For the past couple of years, most of the attention for the top prospect available in the 2026 NHL Draft has revolved around Gavin McKenna. He’s most often been identified as the consensus candidate to go first overall next June and described as a generational talent with incredible offensive upside.
There’s a real chance McKenna will have his name called first by the team that wins the draft lottery but, as is the case almost every draft cycle, competition is ramping up. And there’s at least one other prospect to be aware of challenging for No. 1.
In my opinion, North Dakota freshman defenceman Keaton Verhoeff has overtaken McKenna. Today, he is my new number one draft prospect.
FROM THE WHL TO THE NCAA
Like McKenna, Verhoeff made the move to the NCAA (North Dakota) this fall after playing for the Victoria Royals in the WHL last season. He produced 21G-24A in the regular season for Victoria and added 1G-9A in 11 playoff games. So far this year Verhoeff has contributed 4G-4A with a responsible plus-4.
BREAKING DOWN VERHOEFF’S GAME: WHY HE’S NO. 1
To date, Verhoeff has earned between 18-23 minutes of ice time. All of his shifts have come at even strength or on the power play. He is the quarterback on North Dakota’s top power-play unit and, although he’s an efficient playmaker, he’s not shy about directing pucks on net.
Through Verhoeff’s first 12 games he has attempted 44 shots on goal and connected on 24 of them. Most of his shots come from his strong side, but it’s interesting to note how many high danger scoring chances Verhoeff has produced with the puck on his stick. Here’s a look at the areas of the offensive zone where Verhoeff has been credited with a shot on net. The chart speaks to how active he is moving to the middle of the zone to create high danger scoring opportunities for himself and the rest of his teammates.
Right-shot defencemen with the size, range, and skating ability that Verhoeff possesses are worth their weight in gold at the NHL level.
At six-foot-four, 215 pounds, Verhoeff is already powerful enough for the pro game. His ability to track up and down the ice with high-end pace also stands out. He’s a highly competitive prospect who never quits on a play.
Here are two examples of Verhoeff’s full ice impact. He’s engaged defensively, outlets pucks, joins the rush, makes plays in the offensive zone and wins races to track down opponents in open ice:
The game at the NHL level has never been played faster than it is today. All the coaches in the league emphasize the need to push the pace, whether they are attacking offensively or tracking back to help defend in their zone.
Having said that, it remains important to ice a group that is physically capable of battling for position and pucks in the hard areas of the ice (out front of the net and along the boards, for example).
Verhoeff has been gifted with great size and he continues to add strength to his frame. I value his hockey sense overall and appreciate the fact he recognizes when to pinch down to extend plays in the offensive zone and use size and reach to kill plays defensively.
Here are two examples of what I’m describing:
Both sequences provide evidence of Verhoeff’s physical approach, as well as spatial awareness and skating ability.
Verhoeff won’t turn 18 until next June and 17-year-old defencemen who average over 20 minutes of ice time per game are a rarity at the NCAA level. That’s not an easy task for someone like Verhoeff to defend against opponents who range in age up to 25. He’s literally competing against grown men compared to the teenagers he was up against in the WHL last season.
Throughout the course of the season there will be instances that expose Verhoeff’s youth. He will learn from his occasional mistakes and be better for it in the long run.
Here’s one of those examples, where Verhoeff tracks too high in his zone. He gets caught out of position and loses his man down low in the last minute of a period. I’m positive the coaching staff at North Dakota will have pointed out to Verhoeff that his job at this stage of the period was to protect his net and lock into his man instead of wandering into the high slot.
Verhoeff has been on my radar the past couple seasons and I’m trusting his overall game, and trajectory as a prospect, more and more every game. Defencemen with his size and skill project as significant building blocks for retooling or rebuilding teams.
Verhoeff has the potential to become a cornerstone piece for whichever team is lucky enough to draft him next June. In time he will kill penalties at North Dakota, and when he does it will round out his game even more. He projects to be a complete player in time.
Verhoeff’s journey towards next June’s NHL Draft will no doubt include some twists and turns as he continues to evolve at North Dakota. But as of today, he is my top-rated prospect.
OVERALL DRAFT RANKING PROCESS AND RELEASE
My personal process is different than some of my colleagues when it comes to ranking prospects. I prefer to collect information on players in segments throughout the season. Now that all of the draft eligible prospects have played a minimum of 10 games I am preparing to release my first set of rankings for the 2026 NHL Draft. I will be attending the CHL/UNSTDP Prospect Challenge games next week in Calgary and Lethbridge. After those two games I will release my rankings and continue to update the list on a monthly basis for the remainder of the year.
