2026 NHL Draft Profiles: Re-Entry Forwards

This year wasn't as strong for re-entry prospects compared to previous drafts. There isn't really 1-2 big names that could be taken as early as the second round, even if I've seen some lone scouts name someone they really like... colour me skeptical. What this year does have a fair amount of, however, are some interesting supporting or depth players that play an ideal style for a bottom six checking/energy lineup.

LIAM LEFEBVRE

• Position: Right-shot centre
• League(s): QMJHL
• Height: 6'3"
• Weight: 203 lbs
• Birthdate: May 15, 2007

Lefebvre has certainly taken an unusual route in his development path. Born in Montreal, he moved from Quebec's various minor leagues to play in the USA's AAA and High School Prep leagues for three years, including his draft year last season. This year, he returned to his home province to play for Rimouski, where he had 15 goals and 29 points in 34 games. Halfway through the season he was traded to Chicoutimi, where he had 17 goals and 30 points in 25 games. He was an integral part of their QMJHL championship and Memoral Cup run, even if his production slowed in the playoffs. After this year, he has a commitment to the University of Vermont in the NCAA... not exactly a top program, but his strong season may be enough to get him recruited to a better one.

Lefebvre has a power forward style game, but as a centre. He throws some big hits with a hard shot that one scout said is the best release in the Q. He has a pro-level size and uses it well for puck protection, winning board battles, and fighting for position in front of the net. He gets good reviews for his off puck play too, particularly his positioning both offensively and defensively. He plays a smart and simple-but-effective style, and plays with a lot of energy. The big question marks around him are about his ability to deal with higher paces of play, and if he has enough skill. Honestly, I liked him a good deal while watching him, but not for more than a lower round pick. He wasn't dominant as a D+1 with his size advantage, but like some of the guys I mentioned at the start of the list his strengths are ideal for a depth player.

MATIAS VANHANEN

• Position: Left-shot winger
• League(s): WHL
• Height: 5'11"
• Weight: 176 lbs
• Birthdate: Sep 11, 2007

I could have sworn I wrote about Vanhanen at some point either last year or this year, but apparently not. He was one of the youngest players in the draft last year, only 5 days away from not being eligible until this year. He played last year mostly in Finland's junior league where he had a good amount of points, but being 5'10" and not having eye popping numbers playing in a mid-tier junior league... it's not completely surprising that he went undrafted. However, this year he was taken by Everett in the WHL's import draft and became one of their best players on one of the best teams in the CHL. He actually reminds me of another, smaller Finnish winger also with the first name Matias.

Vanhanen is an elite playmaking winger with a lot of supporting skills. He can sling passes cross ice, through multiple defenders. He is very smart and has a lot of off-puck skills in terms of positioning, anticipation, and the routes he chooses. Even though he's smaller, in the WHL he was a very good forechecker with a high work ethic and motor, jumping into passing lanes to pick off outlet passes or forcing turnovers with his skating. While he's a bit on the small side, in junior so far he's shown he can protect the puck well and absorb contact from bigger players by rolling with it to avoid most of the force. However, there's no getting around him being on the smaller side, and on top of that he isn't the fastest or most dynamic skater. That puts a lot of questions around his projection to the NHL, but for a late round pick? You can do worse than one of the smartest, best and most pure playmakers in the WHL.

YAROSLAV BRYZGALOV

• Position: Left-shot winger
• League(s): WHL
• Height: 6'4"
• Weight: 220 lbs
• Birthdate: Mar 23, 2007

Bryzgalov, for the most part, is the opposite kind of player to Vanhanen. He's huge, and while he's also a decent playmaker his strengths are more on the physical side than the cerebral skill side. From Belarus, he made the jump to North America last year, where he played in the USHL for his draft season (starting to see a pattern in these re-entries I've written about). The play style on Des Moines wasn't something that suited him at the time, so this season he moved to Medicine Hat in the WHL where he thrived. He had 55 points in 64 games despite not playing on their powerplay very much, and added 14 more in their 15 playoff games.

Bryzgalov has a cannon of a shot, but doesn't use it that much. He's more of a detailed playmaker, making short passes when he gets the puck in the dirty areas of the ice. He shows patience with the puck at times, delaying on rush attempts and using his size to protect the puck while he waits for trailing teammates to get to an open seam. He has a good set of hands too, with some decent dangles in his toolkit. He uses his size to get leverage and positioning on battles along the boards and in front of the net. His issues are mechanical rawness, especially when it comes to his skating which limits his ability to create separation. That's likely why he's so good at making shorter, quicker plays with the puck and buying time with his size to protect it when he needs to. If Toronto thinks their skill coaches can clean that up and buy into his skill as a big supporting winger as a power forward, he could be a worth a later round swing.

JERE SOMERVUORI

• Position: Left-shot winger
• League(s): Liiga
• Height: 6'0"
• Weight: 159 lbs
• Birthdate: Aug 10, 2007

Somervuori is like Bryzgalov, in that his game is based around being a supporting forward than in driving his own line. He's on the young side for last year's draft with an August birthday, and he played most of the year in Finland's junior league at under a point per game while being very skinny (145 lbs). His numbers in international play were better, but like Vanhanen went undrafted. This year he mostly played for HIFK in the Liiga, where he got to play on their top line at times and had 16 points in 52 games as an 18 year old.

Somervuori carved out a role for himself with elite, explosive skating, trying to work harder than everyone else on the ice, and using that with good hockey IQ to drive transitions, forecheck aggressively, and get back quickly on defense to support his defensemen. He doesn't have a good shot, nor does he show a lot of finishing touch around the net, and while his passing and playmaking is better it isn't at that high a level either. The fact that he's still pretty skinny holds him back too, as does some smaller mechanical flaws. I'd still be interested in him as a potential speedy supporting winger in the bottom six who can kill penalties, drive good transitions, and... you know, basically just be like Mikheyev. Him being able to do that will be a question of if he can pack on some muscle so he can still hold his own in battles against better quality pro competition.

PHILIP HEMMYR

• Position: Left-shot center/winger
• League(s): U20 Nationell / HockeyAllsvenskan
• Height: 6'2"
• Weight: 174 lbs
• Birthdate: Jun 17, 2007

Hemmyr took a huge step forward this year. Last season, in his draft year, he had 33 points in 49 games in Sweden's U20 junior league. He wasn't on anyone's draft radar, and was ultimately not selected by anyone. This season, he exploded. He started in a return to Sweden's junior where he simply dominated with 19 goals and 44 points in just 27 games. He returned to them for the relegation playoffs and put up another 7 goals and 16 points in 8 games. His point per game pace was 4th behind two players already drafted to the NHL. That was good enough to earn him a promotion to the Allsvenskan team, and an invite to some of Sweden's junior team for various international games. In the Allsvenskan, he had 12 points in 36 games, good for 6th among U19 players and ahead of some guys born the same year who were drafted to the NHL. He also added 6 points in 8 games for Sweden's U19 team, and is only a month older than Koblar for reference.

The strengths of Hemmyr's game is his intelligence: how he reads the play, anticipating what might happen next and making sure he's in a good position to make a play. He also makes quick decisions with the puck, preferring to be a "connector" as one scout called it rather than being a play driver. So if he gets a pass, he'll be passing it off or shooting it quickly. He is good at finding uncovered areas of the ice to be open for a pass and shot, and anticipates rebounds or loose pucks that he can pounce on quickly. His smarts show up off puck as well, and he could have some two-way potential as a depth center. He doesn't have a lot of high level physical tools or dynamic skills, but once he ads more muscle and fills out he can just focus on being a responsible center who's a handful in the offensive zone. This goal he scores, fighting through a checker to get to the front of the net for a shot right in front of the crease is a good indication of what I mean:

NIKO TOURNAS

• Position: Right-shot winger
• League(s): QMJHL
• Height: 6'2"
• Weight: 198 lbs
• Birthdate: Feb 17, 2006

Tournas is a D+2 re-entry for this year's draft, the only one on this list and therefore the oldest player by almost a full year. There's no real shock why he went undrafted twice – in his draft year, he played in the USHL and had 5 points in 41 games. Last season, he moved to the NAHL and did have a lot of points... but it's the NAHL and he was a D+1 re-entry guy. This year, he moved to Moncton in the QMJHL and put up a 43 goal, 71 point regular season followed by a 3 goal, 13 point playoff run. He has a commitment to the University of New Hampshire in the NCAA next year, but I wouldn't be surprised if he re-commits to a better college eventually – maybe even this off-season.

Tournas' biggest strength is his shot and finishing ability. He has a quick but heavy release, with both a wrist shot and slapshot/one-timer as legitimate weapons. He has some manipulation with his shot at times, like the curl and drag snipe that Matthews made popular. But he can even beat goalies easily from distance using a deceptively casual release that has surprising power behind it. He has some other skills that help him as a goal scorer – he is smart without the puck and has that ability to find soft areas in the offensive areas to get open for a pass, and when he has the puck he has good size to protect it and some creativity handling the puck. His issues are around the mechanics in his skating which makes his ability to play at higher paces inconsistent, and despite his size he doesn't use it much outside of puck protection. He's also not much of a defensive forward, making him a bit one dimensional as an offense-only guy with legitimate powerplay potential.

ROMEO EDVARDSEN SORENSEN

• Position: Left-shot winger
• League(s): U20 Nationell / Allsvenskan
• Height: 6'1"
• Weight: 187 lbs
• Birthdate: Sep 11, 2007

Sørensen is, like Vanhanen, extremely young for a re-entry – in fact, they share the exact same birthday! He's a Norwegian playing in Sweden's junior and pro leagues, much like his countryman Tinus Luc Koblar. In fact, I caught on to Sørensen when they played together for Norway at the D1A World Juniors qualifier, where Norway earned a spot in next year's top World Juniors Championship tournament. Where Koblar was named top forward, Sørensen was his winger for most of the tournament and had 3 goals and 6 points to Koblar's 10 points. In Sweden, he started in the U20 junior league where he was one of the breakout forwards and best playmakers – he had 12 goals and 40 points in just 25 regular season games. He earned a call up to the Allsvenskan team, where he had 4 points in 24 games as one of the youngest players in the league.

Sørensen is a dual-threat with the puck, even if he usually chooses to be the passer than the shooter. He has a good, hard and accurate shot that can surprise goalies who sell out on him making a pass. He can protect the puck well and has a frame that could still be filled out, and he is able to attack with the puck and handle it well at his full speed. He has some mechanical flaws in his skating, some issues adapting his processing speed at the pace of the Allsvenskan, and can still be inconsistent defensively. However, I liked that he managed to adapt his role in the pro level to simplify his game to focus on forechecking, being more defensively responsible, and serving as an energy/checking line guy. That's what he'll have to do to increase his chances of making the NHL, so it's a good sign that he's willing to be that guy.

ISAC NILSSON

• Position: Left-shot winger
• League(s): SHL
• Height: 6'1"
• Weight: 176 lbs
• Birthdate: Apr 10, 2007

Last season, Nilsson had a pretty decent season – 30 points in 43 games in Sweden's top junior league. But it wasn't enough for him to get drafted. In fact, looking back at the few scouting reports from last season, I'm not sure he got noticed much at all. Despite that, of the few scouting reports I could find, a couple mentioned "hey this guy's actually pretty neat I should look into him more...". I don't think he's a grand hidden gem who can turn into a superstar, but he seems to be someone who could provide depth value. He started in junior again and had 11 points in 8 games, then got called up to the SHL where he had 8 points in 44 games where he averaged 8:35 of ice time. For reference, Koblar – who is three months younger – had 14 points in 47 games with 14:33 ice time on average.

There are a few things that I like about Nilsson. First, he plays at a fast pace and uses his speed and quickness to aggressively forecheck and kill penalties and create turnovers. He also showed both a willingness and ability to get the puck to the middle of the ice instead of staying on the perimeter like a lot of younger players getting their first shot in the pros. It's not at an elite level, but he has some skill to protect the puck along the boards and find an opportunity to find an open teammate for a pass or to carry it into the center of the ice himself. He just showed he had a lot of utility as a depth player, with very smart off puck and on support. He may not be flashy or have a high amount of skill, and he needs to add some muscle of course, but I can see an NHL style depth player in how he plays to his strengths so for a late round pick (even a re-entry)? You can do worse.

MIKHAIL MELIKOV

• Position: Right-shot winger
• League(s): MHL
• Height: 6'0"
• Weight: 150 lbs
• Birthdate: Feb 07, 2007

Last year, Melikov was a super small, super skinny Russian winger and had only 30 points in 46 games in Russia's junior league. Now, just how small he is has some mystery around it, but when I look at his player page on the MHL website he's still listed as 173 cm, which is about 5'8". This year, on Elite Prospects at least, he's listed as 6'0" but still only 150 lbs. Also this year, he had a big breakout and lead the MHL in points with 87 in 60 games. His next closest teammates were 20+ points behind him, and he was tied for the league lead in +/- too if you put any stock in that. I wouldn't be surprised if he had a big growth spurt compared to when he first got to the MHL, and his physical tools and performance took off.

From watching him, as you can see in the highlights above, Melikov certainly has skill. He can thread passes, has good vision, a good set of hands, a good shot, and has some nifty mittens handling the puck. He is a play driver and an offensive creator, in the MHL at least. For that level, he's also a very good skater – he has a quick burst of speed in his first 1-2 steps, and can out pace most of his peers in a straight line race. More importantly, he uses his speed well without the puck. You can see some examples of him creating turnovers, including short handed, by harassing the defensemen in their own zone or at his blueline. He has an element of fearlessness to him as well, he'll take hits and get hurt to make a play. The thing is... he's still very skinny. He can take the punishment teenagers can inflict on him, but that story will change once he gets to the pro level. There's also the question of how much his skill has substance, and how much is just flash that can work in Russia's junior level? I came to like him the more I watched him, so I wouldn't mind a late round swing if you think he's literally a late bloomer and his game can play up once he finishes growing up and filling out.

OLIVER DEJBJERG LARSEN

• Position: Left-shot wing/centre
• League(s): U20 Nationell
• Height: 5'11"
• Weight: 168 lbs
• Birthdate: Mar 23, 2007

Larsen is a Danish forward who played in Sweden's U18 and U20 leagues in his draft year. His numbers were okay, but not great. For a slightly below averaged size skill guy, he unsurprisingly didn't get drafted. This year, he had an offensive explosion repeating the U20 junior level in Sweden – he led the league in points with 20 goals and 53 points in just 36 games which is 11 points ahead of his closest teammate. He was also very strong playing for Denmark internationally. He had 6 points in 5 games at the World Juniors to lead his team. They wound up losing every single game by a combined score of 36-12, but he played over 20 minutes in each of Denmark's final two games as they tried to avoid relegation.

In junior, Larsen made a lot of strides in his offensive game this season. He has shown he has a very strong feel for scoring – he has a deceptively wicked shot, he has above average speed and mobility, and he is a smart playmaker with the puck on his stick. The question marks for him are what you'd expect – he isn't that big or that strong, so there are questions about his projection to more difficult competition above junior and how well he can check or play defensively. Whether you want to throw a late round pick at him or not will depend on how much you buy into his offensive skill and how much further he can improve beyond this season.

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!