Scout's Notebook: Four early-season 2026 NHL Draft risers

A lot can change in a month. 

Since publishing our preliminary 2026 NHL Draft ranking on September 18th, North American seasons have gotten underway and European leagues are in full tilt. The stories of the draft are starting to emerge, and, of course, our ranking is changing. 

We penned this the draft of defencemen, and that remains true, as three of the players in this article are blueliners, and none of them are fast-risers Nikita Shcherbakov and Juho Piiparinen. There's also one forward in this article, Alexander Command, a dynamic, detailed centre with limited National Team experience who's playing his way into first-round discussion. 

Without further ado, here are four players who will almost certainly be moving up significantly when our next ranking drops in late November. 

Alberts Šmit