Who Four NHL Teams Should Target With Their Newly Acquired First-Round Draft Picks
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Owen CameronThu, June 25, 2026 at 10:41 PM UTC·4 min readThe NHL saw a flurry of first-round picks thrown around at the start of draft week.
The Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres, San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues acquired first-rounders for Friday's draft in trades that involved Brady Tkachuk, Bowen Byram, William Eklund and Jordan Kyrou.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Byram trade to the Chicago Blackhawks, in particular, marked the first time a team traded a top-five pick between the regular season and the draft since 2008.
With these newly acquired picks come new doors for prospect selection ahead of Friday evening at Keybank Center in Buffalo.
Let's do a mini mock draft and look at which prospects could fit these new teams in their new spots.
Pick 4, Buffalo Sabres: Viggo Bjorck, C, Djurgarden (Swe.)
How Buffalo got the pick: traded Bowen Byram and Jordan Greenway to Chicago in exchange for Louis Crevier and the fourth and 45th overall picks in 2026
The Sabres don't have many holes on their roster, even after trading Alex Tuch.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAfter a very promising season, the team should be looking to find the best plug-and-play type of player.
Bjorck has a motor that can power an F-150. He thinks the game at a high level and is a play-driver who can also be a great supportive piece around good players.
Being 5-foot-9 is what's holding him back from being in the No. 1 pick conversation, and there's room for him as a top-two center in the Sabres' depth chart in the future. If Buffalo doesn't trade this pick again and believes in Bjorck, I could see them taking him in the top five.
Pick 9, San Jose Sharks: Daxon Rudolph, D, Prince Albert (WHL)
How San Jose got the pick: traded William Eklund, Kasper Halttunen and Brandon Svoboda to Ottawa in exchange for the ninth overall pick in 2026, previously acquired from Florida
The Sharks now find themselves at the end of what could be a huge run of defensemen in the draft order. If Sharks GM Mike Grier has the opportunity to step up a couple of slots, he will likely pounce on that trade.
But if they keep the pick, the 6-foot-2 Rudolph would bring a lot of talent to the table in all three zones for them.
Rudolph scored 28 goals in the WHL this past season and continued to produce in the playoffs, where in 19 games, he put up nine goals and 27 points.
He projects as a blueliner who can quarterback a power play and drive the play through transition. His downfall has been his defensive details and lack of bite in his game.
Rudolph is heading over to play for David Carle and the Denver Pioneers next season, where he can continue to improve the weaknesses in his game.
Pick 16, St. Louis Blues: Alexander Command, C, Orebro Jr. (Swe.)
How St. Louis got the pick: traded Jordan Kyrou to Washington in exchange for the 16th overall pick in 2026, Connor McMichael and Milton Gastrin
AdvertisementAdvertisementAfter trading Kyrou, the Blues have picks at 11th, 15th, 15th and 29th overall heading into Friday's draft.
It wouldn't be entirely shocking if the Blues even use their 11th pick on Command because he shares a lot of the same traits as incoming GM Alex Steen.
Command displays very high hockey IQ and overall processing speed. He has good vision and understands where to be on the ice to score. He also has a solid motor and pace, both of which Steen had in the pros.
Dalibor Dvorsky has shown promise as a center at the NHL level, but bringing in Command could just be the perfect building block this team needs to get back to its Stanley Cup-winning ways.
Pick 25, Ottawa Senators: Jack Hextall, C, Youngstown (USHL)
How Ottawa got the pick: traded Brady Tkachuk to Florida in exchange for the ninth overall pick in 2026, the 25th overall pick in 2026 (originally belonging to Tampa Bay but previously acquired by Seattle and then Florida), a second-round pick in 2027 and a top-10 protected first-round pick in 2029
The Senators opted to add more skill to their forward core after trading for William Eklund following Tkachuk's departure. Although Eklund also shows some promising two-way play, Hextall brings a bit of a different approach.
While he is still skilled, Hextall is most impressive in his own zone, where he fights for loose pucks, uses his frame to win puck battles and shows great detail in the defensive end.
He thinks the game at a high level, can play the puck-retrieval game the Sens excel at and still has some hidden skill that could be put on display.
Editor in chief Ryan Kennedy also suggested goalie Tobias Trejbal and forwards Ryan Roobroeck, Marcus Nordmark and Maddox Dagenais as other options.
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Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
