The 2026 NHL draft is an odd one.
The consensus among the professionals is that there are upward of 45 players who should be drafted in the first round — but, by definition, there can only be 32 first-round picks. There’s just so much talent to choose from.
That makes it interesting for teams like the Utah Mammoth, who are slated to pick 19th overall on Friday. They could go in any number of directions.
“You just get comfortable with the talent level that’s around that area and you do as much homework as you can, and you attack it,” said Mammoth GM Bill Armstrong at a press conference on Monday.
The Deseret News published a list of seven players projected to go in the Mammoth’s range, whom they could be interested in selecting. With the scope of this draft, though, it’s necessary to add another handful of players to the list.
Here are seven more players the Mammoth could select at No. 19.
Nikita Klepov
- Position: left wing
- Height: 6-foot-0
- Weight: 185 pounds
- Hometown: Moscow, Russia (born in Florida)
- 2025-26 team: Saginaw Spirit, OHL
- 2025-26 production: 67 games played, 37 goals, 97 points
Wingers often fall further in the draft than they should, simply because centers and defensemen are harder to come by. For a team like Utah, whose prospect pool already has a log jam at center ice, it might not hurt to mix in a highly skilled winger.
If that’s the direction they go, Nikita Klepov could be a great choice.
He was close to a point and a half per game in the Ontario Hockey League this season, leading the league in scoring and taking home the rookie of the year award. He was also named to the Canadian Hockey League’s second all-star team alongside Mammoth prospect Tij Iginla.
Klepov is particularly skilled on the power play. His split-second decision making is what sets him apart in that area, not unlike the NHL’s 2025-26 MVP, Nikita Kucherov.
With a first-round pick, there’s little sense in taking someone whose ceiling is a third-liner.
You can get those guys on the trade market when you need them, and they usually cost nothing more than a midround pick or two (see Michael McCarron, Nic Dowd and Cole Smith as this year’s examples). Swing big and take someone with star potential, like Klepov.
Some teams hesitate to draft Russians out of fear that they’ll opt to stay at home, rather than coming to North America. Utah is not one of those teams — they took both Dmitri Simashev and Daniil But in the first round in 2023 (under the Arizona Coyotes name).
The Washington Capitals will likewise jump at the opportunity to take a good Russian. They would have had two chances to snag Klepov before Utah, but now that they’ve traded one of those picks to the St. Louis Blues, Utah’s chances at landing Klepov might be stronger.
Adam Novotný
- Position: left wing/right wing
- Height: 6-foot-1
- Weight: 205 pounds
- Hometown: Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
- 2025-26 team: Peterborough Petes, OHL
- 2025-26 production: 58 games played, 34 goals, 65 points
A lot of draft experts have paired Adam Novotný with the Mammoth. He definitely fits the MO: a big body, a hard worker and a nose for the net.
Scoring a little more than a point per game in your draft year isn’t easy, but it doesn’t mean you’ll automatically be the same player at the NHL level. Novotný definitely has the upside of a middle-six player, but there’s little that suggests he’ll ever be a true star.
If Novotný can show up as a jack-of-all-trades in the NHL — someone who can score, hit, battle in the corners and keep the puck out of his net — he has the potential to be a useful piece on a good NHL team.
Ilia Morozov
- Position: center
- Height: 6-foot-3
- Weight: 201 pounds
- Hometown: Moscow, Russia
- 2025-26 team: Miami University, NCAA
- 2025-26 production: 36 games played, eight goals, 20 points
Ilia Morozov is the epitome of a two-way forward. He can defend as well as anyone, and he’ll also fill the net.
You wouldn’t know it by looking at him, but Morozov started the year as the youngest player in college hockey — he doesn’t turn 18 until August. At 6-foot-3 and 201 pounds, though, age hardly matters.
The area of his game that seems to lack is his skating. He just looks a bit sluggish. Skating, though, can be taught. Size and scoring ability can’t. That’s why Morozov is rated as highly as he is.
Perhaps he’s not a future first-liner in the NHL, but he has the potential to contribute greatly to a Cup-contending team.
Oliver Suvanto
- Position: center
- Height: 6-foot-3
- Weight: 209 pounds
- Hometown: Turku, Finland
- 2025-26 team: Tappara, Liiga
- 2025-26 production: 48 games played, two goals, 11 points
Speaking of big, young, two-way centers who have room to improve in their skating, here’s Oliver Suvanto.
Suvanto played the bulk of the season in Liiga, the top league in his home country of Finland. His offensive numbers don’t jump off the page, but nobody’s do at that age in that league.
Instead, he could be judged on his 9 points in 11 international games this year, where he played against other kids his age, rather than grown men. Additionally, he had 8 points in the 13 games he played at the Finnish U20 level.
Like Morozov, Suvanto probably won’t be a top offensive player in the NHL, but his floor is pretty high.
Oscar Hemming
- Position: left wing/right wing
- Height: 6-foot-4
- Weight: 198 pounds
- Hometown: Vaasa, Finland
- 2025-26 team: Boston College, NCAA
- 2025-26 production: 19 games played, one goal, 8 points
Morozov began the season as the youngest player in college hockey, but Oscar Hemming took that title from him when he joined Boston College in late December.
It was a nightmare of a season for Hemming, but not because of anything that happened on the ice. A contract dispute arose with his former Finnish club, forcing him to sit out the first half of the season until they resolved it — not ideal for a player’s draft year.
His situation was a factor in his low production this season, but he was a little over 2 points per game at the U18 level last season. With a full NCAA season next year, playing against more folks his age, he really has the potential to break out.
Hemming uses his big frame to win puck battles in the corners, and he’s not afraid to hit guys. If he can become a true power forward in the NHL, he’ll be well worth the No. 19 pick.
Alexander Command
- Position: center
- Height: 6-foot-1
- Weight: 187 pounds
- Hometown: Danderyd, Sweden
- 2025-26 team: Örebro HK, Swedish U20
- 2025-26 production: 30 games played, 17 goals, 44 points
The best way to describe Alexander Command is “Jack of all trades.” There aren’t many holes in his game, though he doesn’t have one trait that stands out above the rest.
That type of skill set can turn a player into a productive NHLer — someone who is good at everything — but it can also be negative. If he doesn’t stand out in any particular area, he might struggle to find a role in the big leagues.
Brooks Rogowski
- Position: center
- Height: 6-foot-7
- Weight: 236 pounds
- Hometown: Brighton, Michigan
- 2025-26 team: Oshawa Generals, OHL
- 2025-26 production: 46 games played, 15 goals, 42 points
Brooks Rogowski’s size jumps off the page. You just don’t see many scorers at 6-foot-7.
Take the “scorer” tag with a grain of salt, though. Less than a point per game in the OHL probably translates to a 30-50-point player in the NHL. As is the case with many of these other guys, you might not want to use a first-round pick if that’s all you’re going to get out of it.
Like most big guys, he isn’t the smoothest skater and his stickhandling is choppy at best. NHL opponents will chew that up and spit it out.