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Chase Reid could be the first defenseman taken in the 2026 NHL Draft.
The San Jose Sharks, picking second, and the Vancouver Canucks, picking third, both appear interested.
They both had dinner with Reid this week during the NHL Draft Scouting Combine, according to The Athletic's Scott Wheeler.
Wheeler did confirm that it was just those two teams and not the Maple Leafs atop the draft board or the Chicago Blackhawks after them.
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This doesn't guarantee anything -- the Maple Leafs, for example, didn't have dinner with Gavin McKenna but are still favored to pick him first -- but it does indicate that there's some intrigue for Vancouver and San Jose with Reid.
Reid is 18 years old and has moved from the USHL to the NAHL to the OHL.
He spent the past two seasons playing in the OHL for the Soo Greyhounds. This season, the 6-foot-3 Michigan native had 48 points in 45 games (18 goals and 30 assists).
Reid also suited up for the U.S. under-20 team at the World Junior U-20 Championships. In five games there, he notched two goals and two assists.
The potential blue line star has been committed for nearly two years to play college hockey at Michigan State, so he wouldn't have to come to the NHL right away if the team that drafted him felt he could use some development at the NCAA level first.
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The Sharks and Canucks both have teams on the front end of a build (although San Jose seems further along), so they likely aren't drafting for need. Rather, they'll try to take the best player available.
Both of them are clearly trying to see whether Reid is that guy, or if they should go in a different direction, but they're doing all the due diligence they can.
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