NHL returns to Buffalo, picks Sabres to host draft
The NHL made official Monday what had been an open secret for weeks: The Buffalo Sabres will host the 2026 NHL draft on June 26-27 at their home arena, KeyBank Center.
Commissioner Gary Bettman -- joined by team owner Terry Pegula -- joked about the lack of surprise to their announcement at a news conference before Buffalo's game against Florida on Monday night.
It was more passion than shock value driving the NHL back to Buffalo, now second only to Montreal in hosting the most drafts.
"This is a place where hockey really matters," Bettman said. "Great fans, great history and tradition. That's hockey at all levels of the game, grassroots on up ... people have always supported and been enthusiastic about hockey, particularly when the team is as competitive as this one looks. So it's an exciting opportunity to bring it back."
Buffalo previously hosted the draft in 2016.
The NHL will continue its decentralized draft format after first rolling out the new approach last year from Los Angeles. Bettman outlined how the league will again bring about 90-100 prospects into Western New York -- using up to 1,800 hotel rooms in the process -- and said it will be "our usual big event," even as individual team personnel make selections from their own cities.
Pegula was only too happy to welcome the NHL. The league has staged its annual scouting combine in Buffalo, and the area was also the site of the NHL's first Winter Classic in 2008.
Buffalo's proximity to the U.S.-Canada border is another selling point, offering easier access for more hockey fans to attend the festivities.
"I consider us Canada south," Pegula said. "We love our Canadian fans and appreciate the support they give us. But also in Western New York, [there's] grassroots [initiatives]. I started as a Sabres fan. My son played hockey [here] since he was a little guy. To add to the scouting combine, the referee clinic and the world juniors [tournaments] we've had here, the support and the enthusiasm for it, it's a great place to hold a hockey event."
It was a Canadian club that landed the top pick in 2016, when Toronto took Auston Matthews at No. 1.
Penn State forward Gavin McKenna has the early inside track to being drafted No. 1 in 2026. The 18-year-old made waves when he decided to leave the Canadian Hockey League last summer to suit up for the Nittany Lions instead.
McKenna was able to make the switch after the NCAA axed its longtime ban on allowing college eligibility for CHL skaters.
McKenna has been labeled a "generational talent" by scouts pegging him to be an upcoming top pick for the past two years. He has four goals and 19 points in 18 games in Happy Valley, while adjusting to what's considered tougher competition in the NCAA ranks.
In the CHL, McKenna posted 91 goals and 289 points in 158 career games with the Medicine Hat Tigers.
Other top prospects include McKenna's Canadian teammates at this year's world juniors -- forward Keaton Verhoeff (North Dakota) and Carson Carels (WHL's Price George Cougars).
Chase Reid (OHL's Soo Greyhounds) is the top-ranked American-born skater in NHL Central Scouting's latest release.
