Center depth is a strength of the 2027 NHL Draft class

Oct 10, 2026, 14:00 EDT

Center depth is a strength of the 2027 NHL Draft class

Credit: Steven Ellis

The 2026-27 NHL season may have just gotten underway, but you could forgive fans of clearly rebuilding teams like the Calgary Flames or Vancouver Canucks for already having an eye on the 2027 NHL Entry Draft. The headliner and presumptive first-overall pick in the 2027 class is defenseman Landon DuPont, playing for the University of Michigan this year after two excellent seasons in the Western Hockey League.

Only one team will get the chance to take DuPont, but the rest of the draft class is shaping up well for teams looking for help down the middle. In Daily Faceoff prospect analyst Steven Ellis’ recently released 2027 NHL Draft rankings, 20 centers are listed among the top 32 prospects, including six centers in the top 10.

On Friday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk was joined by Steven Ellis to discuss the projected quality of the center depth in the 2027 NHL Draft.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Is this a draft that is truly deep down the middle? Like you kind of said, maybe not a lot of guys who are 1Cs but a lot of guys who will be middle of the lineup centers. Or do you think a lot of these players, teams will look at and go “It’s great that you can play center in college or in junior but you’re not going to be a center at the NHL level”?

Steven Ellis: Last year, a big conversation was, was Caleb Malhotra the third-best prospect because he’s the third-best prospect or because he was the best center? I think that’s something where there was not a ton of great center depth. This year, I’ve got 20 in my first round right now. That’s incredible, and there’s a bunch of guys that just missed out. There’s a lot of talent. A lot of these guys are going to switch to the wing. That happens a lot. They’re centers based off NHL Central Scouting designations, but some of these guys have already spent some time on the wing. I think a guy like (Jonah) Neuenschwander is one where I would like maybe to see him on the wing. I think Brock England, he’s a great skater, I’d love to see him blast down the wing and create opportunites there.

But either way, there is a lot of talent down the middle in a way that we haven’t really seen in recent memory. But yeah, I don’t know if I see a single number-one center. Dima Zhilkin might be the best bet, but he’s probably going to play wing at the World Juniors. He’s not going to be the number-one, number-two, or number-three center on that team. I think if you’re looking for a guy who’s going to be a game changer down the middle, the best bet is you’re looking for a guy that’s maybe at Cole Reschny’s level. Cole Reschny is a top-30 prospect in the NHL. I think he’s very smart, very skilled, really good in the NCAA and is going to be a big part of the Calgary Flames, but he’s not a guy that’s going to push the needle in a way where you’re going to win the Stanley Cup with this guy leading the charge. I think that’s the thing you’re looking at here. There’s a lot of depth, maybe not a lot of superstar depth down the middle.