Who Four NHL Teams Should Target With Their Newly Acquired First-Round Draft Picks
The NHL saw a flurry of first-round picks thrown around at the start of draft week.
The Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres, San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues acquired first-rounders for Friday's draft in trades that involved Brady Tkachuk, Bowen Byram, William Eklund and Jordan Kyrou.
The Byram trade to the Chicago Blackhawks, in particular, marked the first time a team traded a top-five pick between the regular season and the draft since 2008.
With these newly acquired picks come new doors for prospect selection ahead of Friday evening at Keybank Center in Buffalo.
2026 NHL Draft: Each Team's Picks And Prospect Pool Needs
Some big trades have included a bunch of NHL draft picks, including two in the top 10. Here are draft picks and a prospect pool weak point for each of the 32 NHL teams.
Pick 9, San Jose Sharks: Daxon Rudolph, D, Prince Albert (WHL)
How San Jose got the pick: traded William Eklund, Kasper Halttunen and Brandon Svoboda to Ottawa in exchange for the ninth overall pick in 2026, previously acquired from Florida
The Sharks now find themselves at the end of what could be a huge run of defensemen in the draft order. If Sharks GM Mike Grier has the opportunity to step up a couple of slots, he will likely pounce on that trade.
But if they keep the pick, the 6-foot-2 Rudolph would bring a lot of talent to the table in all three zones for them.
Rudolph scored 28 goals in the WHL this past season and continued to produce in the playoffs, where in 19 games, he put up nine goals and 27 points.
He projects as a blueliner who can quarterback a power play and drive the play through transition. His downfall has been his defensive details and lack of bite in his game.
Rudolph is heading over to play for David Carle and the Denver Pioneers next season, where he can continue to improve the weaknesses in his game.
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Pick 16, St. Louis Blues: Alexander Command, C, Orebro Jr. (Swe.)
How St. Louis got the pick: traded Jordan Kyrou to Washington in exchange for the 16th overall pick in 2026, Connor McMichael and Milton Gastrin
After trading Kyrou, the Blues have picks at 11th, 15th, 15th and 29th overall heading into Friday's draft.
It wouldn't be entirely shocking if the Blues even use their 11th pick on Command because he shares a lot of the same traits as incoming GM Alex Steen.
Command displays very high hockey IQ and overall processing speed. He has good vision and understands where to be on the ice to score. He also has a solid motor and pace, both of which Steen had in the pros.
Dalibor Dvorsky has shown promise as a center at the NHL level, but bringing in Command could just be the perfect building block this team needs to get back to its Stanley Cup-winning ways.
Blues Own Four First-Round Picks Following Jordan Kyrou Trade; Is A Bigger Move Next?
The St. Louis Blues own an embarrassment of riches, holding four first-round picks in the 2026 NHL draft. Is a bigger move on the way, or could the Blues package their picks to move up in the draft?
Pick 25, Ottawa Senators: Jack Hextall, C, Youngstown (USHL)
How Ottawa got the pick: traded Brady Tkachuk to Florida in exchange for the ninth overall pick in 2026, the 25th overall pick in 2026 (originally belonging to Tampa Bay but previously acquired by Seattle and then Florida), a second-round pick in 2027 and a top-10 protected first-round pick in 2029
The Senators opted to add more skill to their forward core after trading for William Eklund following Tkachuk's departure. Although Eklund also shows some promising two-way play, Hextall brings a bit of a different approach.
While he is still skilled, Hextall is most impressive in his own zone, where he fights for loose pucks, uses his frame to win puck battles and shows great detail in the defensive end.
He thinks the game at a high level, can play the puck-retrieval game the Sens excel at and still has some hidden skill that could be put on display.
Editor in chief Ryan Kennedy also suggested goalie Tobias Trejbal and forwards Ryan Roobroeck, Marcus Nordmark and Maddox Dagenais as other options.
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This story was originally published June 25, 2026 at 3:41 PM.