NHL Mock Draft: If we were the GM…

NHL Mock Draft: If we were the GM…

May 29, 2026



We are less than a month away from the NHL Draft and on today’s episode the guys deep dive into their annual GM mock, where they play general manager for every first round pick, making decisions based on their own lists and their given team’s needs. Before that, they take a look at Corey’s scouts and execs survey to get a sense of where the league is on the draft’s top 10 picks, and to close things out, they break down this year’s goalie and overager crop.

#hockey #nhl #nhldraft

0:00:26: Breaking down Corey’s scouts and execs survey
0:02:50: Scott believes Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg as the best two in the class
0:09:38: Are we surprised Viggo Bjorck didn’t get a vote in the survey?
0:11:27: Why do we think Nikita Klepov got a top 10 vote?
0:14:36: “If I Were A GM”: Corey, Scott, and Max pick the NHL Draft first round
0:17:01: Why Carson Carels went to the San Jose Sharks at No. 2
0:21:25: Should the Chicago Blackhawks take a defenseman or a forward?
0:25:02: Winnipeg Jets have options at No. 8
0:27:15: Why Ryan Lin went to the St. Louis Blues at No. 15
0:29:06: Why Gleb Pugachyov went to the Pittsburgh Penguins at No. 22
0:30:57: Who are the goalies that could get picked in the first two rounds?
0:35:46: Who are the notable overagers to watch for at the NHL Draft?

Photo credit: Michael Miller/ISI Photos via Getty Images

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View Comments (24)

  3. I wonder which executives paid these mfs and is pushing (hard) this narrative of STENBERG NOT being suitable for San Jose Sharks… cough cough hello Chicago… LOL

    you guys are not even subtle at all..

  4. If I were Kyle Davidson/Hawks I'd offer 4th overall + Edmonton's 2027 First for the 2nd overall pick, which I would use on Stenberg/Mckenna, then I'd turn around and offer Florida their own 2027 First Round Pick and send it back to them along with (2x) second round picks for 9th overall pick…. Or to put it a different way – give Florida sweeteners to NOT use their "2026 conditions" on the pick… That way the Hawks could snag one of the better D prospects, and still get an elite forward in the draft…

  5. Dude, the Hawks have 6 first round picks in the next 3 years, not to mention the 2nd round picks AND prospects… Davidson could walk away from this draft with a COUPLE of top 5 picks…. And even 3 top 10 picks… And that's without trading key prospects or NHL ready kids that are making an impact now.

  9. Cory said if wingers were easy to trade, Toronto would trade Nylander or Marner for defenseman. Does he not know they have No Movement Clauses in their contracts? San Jose can trade Ekland or anyone from their prospect pool. They have leverage and cap space. The more i watch Pronman, the less he knows.

  11. the hawks should draft either bjork or malhotra if they go forward, carels or reid if they go forward. imo, bjork fits best w/ the hawks. he already has chemistry w/ frondell. why not put them together for the next 12yrs?

  12. Yes, McKenna has defensive liabilities but he's only 18 years old and he can be taught those. With Stenberg, he is easier to replace with another NHL player than it would with McKenna. 😲

  14. I’m shocked that people still think it’s viable to have a father and son coach and player combination in Vancouver. Obviously proponents of that idea have never run a business and had to negotiate the land mines. Playing time, line mates, PP time etc. are subjective calls a head coach has to make and the potential for blowing up is huge. Not fair to Manny, Caleb, team mates and fans. The upside in no way justifies taking that risk

  15. Just doubling down on the constant hate and disrespect towards Europeans in any way they can. Any respect or credibility that the Athletic has should be going down the drain fast, it’s just constant worship of North American prospects and leagues while trying to find excuses and reasons to not like Europeans…

    When it comes to the Worlds, Switzerland has basically their Olympic roster with only a few missing players, Finland has their best roster at the Worlds in close to 10 years, Canada has star players, US had some worshipped prospects + the NHLers and according to North Americans, even 4th line NHL players are better than the best players in European leagues so idk how these people manage being so inconsistent.

    European players just cannot win, these “scouts” and journalists are crying about the size of players while smaller or the same sized North Americans are the next big things, disrespecting the leagues that are 10x tougher and more competitive than North American junior hockey and still so much better than college hockey even though that’s something that North Americans seriously try to push as an equal level, talking shit about countries and how they don’t focus on appeasing North American scouts by putting player development over winning titles and so much more pathetic bs.

  17. This was a ear bleeding horrendous mock.
    None of these defensemen are anywhere near ready and all of them have high 2 pairing.

    don’t waste Macklins years tooling up a defenseman same with Bedard if one of the wings are at 4.

    “HoW mAnY gOoD dEfEnSeMaN”

  18. i don't get putting a player who didn't make the cut for the world junior team at 3. 2 years of a ruptured dressing room doesn't seem to phase the new canuck front office taking malholtra.

  19. The thing is, there are always surprises at the draft. Someone will “reach” for a player and we won’t know for probably 5 years if it was the right call. Sometimes the best player is drafted after 100. You just don’t know. Fans pretending they have a leg up on everyone because they saw a few minor league games is hilarious, but it’s the generation.

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