Connor McDavid opens the 2026-27 fantasy board at No. 1, with Nathan MacKinnon and Nikita Kucherov next in line, while San Jose Sharks phenom Macklin Celebrini has already climbed to fourth among all forwards. The standard-league ranking also puts rookies Porter Martone and Gavin McKenna inside the top 70, even as Connor Bedard’s injury status remains a major draft-day flag.
2026-27 Fantasy Hockey Forward Rankings: McDavid Leads the Board
SEO Title: 2026-27 Fantasy Hockey Forward Rankings: McDavid No. 1
SEO Description: Connor McDavid tops the 2026-27 fantasy forward rankings, with Macklin Celebrini fourth, key rookies in the mix and Connor Bedard listed as injured.
The list is built for standard formats using goals, assists, power-play production, shots, hits and blocked shots. Rankings weigh past regular-season and playoff output, projected deployment at even strength and on the power play, injury concerns, age, contract situation and long-term ceiling.
McDavid remains the first forward off the board, followed by MacKinnon and Kucherov. Celebrini is ranked ahead of Leon Draisaitl, David Pastrnak and Kirill Kaprizov, an aggressive slot that reflects the Sharks center’s upside. Dallas Stars winger Jason Robertson, Minnesota Wild forward Matt Boldy and Colorado Avalanche forward Martin Necas round out the top 10.
Auston Matthews checks in at No. 13, behind Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki and Dallas center Wyatt Johnston. Bedard is placed 49th, but his injury designation hangs over that ranking. Florida Panthers teammates Brady Tkachuk and Matthew Tkachuk are both top-20 forwards, with Brady ranked 17th and Matthew 19th.
Top 100 Forward Board
| Rank | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Connor McDavid | Edmonton Oilers |
| 2 | Nathan MacKinnon | Colorado Avalanche |
| 3 | Nikita Kucherov | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| 4 | Macklin Celebrini | San Jose Sharks |
| 5 | Leon Draisaitl | Edmonton Oilers |
| 6 | David Pastrnak | Boston Bruins |
| 7 | Kirill Kaprizov | Minnesota Wild |
| 8 | Jason Robertson | Dallas Stars |
| 9 | Matt Boldy | Minnesota Wild |
| 10 | Martin Necas | Colorado Avalanche |
| 11 | Nick Suzuki | Montreal Canadiens |
| 12 | Wyatt Johnston | Dallas Stars |
| 13 | Auston Matthews | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 14 | Jack Hughes | New Jersey Devils |
| 15 | Jack Eichel | Vegas Golden Knights |
| 16 | Cole Caufield | Montreal Canadiens |
| 17 | Brady Tkachuk | Florida Panthers |
| 18 | Mikko Rantanen | Dallas Stars |
| 19 | Matthew Tkachuk | Florida Panthers |
| 20 | Kyle Connor | Winnipeg Jets |
| 21 | Tage Thompson | Buffalo Sabres |
| 22 | Cutter Gauthier | Anaheim Ducks |
| 23 | Mark Scheifele | Winnipeg Jets |
| 24 | Dylan Guenther | Utah Mammoth |
| 25 | Leo Carlsson | Anaheim Ducks |
| 26 | Jake Guentzel | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| 27 | William Nylander | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 28 | Sam Reinhart | Florida Panthers |
| 29 | Brandon Hagel | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| 30 | Aleksander Barkov | Florida Panthers |
| 31 | Clayton Keller | Utah Mammoth |
| 32 | Sidney Crosby | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 33 | Artemi Panarin | Los Angeles Kings |
| 34 | Adrian Kempe | Los Angeles Kings |
| 35 | Alex DeBrincat | Detroit Red Wings |
| 36 | Tim Stützle | Ottawa Senators |
| 37 | Juraj Slafkovsky | Montreal Canadiens |
| 38 | Filip Forsberg | Nashville Predators |
| 39 | Kirill Marchenko | Columbus Blue Jackets |
| 40 | Mitch Marner | Vegas Golden Knights |
| 41 | Robert Thomas | St. Louis Blues |
| 42 | Dylan Holloway | St. Louis Blues |
| 43 | Will Smith | San Jose Sharks |
| 44 | Brayden Point | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| 45 | Adam Fantilli | Columbus Blue Jackets |
| 46 | Mika Zibanejad | New York Rangers |
| 47 | Dylan Larkin | Detroit Red Wings |
| 48 | Nico Hischier | New Jersey Devils |
| 49 | Connor Bedard (injured) | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 50 | Bo Horvat | New York Islanders |
| 51 | Sebastian Aho | Carolina Hurricanes |
| 52 | Zach Hyman | Edmonton Oilers |
| 53 | Pavel Dorofeyev | New York Rangers |
| 54 | Porter Martone (rookie) | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 55 | Drake Batherson | Ottawa Senators |
| 56 | Lucas Raymond | Detroit Red Wings |
| 57 | Jesper Bratt | New Jersey Devils |
| 58 | Logan Cooley | Utah Mammoth |
| 59 | Beckett Sennecke | Anaheim Ducks |
| 60 | Tom Wilson | Washington Capitals |
| 61 | Roope Hintz | Dallas Stars |
| 62 | Jimmy Snuggerud | St. Louis Blues |
| 63 | Timo Meier | New Jersey Devils |
| 64 | John Tavares | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 65 | J.T. Miller | New York Rangers |
| 66 | Ivan Demidov | Montreal Canadiens |
| 67 | Gavin McKenna (rookie) | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 68 | Alex Ovechkin | Washington Capitals |
| 69 | Andrei Svechnikov | Carolina Hurricanes |
| 70 | Mark Stone | Vegas Golden Knights |
| 71 | Nick Schmaltz | Utah Mammoth |
| 72 | Steven Stamkos | Nashville Predators |
| 73 | Rickard Rakell | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 74 | Quinton Byfield | Los Angeles Kings |
| 75 | Nikolaj Ehlers | Carolina Hurricanes |
| 76 | Bryan Rust | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 77 | Alex Tuch | Washington Capitals |
| 78 | Morgan Geekie | Boston Bruins |
| 79 | Sam Bennett | Florida Panthers |
| 80 | Matthew Knies | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 81 | Nazem Kadri | Colorado Avalanche |
| 82 | Vincent Trocheck | Utah Mammoth |
| 83 | Brock Nelson | Colorado Avalanche |
| 84 | Dylan Strome | Washington Capitals |
| 85 | Anton Frondell (rookie) | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 86 | Ivar Stenberg (rookie) | San Jose Sharks |
| 87 | Joel Eriksson Ek | Minnesota Wild |
| 88 | Mathew Barzal | New York Islanders |
| 89 | Travis Konecny | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 90 | Jordan Kyrou | Washington Capitals |
| 91 | Logan Stankoven | Carolina Hurricanes |
| 92 | Jackson Blake | Carolina Hurricanes |
| 93 | Trevor Zegras | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 94 | Gabriel Vilardi | Winnipeg Jets |
| 95 | Evgeni Malkin | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 96 | Josh Doan | Buffalo Sabres |
| 97 | Ryan O’Reilly | Nashville Predators |
| 98 | Pavel Zacha | Boston Bruins |
| 99 | Dylan Cozens | Ottawa Senators |
| 100 | Carter Verhaeghe | Florida Panthers |
Rookies, Injuries and Depth Options
Martone is the highest-ranked rookie at No. 54, with McKenna at 67. Chicago’s Anton Frondell is 85th and San Jose’s Ivar Stenberg follows at 86. Anaheim’s Sennecke, ranked 59th, is another young forward carrying meaningful fantasy value.
Bedard is the only top-100 forward specifically marked injured, but several other notable names are also listed as key injury concerns: Carolina Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis, Los Angeles Kings winger Kevin Fiala, Anaheim’s Troy Terry, Philadelphia Flyers forward Owen Tippett and Edmonton’s Matt Savoie.
For deeper overall boards, the forwards ranked inside the top 250 but outside this top 100 are Tyler Bertuzzi, Brett Howden, Connor McMichael, Elias Lindholm, Matt Coronato, Fraser Minten, Ivan Barbashev, Chris Kreider, William Karlsson, Jared McCann, Shane Pinto and Alex Newhook.
Other forwards worth keeping on the draft sheet include Pavel Buchnevich, Calum Ritchie, Josh Norris, Jack Quinn, Alex Laferriere, Matty Beniers, Brayden Schenn, Lawson Crouse, Easton Cowen and Will Cuylle.
