2026 NHL Draft Prospect Report – Maddox Dagenais (C)

Dagenais is a poised, detail-oriented forward who plays a simple but very effective game built around strong puck control and smart, calculated decisions. He consistently slows the play down, especially on zone entries, showing patience and awareness to let plays develop instead of forcing anything, while still having the ability to slip passes through sticks when lanes open up. He is a really fluid skater with good edgework, and while he can beat defenders with speed, he more often uses that skating base with his poise to control the pace and maintain possession. His puck control stands out even more with how well he uses his body in battles, protecting pucks and coming out of contested areas with control. In the offensive zone he shows good movement within the cycle, staying connected to plays and supporting effectively to extend possession. Defensively, he is poised with the puck and makes clean, composed decisions, which really shows on breakouts as he moves pucks up ice seamlessly and keeps transition play under control. He keeps things simple, plays within structure, and doesn’t try to do too much, which makes him very reliable shift to shift. He is also a good shooter who looks to shoot, with a strong release that is most dangerous off the wrist shot in space rather than in tight, but he will still get inside when needed. On the power play, he fits naturally on the right flank, where he can attack off the catch or distribute. In the faceoff circle, he sits around 50 percent right now, but it feels like there is more there
and that should improve as he gets stronger and refines his technique. With his combination of skating, intelligence, puck management, and overall reliability, I could see him pushing for the top-three center spot in this draft, but at worst, he looks comfortably like a top-five center and a mid-first-round type who projects as a strong two-way 2C with legit defensive value, in my opinion.