BUFFALO – The Vancouver Canucks have still never picked first at an NHL draft.
The club owned the best odds heading into last month’s lottery following a last-place finish in its 55th season — 14 points adrift of the league’s next-worst team — only to get bumped down to the No. 3 slot when the ping-pong balls bounced in favour of the Toronto Maple Leafs and San Jose Sharks.
After watching two star forwards come off the board Friday, the Canucks made their move.
Vancouver took Caleb Malhotra with the third selection at the 2026 draft inside KeyBank Center.
The son of former NHL forward and new Vancouver Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra had 84 points (29 goals, 55 assists) in 67 games this season for the Ontario Hockey League’s Brantford Bulldogs.
The six-foot-two, 182-pound centre from Toronto added 13 goals and 13 assists for 26 points in 15 playoff contests.
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The Buffalo Sabres selected Lacombe, Alta., defenceman Daxon Rudolph with the fourth overall pick.
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The six-foot-two Rudolph tied for the Western Hockey League playoff scoring lead with 27 points in 19 games last season, leading the Raiders to the final.
He has played for Canada’s under-18 team at the world championship and Hlinka Gretzky Cup. He is committed to the University of Denver next season.
The Calgary Flames selected Cypress River, Man., defenceman Carson Carels sixth overall. He had 73 points (20 goals, 53 assists) in 58 games this season with the WHL Prince George Cougars.
The six-foot-one, 175-pound blueliner, who is committed to the University of North Dakota next season after and only turned 18 on Tuesday, added a goal and nine assists in 10 playoff contests after also suiting up for Canada’s bronze-medal team at the world junior hockey championship.
The Seattle Kraken, with the seventh overall pick, took Chase Reid, a defenceman from Chesterfield, Mich., who had 48 points (18 goals, 30 assists) in 45 games for the Ontario Hockey League’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in 2025-26.
The six-foot-two, 187-pound Reid, who was cut from the United States Hockey League in the fall of 2024 before eventually catching on with the Greyhounds, chipped in three goals and three assists in 10 playoff contests.
The right-shot blueliner suited up for the U.S. at the world junior hockey championship.
The San Jose Sharks, with the ninth overall pick, took defenceman Keaton Verhoeff of Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.
The six-foot-four, 208-pound defenceman from the University of North Dakota registered 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) in 36 games as a freshman in NCAA.
Verhoeff, who celebrated his 18th birthday last Friday, had 45 points (21 goals, 24 assists) in 63 games with the WHL’s Victoria Royals in 2024-25 before taking the U.S. college route.
Verhoeff was a member of Canada’s world junior team that finished third back in January.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press