NHL.com releases Fantasy Hockey mock draft for 2026-27 season featuring Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Macklin Celebrini

NHL.com has released a Fantasy Hockey mock draft for the 2026-27 season, running as a non-keeper simulation with 12 teams and 192 players. The mock was conducted Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, and NHL.com emphasized that the results differ from its NHL.com Fantasy “top 250” rankings.

The simulated format uses a 16-player roster with two centers, two left wings, two right wings, four defensemen, two goalies, and four bench spots, covering skater categories including goals, assists, power-play points, shots on goal, hits, and blocked shots, plus goalie categories including wins, goals-against average, save percentage, and shutouts. NHL.com also noted that the draft participants included fantasy writers Pete Jensen and Chris Meaney (identified as PJ and CM), while additional picks were selected by fans and based on Yahoo Fantasy average draft position (ADP).

In the first round, Nathan MacKinnon (F, COL) was chosen first overall, followed by Connor McDavid (F, EDM) and Macklin Celebrini (F, SJS). Other early selections included Nikita Kucherov (F, TBL), Leon Draisaitl (F, EDM), and Cale Makar (D, COL), while Kirill Kaprizov (F, MIN) and Nick Suzuki (F, MTL) were also taken in the top 10. NHL.com’s mock draft also recorded Andrei Vasilevskiy (G, TBL) as the first goalie selected to close out the opening round.

NHL.com said the mock’s takeaways included MacKinnon going ahead of McDavid in the simulation, Celebrini landing ahead of Kucherov, and multiple teams placing two players in the first round, including the Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, and Tampa Bay Lightning. NHL.com also highlighted that the early goalie selection featured Vasilevskiy, and that the mock draft included additional later picks across all positions, with its fantasy coverage continuing through NHL.com Fantasy rankings and analysis.

Written by Vancouver Television Sports Desk