data row is the youngest in the division at both positions. Top-6 forwards qualify at just 3 with an average age of 24.3, because most of the young forwards have not yet stacked 20 GP and 0.55 PPG on a tanking team. The under-25 column tells the franchise story: Connor Bedard (2023 #1) and Frank Nazar lead the forward group, with Artyom Levshunov (2024 #2) on D. The broader pipeline runs deep: Anton Frondell, Oliver Moore, Roman Kantserov, Marek Vanacker, and Nathan Behm up front; Kevin Korchinski, Sam Rinzel, Wyatt Kaiser, and Nolan Allan have all touched NHL ice on the back end.
Forward is the priority because the established top-6 has not fully filled in yet, even with Bedard already cleared. Chicago will be picking high again, and the play is to keep stacking forward talent. The blue line cupboard is already deep; the forward pile is one elite center away from being the league's best youth core. Take the highest-ceiling forward on the board and let the war on losses end naturally over the next two seasons.
Colorado Avalanche · Forward (priority)
Andrei Buyalsky Poland 39gp · 20G · 49P
Sampo Ranta SHL 16gp · 3G · 6P
Keaton Middleton AHL 66gp · 4G · 14P
Chris Romaine NCAA 18gp · 0G · 0P
Blackwood (29) 39gp 0.904
Colorado's data row is the loudest in the Central. Top-6 forwards average 31.4, top-4 D average 32.2, and the under-25 column is essentially empty at every position. The contention core is in its window and the front office has traded so much future to keep it open that the prospect pipeline only has Sean Behrens (AHL D, 23 points) and Taylor Makar (AHL F, 24 points) as remotely interesting names. Every name in the qualifying top-6 group is on the wrong side of 30, and there is no internal replacement coming.
The forward problem is the more existential one because the blue line still has Cale Makar holding the top pair for another four-plus years. Whatever picks Colorado has go to a forward with a North American path to NHL minutes inside two seasons. The Av's draft strategy is less about positional fit and more about restocking the system at all, but if a top-6 ceiling skater is on the board, that is the pick. The bill on the contention window comes due eventually.
Dallas Stars · Forward (priority)
Matthew Seminoff AHL 72gp · 24G · 50P
Kole Lind AHL 70gp · 11G · 35P
Tristan Bertucci AHL 63gp · 5G · 24P
Luke Krys AHL 40gp · 7G · 16P
DeSmith (34) 30gp 0.907
Dallas's top-6 forwards qualify at 7 names but with an average age of 30.3 and only two under-25 forwards (Johnston, Bourque) in the supporting tier. The group still functions, but Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn are both on the back end of their careers and the second-line scoring depth thins out fast behind Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz. Wyatt Johnston (23) is the heir apparent up the middle but he needs more help from the next wave.
The blue line is in better shape than the qualifying count suggests: Miro Heiskanen anchors the top pair at 26, Thomas Harley (24) is settling into top-4 minutes, and Lian Bichsel (22) is on the roster as the next graduate. The forward pipeline, by contrast, is thinner (Cameron Hughes and Emil Hemming the AHL and OHL headliners). Cap is the perpetual Dallas problem, which makes drafting cheap young forward upside higher leverage than a defenseman from their late-first slot. Pick a forward who can grow into a top-6 role within three seasons and let the D keep developing internally.
Minnesota Wild · Forward (priority)
Riley Heidt AHL 71gp · 8G · 25P
Caedan Bankier AHL 66gp · 10G · 20P
Carson Lambos AHL 70gp · 8G · 19P
Jack Peart AHL 61gp · 4G · 15P
Wallstedt (23) 35gp 0.916
The Wild's top-6 forward group averages 31.6, the oldest in the division. Kirill Kaprizov is 28, Joel Eriksson Ek is 29, and the supporting wingers tilt older. The under-25 column up front (Brink, Yurov, Haight) is real depth but no top-6 ceiling has stepped through yet. Defense is in better shape: Brock Faber anchors the top pair at 23, with Carson Lambos and David Spacek producing in the AHL. The goalie situation is solved long-term with Jesper Wallstedt (23) posting a 0.916 SV% over 35 GP in his transition year.
That makes forward the next priority on the draft board. Charlie Stramel and Hunter Haight are real names in the pipeline but project as second-line ceiling. The Wild need a top-6 forward who can catch up to Kaprizov's prime before it closes. Draft skill, draft the kid who can play with him, and let the cap recovery do the rest.
Nashville Predators · Defense (critical)
Joakim Kemell AHL 48gp · 10G · 29P
Joey Willis AHL 56gp · 8G · 22P
Tanner Molendyk AHL 60gp · 4G · 23P
Andrew Gibson AHL 71gp · 2G · 13P
Annunen (26) 28gp 0.907
Nashville carries one of the worst data rows in the division. Only four forwards qualified as top-6 production at an average age of 31.5, and the top-4 D is just two names averaging 33.5 with Roman Josi at 35. The 2024 free agency overpayment for Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei has not lifted the team, and the trade of Yaroslav Askarov to San Jose emptied the most valuable position on the prospect chart. Filip Forsberg remains a No. 1 forward but the supporting cast is aging out faster than the youth can replace it.
Defense is the draft answer, and it is critical. The under-25 D column has two thin names (Justin Barron and Ryan Ufko, neither yet a top-4 fix) and the AHL pipeline behind them runs through Tanner Molendyk. Saros is 31 and signed long-term, so the position room exists to draft purely for need. If the front office spends the first round on another forward to balance the books with their 2024 free agency, they will be back in this same spot in 2028.
St. Louis Blues · Defense (priority)
Juraj Pekarcik AHL 69gp · 11G · 35P
Hugh McGing AHL 66gp · 12G · 31P
Hunter Skinner AHL 60gp · 7G · 19P
Theo Lindstein AHL 59gp · 6G · 14P
Binnington (32) 41gp 0.873
Georgi Romanov AHL 28gp · 0.896 SV% · 3.29 GAA
Will Cranley AHL 10gp · 0.892 SV% · 3.03 GAA
The Blues have a younger top-6 forward group (5 qualifying, avg 26) anchored by Robert Thomas, Pavel Buchnevich, Jordan Kyrou, and Dylan Holloway. The under-25 F column is one of the deepest in the conference: Holloway, Jimmy Snuggerud, and Jake Neighbours all turned NHL GP into real production this year, with Dalibor Dvorsky (20) the next wave. The D, on the other hand, is just two names qualifying as top-4 at an average age of 29, with Colton Parayko and Justin Faulk carrying the load.
The 2025 acquisitions of Logan Mailloux from Montreal and Philip Broberg from Edmonton helped, but neither is yet a fixed top-4 piece. Adam Jiricek (2024 #16, 59 points in the OHL) is the headliner in the D pipeline. Joel Hofer (25, 0.910 SV%) has emerged as a credible NHL starter and Jordan Binnington is in a real down year at 0.873. Pick a defenseman, ride out Binnington on the back of the depth chart, and let Hofer take the keys.
Utah Mammoth · Defense (priority)
Vanecek (30) 22gp 0.883
Utah's forward group is the youngest qualifying core in the conference: top-6 of 5 at an average age of 25.2, led by Logan Cooley (22), Dylan Guenther (23), and JJ Peterka (24) -- all three in the under-25 forward column. The D column adds Dmitri Simashev (21, 2023 #6), Maveric Lamoureux (22), and Maksymilian Szuber (23). The 2023 Arizona draft class (Cole Beaudoin, Daniil But, Lamoureux, Simashev) is paying out exactly as the front office hoped.
The data flag on defense is age, not depth. Top-4 D is at 6 qualifying names with an average age of 31, anchored by Mikhail Sergachev (acquired from Tampa Bay) and Ian Cole. The watch on the crease is also real: Karel Vejmelka is 29 carrying a 0.897 SV% over 64 GP, and Vitek Vanecek is the backup at 0.883. Goaltending rarely goes round 1 in the modern draft, so the priority is a young top-4 defenseman who can take Cole or Sergachev's eventual seat, with the goalie market a free-agency story.
Winnipeg Jets · Defense (critical)
Danil Zhilkin AHL 62gp · 12G · 24P
Colby Barlow AHL 65gp · 8G · 16P
Garrett Brown NCAA 34gp · 2G · 14P
Comrie (30) 25gp 0.890
Domenic DiVincentiis AHL 34gp · 0.896 SV% · 3.03 GAA
Winnipeg's data row carries one of the most extreme single-position numbers in the league: only one defenseman qualifies as top-4 production. Josh Morrissey carries every minute that matters, and Dylan Samberg, Logan Stanley, and Neal Pionk all fall short of either the points or TOI bar. The top-6 forwards sit at just 3 qualifying (avg 29.3), with Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, and Nikolaj Ehlers shouldering the offense. Connor Hellebuyck (33, .895) is still the league's best goalie when he's right, and the data suggests he is leaning on a thin team.
This one is critical. The prospect cupboard is unusually bare on defense (Garrett Brown at NCAA, Tyrel Bauer in the AHL) and the entire blue line projects through Morrissey for the next four years with nothing behind him. Pick a defenseman who can grow into NHL minutes within two seasons. The Jets are competitive every year because Hellebuyck and Morrissey play more than 60 minutes between them, and the front office is one bad puck-luck season from looking very different. The 2026 draft has to be a hedge against that.
The overview
The whole division at a glance, every team in one table.
Samuel Savoie AHL 62gp · 12G · 26P
Martin Misiak AHL 63gp · 4G · 15P
Dmitry Kuzmin AHL 46gp · 6G · 15P
Ryan Mast AHL 46gp · 0G · 14P
Soderblom (26) 26gp 0.880
Stanislav Berezhnoy AHL 16gp · 0.886 SV% · 3.30 GAA
Adam Gajan NCAA 33gp · 0.908 SV% · 2.25 GAA
Andrei Buyalsky Poland 39gp · 20G · 49P
Sampo Ranta SHL 16gp · 3G · 6P
Keaton Middleton AHL 66gp · 4G · 14P
Chris Romaine NCAA 18gp · 0G · 0P
Blackwood (29) 39gp 0.904
Matthew Seminoff AHL 72gp · 24G · 50P
Kole Lind AHL 70gp · 11G · 35P
Tristan Bertucci AHL 63gp · 5G · 24P
Luke Krys AHL 40gp · 7G · 16P
DeSmith (34) 30gp 0.907
Riley Heidt AHL 71gp · 8G · 25P
Caedan Bankier AHL 66gp · 10G · 20P
Carson Lambos AHL 70gp · 8G · 19P
Jack Peart AHL 61gp · 4G · 15P
Wallstedt (23) 35gp 0.916
Joakim Kemell AHL 48gp · 10G · 29P
Joey Willis AHL 56gp · 8G · 22P
Tanner Molendyk AHL 60gp · 4G · 23P
Andrew Gibson AHL 71gp · 2G · 13P
Annunen (26) 28gp 0.907
Juraj Pekarcik AHL 69gp · 11G · 35P
Hugh McGing AHL 66gp · 12G · 31P
Hunter Skinner AHL 60gp · 7G · 19P
Theo Lindstein AHL 59gp · 6G · 14P
Binnington (32) 41gp 0.873
Georgi Romanov AHL 28gp · 0.896 SV% · 3.29 GAA
Will Cranley AHL 10gp · 0.892 SV% · 3.03 GAA
Vanecek (30) 22gp 0.883
Danil Zhilkin AHL 62gp · 12G · 24P
Colby Barlow AHL 65gp · 8G · 16P
Garrett Brown NCAA 34gp · 2G · 14P
Comrie (30) 25gp 0.890
Domenic DiVincentiis AHL 34gp · 0.896 SV% · 3.03 GAA
Up next
The Pacific article (Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Jose, Vancouver, Vegas) wraps the series. Earlier reads: Atlantic and Metro.