Sammy Nelson could be one of the 2027 NHL Draft’s top steals

The 2026-27 hockey season may still be in its infancy, but that isn’t stopping NHL teams from weighing their options for the upcoming 2027 NHL Draft. 

While teams like the Calgary Flames—who were in their first four games, with four regulation losses—have their eyes on the top prospect, others will slide in close behind, looking to turn the tide for their franchises in the near and long term. 

On a recent episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Daily Faceoff’s Associate Editor and Prospects Analyst, Steven Ellis, joined Tyler Yaremchuk to break down top prospects, including a potential breakout star in forward Sammy Nelson.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Do you have a favorite player in sort of this group we see on our board who you go, ‘if this year goes well, some team could fall in love with them, and maybe they work their way into the top seven picks of the draft?’

Steven Ellis: Sammy Nelson is the one I’d be looking at there from the University of Notre Dame, and I think with him, it’s just that he’s really smart. He missed the draft cutoff by a few days last year, but he would have been a first-round pick, maybe a top-15 pick. His ability to drive the play and consistently create offensive opportunities, no matter who he’s playing with, is really impressive. I liked him with the U18s. I loved him with that U.S. national team development program, and I do think Sammy Nelson deserves a lot of love. 

I feel like this is something where he’s going to play a leading role in the NCAA. I think that alone is going to get him some attention. He is an older prospect, so I think some teams like to pick a younger guy because there’s a bit more runway there. But I think with Nelson, this is a guy who I don’t think is going to take long to get to the NHL, so that’s what I would say there.

You can catch Steven’s full prospects chat, and the rest of the recent episode right here…