More trades? Check out Craig Button’s Mock Draft 2.0

On Tuesday, Craig Button revealed his full first-round NHL Draft projection.

But with some seismic trades triggering one of the most eventful NHL off-season weeks in recent memory, TSN’s Director of Scouting has gone back to the drawing board with his Mock Draft 2.0.

There’s no change at No. 1, as Button still has Gavin McKenna going to the Toronto Maple Leafs. But at No. 2, he’s changed San Jose’s selection from defenceman Chase Reid to Swedish winger Ivar Stenberg.

“A big reason for that is they traded William Eklund,” explained Button. “And now you get a player that can jump right into your lineup, play on that wing, add offence.

“He’s ready to play in the NHL, and ostensibly becomes a replacement for William Eklund without the San Jose Sharks losing anything with the potential to get a defenceman. That might not be Chase Reed, but at the same time, Stenberg is just sometimes at this moment, depending on the situation, too good to pass up.”

Reid didn’t drop far, with the Buffalo Sabres using their newly acquired fourth-overall selection in the Bowen Byram deal with Chicago to take the Soo Greyhounds blueliner.

“The Buffalo Sabres made a pretty significant trade with Byram going to the Blackhawks,” explained Button. “And this is a top pair defenceman.

“I see him as one of the very best defencemen that could be a No. 1 once he’s hit his potential. And when you look at the Buffalo Sabres, their top three defencemen are all left shots. This young man can become that right shot that can drive offence from that side of the ice. And maybe not ready next year, but the year after - certainly could be very near to stepping into the lineup and contributing for the Buffalo Sabres.”

The Ottawa Senators had acquired the ninth-overall selection from the Florida Panthers in the Brady Tkachuk blockbuster but didn’t keep it for long, shipping it to the Sharks for winger Wiliam Eklund to give San Jose its second pick in the Top 10 - and Daxon Rudolph.

“(Rudolph) gives me a lot of Noah Dobson vibes with respect to how he plays,” said Button. “Really developed nicely over the course of the year. So this is a case of the San Jose Sharks being able to have their cake and eat it as well. And I think that becomes significant with Rudolph going there.”

Button added some intrigue with Tuesday’s Mock Draft, predicting the Vancouver Canucks would make a trade with the Blues so they could acquire twins Liam and Markus Ruck in the first round.

But the Blues actually did make a trade – acquiring the 16th-overall pick from the Washington Capitals in a deal for Jordan Kyrou. With back-to-back selections now at Nos. 15 and 16, the Medicine Hat duo is now off to St. Louis.

“We know what two twins playing together can do and they’ve spent their whole life playing together,” said Button. They’ve been dynamic. They’ve been productive.

“And for the St. Louis Blues, these are two really good offensive players. You think about on the Mock Draft 1.0, we had them going to the Vancouver Canucks. The Sedins had a big part of it. Well, don’t forget - the Sutter twins Ronnie and Richie played for the St. Louis Blues at one time. Maybe this is the next generation of twins to suit up for the St. Louis Blues.”

With the 29th selection, Button also has the Blues taking the first goaltender off the board, picking Dmitri Borichev of Yaroslav from the MHL. The 6′3, 198-pound netminder had a 2.25 GAA and .929 save percentage in 24 games and is NHL Central Scouting’s top-ranked European goalie.

With just one more day until the 2026 NHL Draft, check out Button’s updated first-round projection below:

Craig’s Button’s Mock Draft - June 25