DAXON RUDOLPH 2026 NHL Draft Prospect

In this episode of The Draft Board Hockey Show, Linc and I talk about one of the top defenseman of the 2026 NHL draft, Daxon Rudolph, who plays for the Prince Albert Raiders in the WHL, as we break down his game and some of his positive and negatives attributes. He is one of the best defenders in this draft class! Could he be the a Top-10 selection? Listen to find out!

Hosts: Mark (NHL Draft Pros) and Linc (New Wave Hockey)

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the draft board hockey show. My name is Mark. And as always, I'm joined by my co-host Link from New Wave Hockey. How's it going?

SPEAKER_01 0:11

We're doing well. Doing very, very well. Very excited to talk about a new central scouting list that's come out. Elite prospects has come out. But those are all superficial. Today we're here to talk about Daxon Rudolph, very special prospect, very special defenseman. I feel like uh he's really making a case now. He's really putting a really strong resume together here at the end of the year. Uh, I mean, it's it's been very, very intriguing. The big four, uh I've heard some people call it the big five now. Um, I personally don't agree, but me and Mark have talked about that. We're about to really debate it here today. So we'll we'll we'll get into it. But yeah, Mark, this is your boy, kind of, right?

SPEAKER_00 0:53

Well, you know what? Listen, I I a lot of D that I like in this draft, and I put them up a little bit higher than than you, obviously. But um, you know what? Listen, the the numbers don't lie like we said, I've said this before in this year, Daxon Rudolph, 78 points in 68 games playing for the Prince Albert Raiders in the WHL, six foot two, 203, right shot D. Now, noted, he led his team in points this year as a defenseman, draft eligible defenseman. The next person was 10 points behind him on his team, and in the playoffs, guess what? Leading the team again. So, yeah, you know what? The the numbers don't lie, he's he's putting up decent numbers now. Obviously, there are some issues with his game. We'll get into that in a little more detail. However, uh, yeah, he's he's holding his own, we'll say, you know what I mean. But uh again, Prince Prince Albert was one of the top teams in WHL this year. Their goal differential ratio was really, really big. So uh I think that that kind of helps your numbers when uh you know offensively, but uh, like I said, led the team in points, so you can't discount that.

SPEAKER_01 2:01

No, you can't, not at all. Uh, he's just one of those guys who really has been able to put up points very effectively in the WHL, and he is a very attractive prospect. Obviously, we talked about the size, six foot two, over 200 pounds, right-handed shot. This is something that, again, this is a skill set that is uh really, really loved by NHL GMs, and it really helps that he's been putting up a ton of points too. He's very crafty at the blue line. One of the things I really like is that he he's one of those defensemen that really takes hold and is a patroller of the blue line. Uh, very, very swift with the stick, uh, decent enough shot, good enough uh passing vision. My problem with him pretty much is I don't see something that's gonna have have him stand out outside of the WHL. Uh, but for now he's a standout. I think he's a guy who's at least going to be a middle pairing guy for sure on a on a team. I'm I'm a big fan of Daxon Rudolph, though. I I really like what I've seen from him. Um, my only issue has really been pace of play, but we will get into that a little bit later.

SPEAKER_00 3:00

Yeah, I mean, you know what, like you said, he he definitely has some nice control at the blue line, you know, walking the line, as they say from a defenseman, that's what you like to see in a prospect, and he can definitely do that. And obviously, so that helps when it comes to power play time. And him, you know, he likes to creep in too. I noticed, like, here's an example of it. He he'll creep in from the point and give his forward some options. Uh, so some that that's a nice thing to have now. Like you said, there are some things that need to be refined. Uh, the passing, I mean, you know, you say that he he's got good vision, decent vision. I I wouldn't say it is elite or high-end, it's it's just it's good. Uh you know, there's sometimes that he makes, especially when he's got pressure uh in the D zone. I find that sometimes he'll rush a little bit too much, and uh and it'll lead to some turnovers. But I mean, for the most part, now this is the one thing with him is that you know, on retrievals, he's a pretty big guy, so he uses his uh body to help him uh retrieve pucks, and actually the reverse hits, he's pretty good at the reverse hits. You know, he'll feel that pressure, and then he'll just bounce a player off, which will help to um, you know, win those ozone battles, I guess you could say. But uh yeah, I mean beyond the offense, what what else do you like about his game?

SPEAKER_01 4:16

I I've seen some signs of uh of a pretty solid two-way game. I haven't been too much of a fan of what he's been doing in the defensive zone. Obviously, he's capable of laying hits, but he doesn't show off as a very overly physically physical player. Uh defensively, there have been some moments and breakdowns where I've kind of lost my mind watching him. Um, obviously, he's he comes out as more of an offensive defenseman. Um, but his defensive game does need some work. I think he's absolutely a guy who, if you take him to the NCAA, he's going to flourish in more ways than one. Uh, I would love to see him playing in the NCHC or the Big Ten. Uh, I think some physicality or just him getting pressured by bigger opponents on the regular is going to do him a lot better, or again, faster opponents where he's going to need to adjust to that pace of play. I do believe that a commitment to the NCAA will go a long way in terms of his draft uh kind of stock going up a little bit. Because I'm a little bit worried about the development of some things. Uh right now he looks like a fantastic WHL defenseman who's going to transition into a pretty solid NHL defenseman, but the tools are there for him to be a much better NHL defenseman than that he is currently being projected as. So that's one of the things that I've kind of taken back from his game and I've put him down a little bit lower than you have. I you said you have him in our in our comparison video, you had him top 10, right?

SPEAKER_00 5:39

Yeah, yeah. I got him in top 10 for now. I mean, you know what? Um, I get when I dig a little bit deeper into his game. There are some things that I kind of uh wish that he'd would have improved upon during the year that he didn't. Um now I had a I read a comparison, Brand Clark. I kind of like that comparison just because of the way they skate, they have like that similar skating style.

SPEAKER_01 6:00

I I'd say so. Um, but I I think the the development path actually might make it a pretty spot-on comparison. Brand Clark did take a minute to really get himself into the NHL lineup consistently, like where he's where now he's uh an emerging star. Uh, and it took a little bit because like I remember people were saying that he was a top five pick in that draft, uh, for sure. And uh to an extent, Rudolph has the profile of a guy who could be selected very, very high in this draft class. But I do think it's going to take him a little bit to get to where he really needs to get to to achieve that high offense, good two-way game, uh game that some are projecting. Uh, however, uh, I think we you and I both need to address the elephant in the room. He was ranked as number five by NHL Central Scouting for North American skaters, ahead of some notable names, uh, and most notably guys like Caleb Malhotra, uh Oscar Hemming, and some other guys as well. He was ranked really, really high. So I I mean, over Malhotra, I I don't really know what to say. That was that one was kind of puzzling me a little bit. I don't I don't understand. I kind of didn't understand that one.

SPEAKER_00 7:10

Okay, so yeah, you know what? Here's the uh visual of the NHL Central Scouting. So yeah, they got him up ahead of Malholtra. Uh uh that one I'm kind of questioning, like you know, well, you and I we're both huge fans of Mount Holtra. So obviously that's gonna, you know, we're we're not gonna happen. So we're on the same page, we're on the same page when it comes to that. Um, yeah, you know, so again, there like I said, the the other thing that I find that Daxon and Rudolph does is that too a little bit too much pressure in the neutral zone, he'll kind of he'll go out of play, he'll go out of he'll go out of the way to kind of um make some plays in the neutral zone, which will kind of lead to odd man rushes. And so sometimes I I you know, and like I said, the defensively there's some questions sometimes.

SPEAKER_01 7:57

He can be overly aggressive for sure. He I look, I don't have problems with being overly aggressive and pinching at the right time. For example, look at a guy like Carson Carls. He does that perfectly and he has the skating to do so, but Daxon Rudolph does not have the pace and speed uh required to do that at an effect enough effective enough level. He hasn't been physical enough to really affect the game along the boards as much. Obviously, he's a good and physical player and has the capability to do so, but he hasn't been showing that on a consistent basis. I don't classify him as a guy who kills rushes or anything. Uh he has not been the best at gap control. Um, so I I do think there's a lot there's a lot to build here. I wouldn't say that his skating is horrible. Um, I would say that it's better than a guy like say Keaton Verhoff right now, but there is still a lot that needs to be worked on. Um that's why I've kind of brought him down a little bit. Um, but look, obviously, NHL franchises think super, super highly of this guy. And I honestly, it's it's hard not to see why when you see the point production, the need for right-handed defensemen, the value of a power play quarterback, the value of a guy who can run the top of your blue line and be super, super effective. If he can get his pace of play up, if he can improve his skating, get more strength and balance there, alongside of being uh taking a little bit uh being a little bit more defensively reliable in his own zone. There you go. You have a player there who is really, really special and makes this big four defenseman a big five amount of defenseman. So I I'm I'm a big fan of I am a big fan of Rudolph. I wouldn't have him in my top 20 if I didn't. But uh I think everyone's really been a believer of him for a while.

SPEAKER_00 9:40

Yeah, and I think, like you said, I think it's gonna he's gonna he's gonna take a development path that's gonna take a little bit longer. But uh, if if like you said, we can fix some of the uh issues in his game, then in the future it might be turned out to be a nice pick. Let's look up the elite prospects. Where do they got him? They just released their rankings today, so we want to see where they put Mr. Rudolph on their rankings. I'm always interested to see them. I noticed they got Villeneuve really high. All right, so yeah, if we head over to um the elite prospects, they got him at 10 as well. But like I said, the the big the big surprise up here on Elite Prospects is Zevieux Villeneuve at number six. Woo! That is a hot take for sure.

SPEAKER_01 10:24

A hot take, in my view, is seeing Verhoff and Gustavson under a guy like Rudolph. But I I know you and I have gone back and forth with Gustav in the past. This certainly is a bit surprising for me. I don't mind having Dax and Rudolph at the 10th spot. Um, but yeah, I I look I generally agree with with uh Elite Prospect's list until we get to that number six. I'm just like, oh I mean, look, look, kudos to them for sticking up with Xavier Villeneuve. I mean, the talent is absolutely there. I'll never deny that he does that he has the talent. Like this guy absolutely has the talent to become the next Lane Hudson. But I don't know if that's gonna happen. So we'll see.

SPEAKER_00 11:03

I no, I agree too. Uh him in the top 10 is pretty tough, especially like when you consider like the real draft itself. So these are just rankings based on their skill set and whatnot. But in terms of like the draft, like you know, Villeneuve is not gonna be a top 10 pick. You know that all day long. He's you know five foot nine, ten, I think that's a good thing.

SPEAKER_01 11:21

I think that's what they're banking on. I think that's what they're banking on. I think their whole the whole view with with ranking Villeneuve this high, um, and I think ranking uh Verhoff that low and uh Rudolph, I guess, above Verhoff, is I think they're they're trying to see this as a projection. Um the the way that they want to to roll this out is to kind of say, like, oh, in in five years, 10 10 years, uh, this is how this is this draft class is gonna be looked back on, which honestly is a pretty creative way to look at it. Um, I mean, you never know. We could we could be looking back at this draft class in 20 years, and Xavi Villeneuve is that guy.

SPEAKER_00 12:00

So yeah, we'll say you know, all those lists, every if you go back to lots of drafts, uh almost every draft, there's always a handful of players that come out of it, and we're like, wow, how did he drop to that dropping you know into a second, third, or later rounds? Like that, that's the kind of stuff that you know, and I mean, granted, even the NHL are making those mistakes, right? So uh at the end of the day, uh you know, yeah, maybe that's what they're doing. They're doing uh you know a ranking based on you know projection in the future, 10 years from now, five years from now, whatever the case may be. Um, but yeah, I mean, you know, it's gonna be interesting. I I think Daxon Rudolph, just because he's big and he's he's you know he's got the points and he's and he's a right shot D. I I he and I mean he could drop. I uh you never know what the draft. The the thing with the draft is that it it is so like it's it's a guesswork for sure. It it always every year there are players that jump or drop. Oh yeah, and we're like, whoa, that's a that's an interesting take, right?

SPEAKER_01 12:58

So that's why it's gonna be so fun when you and I are in Buffalo, like just right right there.

SPEAKER_00 13:03

Absolutely, like I said, you know what? One of my best memories being in Nashville at the uh draft when Mishkov dropped to the Flyers at number six. I was sitting front row and center and I was going nuts. I was like, oh my god, this just happened so so fun. Pur Martone, our boy, too, just having himself a playoff tearing it of it.

SPEAKER_01 13:23

Yes, look, I'll all I'll say is that you were you were a bit more you were a bit more auspicious than I was. I was like, I'm perfectly fine. I think the fit's gonna be good. And look, he's fit like a glove so far.

SPEAKER_00 13:34

He's looked really, really good. Love watching his game. Um, yeah, so I think uh that about covers Dax and Rudolph here. Let's uh yeah, so like I said, we're gonna we're we're gonna I'm gonna do a little bit more deep dive when I do my scouting reports on Daxon Rudolph, but uh it'll be interesting to see. I think that he's got some range in terms of the draft rankings. So um when it gets closer to June, we'll we'll firm up our rankings more and uh and go from there. But uh as always, a pleasure. And uh everyone else, thanks for watching, and we'll see you soon. Cheers.