2026 NHL Draft: October Watch List

My writing for this season when it comes to the NHL draft and who I like for Toronto's picks is going to be... much more challenging than previous years. They only have three picks, and none before the third round. There's a good chance even that third rounder winds up somewhere else by the time the NHL trade deadline comes and goes.

Still, I won't always assume. It's more likely that if they're hunting for a big fish in their top six, that they use future first and second rounders. It just means that the players I'll be looking at will not be bigger names you see on most draft boards until the last month leading into the draft – before then, everyone's usually cutting off their rankings and reports on the top two rounds. At this point in the year, it doesn't get past the first.

So, I'm looking for someone in the range of a Koblar, Hopkins, Moldenhauer, Knies, Hirvonen or Niemelä. Someone who comes out of nowhere to most fans, someone who was on a lot of radars but had not insignificant flaws to keep them outside the first two rounds. They may have skill, but they're smaller. Or they may be bigger, but with suspect skill or skating. Things like that.

So for now, I'm only going to be looking at players who catch my eye while watching other games for Toronto's prospects, or who I see get shout outs by scouts I follow but who are not on anyone's rankings yet.

FORWARDS

Jonas Lagerberg Hoen

Hoen is a guy I saw a good deal of last season, because he was on Leksands' U20 junior team along with Johansson and Koblar. He's 6'2" and 176 lbs, a right-shot winger, and on the older side of this year's draft with an October 2007 birthday. Last year, he had 27 goals to only 3 assists in 30 games. So far this year, Hoen is showing that he's still a goal scorer first and foremost, but has a more reasonable ratio of goals to assists: 9 goals, 7 assists in 8 games. That leads the team in both goals and points, and also leads the team in +/- if that's your thing. He's tied for the league lead in goals, and is third in points. The two players ahead of him are both 1-2 years older than he is.

The late birthday and very strong performance in junior this year has meant he's already been called up for a couple of games in the SHL for their pro team, one each spread a couple of weeks apart. In the first, he dressed but didn't play. In the second, which was just this past weekend, he dressed and got 3:00 of ice time. Later that same day, he drove to the junior rink and scored a goal for their U20 team.

From what I've seen of him, and what I've read from scouts, his shot is a big weapon – especially on the powerplay. He's consistently able to get a high volume of shots off, and from dangerous areas. He can create chances off the rush with good speed, he can dangle and handle the puck well, and he can use his size well in puck battles. The weaknesses are his skating mechanics, some passing or playmaking that needs to be improved but aren't huge issues, and his turnover tendencies/inconsistencies handling the puck which touches on some questions about his 'hockey sense', decision making, and the versatility of his play style. Those projection concerns are why he may wind up being a third rounder, but if he keeps putting up those points in junior and/or getting more real SHL time in his draft year I wouldn't bet on him lasting that long.

Adam Andersson

Oh look, another Leksands guy! Andersson is another tall (6'4") forward but not as lanky at 205 lbs. He's a center, and played for Sweden at last year's World U18s and then at the Hlinka where he wore an 'A'. In both tournaments he was more of a depth guy than a top six one. But that's why I like him as someone who could be available for Toronto's pick. He has some offense to him – 9 points in 11 games between the two major international tournaments, in a depth role, is pretty nice. Unlike Hoen, he's a good chunk younger – 9 months younger, actually.

So far in Leksands' junior team, he has played again mostly in a depth role. To start the year, he was behind two older, returning players from the previous year's very strong squad – Koblar being one of them. But as Koblar was called up by the SHL team, Andersson has been bumped up to the 3rd or even 2nd line at times. His stat line so far isn't sexy, but not bad either with 6 points (all assists) in 7 games.

The strengths of his game are with his two-way and defensive play as a center. He's got the size to win puck battles, he has the reach to be disruptive and cover a lot of ice, he's smart and reads the play well so he can pick off passes, and he's a legit center with the faceoff wins and the positioning to support play stuff at a good level. His issues are that he at least hasn't shown much offense or creativity to his game, he's more of a simple meat and potatoes kind of forward in that regard. He prefers to give the puck up quickly and let someone else do the playmaking, then use his size to help along the boards and in front of the net. His skating is also a bigger issue and something that would need to be fixed.

I'm including him as someone I may be interested in for now. If he shows more development through this season like Koblar did, he could work his way up to the third round. If not, he may still make for a decent swing in the later rounds.

Joe Iginla

Another guy I've seen more of than most prospects for the draft this year, and it's because he's a teammate and linemate of Miroslav Holinka. The youngest Iginla son is 5'10" and 174 lbs, and he's one of the younger prospects in the draft class with a mid-August birthday. For reference, both his dad and older brother Tij are 6'0" or taller, so there may be another inch or two that he can grow.

Statistically, Iginla is someone who will probably wind up a second rounder if I were to make a guess right now. He's got 8 points in 9 games, and playing at close to a point per game as smaller winger would put him about in that range. His shot rate isn't very high, and he is basically the third best forward on the line with Holinka and Lukas Sawchyn. Nevermind whatever line is listed where on the pre-game tweet, that is Edmonton's top line. They score the most, and with Holinka especially as the center they are a very good two-way, play driving line.

From what I've seen, I like him. You can see some of the same instinctual pro-like habits that Iginla has when he doesn't have the puck. He has the kind of fearlessness you'd want too, always moving his feet and a good awareness of the ice. He has some skill, he is a good skater, he will engage physically and looks like he can be an annoying little pest at times. He's a solid all-around winger, but none of his skills are at a high enough level, not yet anyway. His skating can be a bit wonky, he's a bit undersized, and his offensive skill with the puck isn't that great as a passer, puck handler, or shooter. Now, that's also why I can see him being a third round pick, but I wouldn't be surprised if some team gives him a bump because of the Iginla name.

It's worth noting that his older brother went through a pretty large jump in his draft year as well, getting so much better as the year wore on. So I'll keep him on my watch list for now, but I do expect him to be too good by the end of the year to keep him here.

Nathan Amidovski

Funnily enough, after talking about two teammates on Leksands, now I'm going to talk about two teammates on the Ottawa 67's in the OHL. I'll start with Amidovski, who doesn't have the big point totals or top role that the next guy does, but as of now I like his projection a bit more because of his physical tools.

Amidosvski has size (6'2") with room to still work on his strength (170 lbs). More importantly to me, is that he is also a speedy skater with one of those never ending motors. He can make skilled plays, though he won't be an offensive star. His issue right now is that he hasn't figured out how to make those skilled plays at speed, and his legs often outpace his brain. He has 5 points in 7 games in the OHL so far, seemingly mostly on their second line and second powerplay unit.

From what I've seen, I like Amidosvski like I did his brother. He has a good looking shot, I like his skating, and I see the potential that the Leafs' development team could work with to teach him when to vary his speeds, when he can slow down, and how to use his skill when he's going more full tilt. But even if he doesn't fully realize that potential, I think he could make for a useful depth guy with those tools as a foundation.

Thomas Vandenberg

Vandenberg is interesting because he's very young – September 8th is only 8 days from not being eligible until the 2027 draft – but already a top player for Ottawa in the OHL. He's their top line center, leads the powerplay, and he leads the team in goals (tied with 6) and in points (10) in seven games which is tied for 16th in the whole OHL. He does the heavy lifting for his linemates, generating a lot more shots and points. He also wins almost 59% of his faceoffs. His six goals in seven games aren't flukes either, he's shown he can score around the net, can create breakaways and rush goals, and beat goalies with his shot.

The good part of Vandenberg's game is the speed, the off-puck awareness and two-way potential. The concerns for his projection are that his play style may not hold up that well with just average size (6'0" and 180 lbs). He can beat defensemen with speed, and while he does battle and come away with pucks from the boards and can sometimes absorb contact, he can still be kept outside by bigger and better skating defensemen. It doesn't help that his playmaking isn't at such a great level that you can somewhat live with him being on the outside and beating the defense by passing through it.

But I can't help but want to follow Vandenberg with interest this year, given how good he already is when he's so young. If he develops his game to deal with those concerns more by the end of this season, he could wind up being a second rounder much less a third. I see a bit of Hopkins in him, with the speed and two-way potential – but the projection and defense aren't as advanced.

DEFENSE

Josh McGregor

McGregor is a re-entry, having gone undrafted this past summer. I wrote about him as a late round defenseman I was interested in, so it's not very surprising I'm still interested now. Everything I said then is still true now – he'd tall with a frame that still has projection to add strength (6'3" and 174 lbs), he was on the younger side with a June birthday, he's a good skater, his defensive tracking data last year was outstanding and he looked like he had offensive potential. I had said: "He just seems like a guy that could take a big leap next year, and I think there's some offensive skills to work with if they get nurtured and refined."

Well, so far this year he's already taking that next step and having a potential breakout season. He is on Swift Current's top pair and now quarterbacks their powerplay. Thanks to that, he's more than halfway to surpassing his 16 points in 63 games the previous season in only 8 games, with 2 goals and 9 points. That's good for third on the team, and tied for second in the whole WHL among all defensemen.

Given that McGregor is a re-entry, even with a very strong season and the flashy points on his stats page, he's someone who is more likely to be available in the third round. If he does so damn good that he becomes a second rounder I'm going to be pissed that Toronto passed up on him completely when they took a re-entry face punching goon with their final pick.

Timofei Runtso

Another re-entry defenseman in the WHL who is tied for third among all defenders in points with 8, is Runtsoout of nowhere for me. He's another relatively young (July birthday) right-shot defenseman who has some size (6'2" and 187 lbs). Last year, he was drafted to the USHL but never played for his team – instead, spending the whole draft year in the NAHL, where he had 27 points in 53 games. It doesn't seem like a lot, but it was the most in the league among all U18 defensemen. Because the USHL only has 15 teams, it's not uncommon for a good chunk of the players drafted to the league to never play there.

The change to the CHL-NCAA eligibility rules means he could jump to the WHL and maintain his college commitment, so he joined Victoria and immediately became their top defenseman. He's playing around 24 minutes per game, and he's on their top pair and top powerplay unit.

The good part of the game is he seems to be a very active player all over the ice. He contributes to pushing play up the ice, in creating offense in the offensive zone, and in defending his blueline and in his own zone. He's a good but not explosive skater, he's got good defensive instincts when it comes to reading the play and knocking the puck away, and he plays with a bit of a physical edge. The issue is that he's all about chaos, in both the good and bad sense. He tries a lot of things on both sides of the puck, and I don't think he's yet learned to pick his spots. That's a bit more of a concern for him considering he's a re-entry, but something I can forgive this early in the season because he's new to the CHL. I'm willing to watch him through this season to see how much he learns to refine and adjust his game with more discipline and structure.

William Lundqvist

I'll end the list with one final Leksands tie in – I've seen them a good deal when recording games in case Koblar or Johansson were in them, sue me. Lundqvist is another pretty big defender (6'4" and 192 lbs), he's a left shot, and he's not a re-entry but is on the older side with a November birthday. So he's actually only 4-5 months younger than McGregor and Runtso. So far this season he's been a bit up and down the Leksands' junior lineup – mostly bouncing between the second and third pairs. He's gotten some powerplay time, but not much.

I started seeing Lundqvist as a glitter guy when I was watching the junior team's pre-season games. He was used as Johansson's partner in them, and to start the regular season. He didn't look spectacular, but I noticed him making good plays with the puck. His defense was a bit more hit and miss, and that seems to have continued into the regular season.

Lundqvist has the frame and some skill, for now I have him on my watch list mostly because I liked what I saw in the pre-season and I'm interested to see how much he grows over the season. He's much more tentative than anyone else on the list.

Thanks for reading!

I put a lot of work into my prospect articles here, both for the draft and Toronto's prospects. I do it as a fun hobby for me, and I'd probably do it in some capacity even if PPP completely ceased to exist. But if you like reading my work, some support would go a long way! I pay for a few streaming services (CHL, NCAA, USHL, the occasional TSN options for international tournaments that are broadcast) to be able to reliably watch these prospects in good quality streams. I also pay for some prospect-specific resources, such as tracking data and scouting reports from outlets like Elite Prospects, Future Considerations, McKeen's Hockey, The Athletic, and more.

Being able to get paid for this helps me dedicate more time and resources to it, rather than to second/third jobs. And whatever money I make here, a lot of I reinvest back into my prospect work through in those streaming and scouting services. Like I said, I'd be doing whatever I can afford for this anyway, so any financial help I get through this is greatly appreciated!