Chase Reid

ANALYSIS
Reid is the best defender in the 2026 class, but he was a surprise drop to the fourth blueliner off the board. He projects as a true top-pairing guy who can run a power play and make stops on the PK if his team chooses to deploy him there. Reid is a righty who is aggressive on offense and has a great shot. That's pretty much a ticket to stardom in the NHL. Will he be the next Jakob Chychrun? Maybe, but you need to know that it took eight seasons for Chychrun to top the 40-point mark. Reid's development curve has been among this class's best over the last few seasons, and he was one of the best players overall in the OHL this past season. If he continues that growth, Reid will be dishing pucks in Seattle sooner rather than later, and his gift of always finding shooter's sweet spots on the PP will mean a lot of electric one-timers for a forward corps that haven't played with his kind of talent.