Could one of Bjorck, Klepov, Cover make the NHL Roster?

 3 2026 1RD picks showing up at training camp.

Hey everyone and welcome back to another End to End Hockey Blog Post, today we have a rather interesting topic to be talking about as usually each year we saw a surprise player from that past years draft who was taken outside the top 10 have a strong training camp and force their way onto the starting lineup even if it is just for a 9 game test run (Cootes, Kindel last year, Luchanko in 24-25, Benson in 23-24, Moser and Sillinger in 21-22 and more), so we have a track record of this happening and there are 3 prospects from the 2026 draft who were pick outside the top 5 who are having great rookie/training camps that may force their way onto a NHL roster, so I will give my thoughts on these 3 players and where I think they will play this year.

The 3 2026 1RD Draft Picks.

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1.) 8th overall pick, Viggo Bjorck

Quick Analysis: now we start here by looking at the 8th overall pick in 2026 and that is Hets forward Viggo Bjorck, now at the draft a lot of people thought the Jets would target Bjorck if he was still available to them because he sort of fills a need that they have had for ages and that is the 2C spot on the team, now he was the 4th forward off the draft and the first after the big three which was a bit of a surprise to me (as I had Lawrence had of him pre draft), but Bjorck was coming off a solid SHL season and showed some serious promise which is why the Jets got him at 8th overall, however in mid July a huge development came as Bjorck announced that instead of going back overseas like people thought, he signed his ELC with the Jets and said he would go to North America instead, and with the Jets not adding much forward help in-season this moved opened a path for Bjorck to play at the NHL level this year, and he went to rookie camp and was making phenomenal plays and now he is in training camp and trying to carve out a roster spot for this season.

What I believe he will do this year: when it comes to what I think Bjorck does this year I believe he will make the team and get consistent top 9 minutes, I think he probably plays the full year at the NHL level and puts up between 30-40 points this year, and while I am not sure he will be in Calder contention I think Bjorck will have a good year and show why the Jets picked him at 8th. 

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2.) 15th overall pick, Nikita Klepov

Quick Analysis: now a guy who wasn’t as highly touted as Bjorck but a guy Anaheim was seriously high on at the draft that they were able to wind up getting was Nikita Klepov, now Klepov in his draft year had a phenomenal season of in juniors putting up 97 points in 67 OHL games and looked like a scary guy to play against as even though he isn’t overly big he plays like a power forward and looked really good, now he was a guy a lot of people were thinking was definitely going back to juniors this upcoming year, but in August he signed his ELC and unlike some other draft picks that have signed their ELC, Ducks GM Verbeek said that they might fast track Klepov to the NHL level which left a lot of people wondering if Klepov could actually play this year, now couple this with the fact the Ducks lost both McTavish and Kreider this offseason for cap reasons, Terry being out for the first month or two of the year and Klepov having a strong rookie camp, and you now have Klepov getting looks on the first line in training camp and looking like he will definitely make the team out of training camp.

What I believe he will do this year: when it comes to what I believe he will do this upcoming season, I think the Ducks at least give him a 9 game trial, if he doesn’t look good even a bit then I believe he will be sent back to juinors to finish out the year, but if he looks comfortable and not looking out of place at all then I think he probably stays in the NHL all year, maybe starting in the top 6 and going do n to being a 3rd liner once Terry gets back, but yeah I could definitely see Klepov make the team.

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3.) 32nd overall pick, Jaxon Cover

Quick Analysis: and lastly here we take a look at maybe the most surprising early riser of the 2026 draft class and a guy who was the last pick of the first round and that is going Senators prospect Jaxon Cover, now Cover was a little bit of a surprise pick at 32nd overall as he was a projected 2nd round talent and didn’t even start playing ice hockey until 13 years old, however the Senators liked what they saw from the kid when he put up 52 points in 67 OHL games last year and unlike Klepov and Bjorck he currently doesn’t have a ELC signedwith the Senators but he did get invited to rookie camp a few weeks ago and in rookie camp he popped off. He came out of two rookie training camp games with the Senators putting up 3 goals and 7 points in 6 periods of hockey, including scoring a OT winner and putting his name on the map as one of the Senators better prospect and if memory serves me correct even got a invite to the big training camp which is where he is right now trying to eek out a roster spot on the Senators. 

What I believe he will do this year:

Now when it comes to Cover, unlike Klepov or Bjorck who are on teams that need the types of talent they are right now, the Senators don’t need Cover at this point as after the offseason moves they have one stacked forward group entering the year, so I think if Cover is exceptional in training camp then he might be able to get a 9 game trail run and maybe get into game action if there is a injury or two, but I think the most likely outcome is he goes back to Juniors, years it up there and then either makes the NHL or AHL team next year, but I think Cover going back to juniors for a year might be the best move for the Senators.

So that’s my thoughts on the 3 2026 1RD picks that are looking great, I think Bjorck and Klepov stand very good chances to make the roster this year out of training camp while Cover probably goes to Juniors for a year but I would love to hear your thoughts down below, do you guys think these guys could make the roster, go back to juniors or maybe somewhere else, would love to hear your thoughts in the comment below and don’t forget to follow for more hockey content.