Every time you speak with a prospect expert, they stress the importance of drafting the best player available rather than selecting based on organizational need. Fortunately for the Winnipeg Jets, those two criteria appear set to align this year, with both excellent centres and top-pairing defencemen expected to be available when they make the eighth overall selection on Friday night in Buffalo.
Since Winnipeg’s season came to an end, we’ve tried to provide as much information as possible on the prospects expected to be selected in the top 10 of the 2026 NHL Draft. Be sure to check out our conversations with Craig Button here and with Shane Malloy here as both went in-depth on many of the players who could hear their names called out tomorrow night.
With just one day remaining before the draft gets underway, here’s a look at the final rankings from some of the top prospect experts and who they have going eighth overall:
TSN (Craig Button): Alberts Smits (D)
TSN (Chris Peters): Keaton Verhoeff (D)
Sportsnet (Sam Cosentino): Daxon Rudolph (D)
Sportsnet (Jason Bukala): Daxon Rudolph (D)
Elite Prospects (Cam Robinson): Keaton Verhoeff (D)
The Athletic (Scott Wheeler): Viggo Björck (C)
The Athletic (Corey Pronman): Carson Carels (D)
Daily Faceoff (Steven Ellis): Keaton Verhoeff (D)
Hockey Prospects Radio (Shane Malloy): Viggo Björck (C)
NHL.com (Adam Kimelman): Viggo Björck (C)
NHL.com (Mike Morreale): Viggo Björck (C)
The Hockey News (Tony Ferrari): Chase Reid (D)
So who will the Winnipeg Jets select when they are on the clock with the eighth overall pick? Will they stick with one of the names above, or go in a different direction entirely?
Let us know here who you’d like to see them select!
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