Mammoth Acquire #17 From Kings, Select Ethan Belchetz

The Utah Mammoth traded up two spots to select winger Ethan Belchetz with the 17th-overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Utah sent picks #19 and #83 to the Los Angeles Kings to pull off the move. Belchetz was one of the draft’s early fallers, projected as a top-10 pick by many draft pundits.

Under the guide of general manager Bill Armstrong, Utah lands yet another muscular forward prospect. Belchetz stands at a towering 6-foot-5 but still boasts an encouraging skating and shooting ability. He was a strong second-man-in for the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, often not the one to gain the zone but quick to receive passes once his team set up in the offensive end. Belchetz’s shot was hard to beat when he was set up. He was deadly-accurate from the circles and quick to follow up his shots. He physically dominated junior competition but his heavy play resulted in an early end to the season after he sustained a broken collarbone in a March practice. That injury cut short hopes that Belchetz would excel in the OHL playoffs, though his ability to stand out physically still lends to promising pro upside.

That will be what Utah hopes to add to balance out high-speed scorers Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther. Belchetz will shoot to join them in the Mammoth’s top-six role in the near future. First, he will tour through Michigan State University, where he’ll stnad out as one of the team’s premier talents. The Spartans tend to rotate their lines on offense – which should benefit both Belchetz and 15th-overall pick Nikita Klepov. Even better, the duo offer distinctly different paths to goal-scoring upside, and could turn into a dangerous one-two punch at the college level.

Los Angeles used their demoted first-round pick to select Swedish winger Elton Hermansson – a high-speed, high-skill winger who excels in a support role. The 18 year old played pro minutes this season and finished the year with 21 points in 38 games in the HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s minor-pro league. He capped off his campaign with a standout performance at the World U18 Championship, where his 12 points in seven games led the tournament in scoring. Hermansson will look to be the all-utility forward to balance out Los Angeles’ high-scorers Artemi Panarin and Kevin Fiala in the years to come.