2027 NHL Draft Projected Top 10: Landon DuPont, Alexis Joseph, And Carter Meyer Highlight Exciting Class
With the dust settled on the 2026 NHL draft, it's only natural to begin mapping out what the 2027 NHL draft will look like.
The 2026 draft featured two wingers at the top, Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg, before featuring a plethora of defensemen.
The 2027 draft is projected to be far different. Defenseman Landon DuPont is the runaway favorite to go first overall, but following DuPont, seven of the next nine players projected to land in the top 10 are centers.
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Despite the uncertainty of playing in Friday's semifinal game for the Everett Silvertips, Landon DuPont put on a dominant performance to help his team advance to the 2026 Memorial Cup final and is reaching records among exceptional status players.
2. Alexis Joseph, C, Saint John (QMJHL)
One of the top-scoring rookies in the ‘Q,' Joseph has an excellent combination of size, speed and skill that will make him alluring to teams in need of an elite center.
3. Milan Sundstrom, C, MoDo Jr. (Swe.)
The son of former NHLer Niklas Sundstrom dominated the Swedish junior ranks. The kid has size, skill and sense. He just needs to get stronger, which will help his skating.
4. Nazar Privalov, LW, CSKA Jr. (Rus.)
After an incredible regular season, Privalov tailed off in the playoffs. Was it conditioning? There's time to sort that out. He's massive and has excellent scoring acumen.
2026 NHL Draft: Lemieux, Croskery, And Boettiger Among Best Players To Go Undrafted
The 2026 NHL draft came and went, and a total of 224 players were selected. But that doesn't mean there weren't players who were not selected and likely should have been. They'll have the opportunity to re-enter the draft next year, but first, we highlight the best players to go undrafted in 2026.
5. Carter Meyer, C, U.S. NTDP (USHL)
He's got the talent, the compete level and the bloodlines. Meyer is a Boston University commit who has already played above his age group at ‘The Program.'
6. Max Calce, C, Manheim Jr (Ger.)
Formerly Max Penkin, the talented center was one of Germany's top scorers at the world under-18s. He's got a great compete level and wants to be a difference-maker.
7. Jonah Neuenschwander, C, Biel-Bienne
The big frame and skating ability make him a tantalizing prospect. There was a question about his offensive production, but he's starting to put up numbers.
2026 NHL Draft Grades: Maple Leafs, Sharks Score Well, Unimpressive Hauls For Lightning, Flyers
In one of the more eventful NHL drafts in recent times, there were plenty of teams that did very well for themselves and could be fast-tracking a rebuild or extending their contending window. On the other side, there are teams that whiffed or reached on selections that could hurt them down the road.
8. Luca Santala, C, Kiekko-Espoo Jr. (Fin.)
He's a big kid with a great one-timer. The son of former NHLer Tommi Santala put up nice numbers at the world under-18s despite Finland's early quarterfinal exit.
9. Brock Cripps, D, Prince Albert (WHL)
The modern-style offensive D-man isn't big, but he does put up numbers. He was a point-per-gamer during the WHL playoffs, and he can zip up the ice.
10. Jaxon Jacobson, C, Brandon (WHL)
Another player on the smaller side, Jacobson nonetheless makes his presence felt with a great release and a game that makes those around him better.
This feature appeared in The Hockey News' Draft Preview issue featuring Gavin McKenna on the cover.
Not only does it feature scouting reports on the NHL draft's top 100 prospects, but it also goes further into the stories of some of the top players available, such as McKenna, Ivar Stenberg, Keaton Verhoeff, Carson Carels, JP Hurlbert and the Ruck twins.
There are also team-by-team reports that cover immediate and long-term needs, cap situation, players in the system, shrewd picks from the past and not so shrewd picks. It's worth a read during and after the draft.
Copyright The Hockey News, Roustan Media Ltd.
This story was originally published June 28, 2026 at 12:35 PM.