The 2026 NHL Draft is officially underway, and the first-overall pick is in. The Toronto Maple Leafs took Gavin McKenna as the top prospect.
So, the Colorado Avalanche will now have to face another superstar foe in the NHL. McKenna has been regarded as one of the best prospects to come along in the last few drafts.
The good news is that the Avalanche only play the Maple Leafs twice a year. Still, it will be exciting for Colorado fans to see such a talented player in the NHL. That situation depends, of course, if McKenna will play for Toronto next season.
The thing to really keep in mind is what the Avalanche’s division rivals will do in this year’s draft. As the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft remains underway, it will be a matter of seeing what the Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators, and Utah Mammoth end up doing.
It’s worth noting that the Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, and Minnesota Wild do not have first-round picks this season. The Avalanche also do not have a first-rounder. So, Colorado will be looking at how to maximize the picks they do have, starting in the second round.
In the meantime, it will be interesting to see what other teams do moving forward. While the Avalanche won’t likely have to face most of this year’s prospects anytime soon, they are players to keep an eye out for.
If they don’t become foes at some point down the line, they could become trade chips that might influence the Avalanche at one juncture or another. You never know what can actually happen, sometimes years down the road.
At least the in-draft drama has been cut down to a bit of a minimum, as only two trades have been announced thus far. We’ll be taking a closer look at the post-first-round mayhem in subsequent articles here at Mile High Sticking.
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