After two days and seven rounds, the Vancouver Canucks have finally completed their selection process for the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. Vancouver is exiting this year’s draft with an impressive bounty of prospects after selecting nine players in total, including the third overall pick, which was previously announced in May’s Draft Lottery. It remains to be seen how many players will have an impact within the Canucks organization moving forward as the team starts from scratch both on and off the ice, but there’s reason to be optimistic this early on. The first step to any rebuild is stockpiling draft picks; this year, the Canucks are walking away with seven forwards (2RW, 2C, 2LW, 1 C/LW), one defenceman (LD), and one goaltender.

Each player in the 2026 Canucks draft class will also be reporting to a North American or European development league team this fall. Here is where to watch each new Canucks draftee play in the upcoming 2026-27 season.

Round One

Caleb Malhotra – Boston University, NCAA

Selected 3rd overall, forward Caleb Malhotra will be joining the Boston University Terriers this fall. Most Canucks fans will be quite familiar with the Malhotra name, with Caleb’s father Manny being Vancouver’s newly-appointed coach and a famed Canucks alumnus himself.

Malhotra joins BU from the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs, where he was a key member of the team’s core in the midst of a dominant era for the team. His offence burst onto the scene despite his comparatively quiet numbers in the BCHL previously, with 84 points (29G 55A) and 26 points (13G 13A) through the postseason. Brantford finished first in the Eastern Conference, but lost in the Conference Final, bringing an end to Malhotra’s time in junior hockey.

The Terriers play in the Hockey East conference and are looking to go full-steam ahead after coming off a disappointing year for the program. Malhotra is a difference-maker, an all-situations centre with smooth hands and hockey IQ abound, even if he is not the flashiest forward around. If he can continue the offensive streak he had last year, he’s likely to land a spot as a top-six centre with BU. However, Malhotra will also have fellow 2026 first-round pick Tynan Lawrence to contend with for ice time, another centre who already has half a season with BU under his belt and was selected 11th overall by the St. Louis Blues.

It’s not uncommon for CHL players to have an adjustment period to the physicality and environment of college hockey, but with a 6’2” frame and detail-heavy game, Malhotra will more than likely find his footing with Boston, even if not right away.

Adam Novotný – Peterborough Petes, OHL

Selected 24th overall, Adam Novotný will be returning to Peterborough in the Ontario Hockey League come September. The Czechia native went into his first Petes season as a CHL import player with a bronze medal at World Juniors already under his belt, and went on to win silver this year.

With just one full season in Peterborough and in North America in general, Novotny’s true ceiling is not yet clear, but his first-rounder status most definitely is. Despite starting on the slower side, he posted an impressive 65 points (34G 31A) in 58 games; he had just one point in six playoff games, though – perhaps this is what had him drop further in the first round than projected. Others’ loss may be Vancouver’s gain. Now four seasons out from an OHL Championship win and coming off a first-round playoff exit, the Petes have a team star to run with now. A successful year and deeper playoff run for the Petes could allow Novotný more room to grow his capabilities as a winger and work on details and consistency. If Peterborough regresses rather than progresses this season, a trade could be on the table for Novotný. Another season of play in North America might be exactly what Novotný needs to round out his skill set, but overall, his upside looks promising, with top-to-middle-six potential.

Round Two

Brooks Rogowski – Oshawa Generals, OHL

Selected 33rd overall, Brooks Rogowski is a prospect that casts a long shadow, literally – Rogowski stands at 6’ 7”. Heading into his third season with the Generals, Rogowski is surprisingly light on his feet for his size, but this levity is paired with a formidable net-front presence and great defensive potential for a centre. Oshawa struggled this past year, missing the playoffs completely and dropping to last place in both the Conference and the entire OHL. Ideally, they’ll be able to right the ship and provide Rogowski a competitive environment to hone his game. Whether joining the Canucks is in the cards or not, Rogowski will still have further opportunities to grow his game. While Rogowski is set for another year of Generals hockey, he is set to join a cramped class of high-octane prospects at Michigan State University in 2027. No less than four 2026 first-round NHL draft selections – including centre Jack Hextall – will be joining the Spartans this fall, not including other highly-ranked commits set to join MSU next fall. While Rogowski’s size gives him an edge, he’ll have the next year to make his case for ice time and a top-six centre role ahead of his return to his home state.

Niklas Aaram-Olsen – Boston University, NCAA

Selected 41st overall, Aaram-Olsen confirmed with CanucksArmy’s Dave Hall that he will be joining fellow draftee Caleb Malhotra at Boston University this fall.

Dave Hall

@davehall1289

·Follow

"I will go to Boston University". Newly drafted Niklas Aaram-Olsen confirms that he will join Caleb Malhotra with the Terriers for the 2026-27 season. #Canucks

3:51 PM · Jun 27, 2026

740

Read 14 replies

The Norwegian winger spent the last season with the Örebro HK U20 in the U20 Nationell, the junior affiliate of Örebro HK in the SHL. Aaram-Olsen has already made a name for himself representing Norway on the world stage, and he also had the opportunity to play 16 games up in the SHL with the Örebro parent club. Aaram-Olsen has a few other wingers committed to BU to contend with, the closest out of this draft class being Rian Chduzinski, who went to the Anaheim Ducks in the third round at 82nd overall. The pair had similar offensive outputs in Sweden and the QMJHL last season, respectively, but Chudzinski has yet to announce whether he will join the Terriers this fall or in 2027. If Aaram-Olsen can establish himself in his first year stateside, he could prove to be an incredibly savvy pickup for the Canucks.

Round Three

Dmitri Ivchenko – Omskie Yastreby, MHL

Selected 78th overall, Ivchenko is the only goaltender selected by the Canucks this year and the second goaltender in as many years to be selected by Vancouver after Alexei Medvedev was taken in the second round last year. Currently with Omski Yastrby, the junior affiliate of Avangard Omsk in the KHL, he also saw playing time with their U18 affiliate. He turns 18 at the end of June and is expected to be in the MHL full-time next year. In his third year with the Omsk organization after beginning with U16 back in 2023, Ivchenko posted a .922 SV& and 1.91 GAA in 19 games with 4 shutouts this past season, which are impressive numbers for a 17-year-old goaltender, even if he has yet to carry a full season’s load of games on his shoulders. Ivchenko joins the existing group of Canucks goaltending prospects, including other youngsters like Medvedev, Aku Koskenvuo, and Ty Young.

Round Four

Yaroslav Bryzgalov – Merrimack University, NCAA

Selected 97th overall, Bryzgalov has spent the last year with the Medicine Hat Tigers in the WHL and is set to join the Merrimack University Warriors this fall. Merrimack plays in the Hockey East conference and is coming off an underdog story for the ages, winning its first-ever Hockey East conference championship and becoming the lowest-seeded team in conference history to achieve this feat. Despite the program’s extensive history, Merrimack has always been overshadowed by conference juggernauts like Boston College and Boston University. If they are able to build on the momentum of their historic win, Bryzgalov could be joining the Warriors at precisely the right time. He is another large winger, listed at 6’ 3”, and though his playmaking abilities and passing sensibilities are where his value really lies, his skating is his number one drawback. Although the Canucks have been known to take on a risk in the skating department for a decent upside if they think they can turn it around – take Linus Karlsson, for example – it’s possible that Bryzgalov makes his way to Abbotsford in the future.

Round Five

Connor Davis – University of North Dakota, NCAA

Selected 129th overall, Davis is a winger who was passed over last year but made it on the board in 2026. He’s committed to the UND Fighting Hawks for the upcoming season, which is none other than Brock Boeser’s alma mater. Davis has had quite the journey, a Quebec native who opted to go the U.S. preparatory school route rather than play with the Cape Breton Eagles in the QMJHL, finally breaking out last year with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in the USHL, with 55 points in (26G 29A) through 59 games. This full season in the USHL is likely why Davis was not overlooked this year. Davis is a low-risk, high-reward pickup for the Canucks and certainly for North Dakota, which counts several NHLers among its alumni, including Canucks general manager Ryan Johnson. North Dakota also counts Keaton Verhoeff amongst their incoming freshman class, the defensive star who went ninth overall to the San Jose Sharks this year. If UND continues to be an attractive option for highly ranked prospects, it will create the perfect environment for players like Davis to be pushed in their development and competition by proximity.

Round Six

Lucian Bernat – Owen Sound Attack, OHL

Selected 176th overall, Lucian Bernat will debut in North America this fall with the Owen Sound Attack. The Slovakian winger is yet another towering player at 6’4”, further cementing that the Canucks are going all-in on power forward potential in this draft class. Owen Sound is coming off a middling regular season and a first-round sweep in the playoffs, a sale to a new ownership group in May, and the appointment of a new President and General Manager. In many ways, Owen Sound’s shakeup is not dissimilar to Vancouver’s. After playing with Tappara in Finland and coming off a solid playoff appearance with their U20 team, Bernat’s selection in the CHL import draft and subsequent signing makes sense for a team looking for a fresh start.

Samuel Eriksson – Färjestad BK U20, U20 Nationell

Selected 184th overall, Eriksson rounds out the Canucks towering 2026 draft class at 6’5”, and is a Swedish defenceman – possibly the Canucks’ favourite thing a player can be. Eriksson is a typical defensive defenceman, which is perfect for a team system looking to get bigger and overall more imposing. Eriksson has been in the Färjestad organization since 2021, playing 10 postseason games with their U18 and U20 teams this season and even getting a look with the parent SHL club. If Eriksson is already making his opponent’s lives difficult on Swedish ice, it’s safe to say he could bring his huge frame and physical game and do the same in North America, with some skill refinement and skating development, of course.

Sponsored by bet365