London Knights stretch draft streak to 58 years

With four players selected in the 2026 NHL Draft, the London Knights put an exclamation mark on a run that is nearing six decades.

At least one player has been selected from the Knights roster dating back to 1969. It’s a streak that reached 58 years when the Philadelphia Flyers called the name of Maksim Sokolovskii at number 27 overall on June 26 in Buffalo, N.Y.

Sokolovskii was later joined by Jaxon Cover who was also a first-round pick and was chosen by the Ottawa Senators 32nd overall.

The Dallas Stars selected Ryan Brown in the fifth round and just two picks later Jacob Vandeven went to the Boston Bruins.

Vandeven is from Komoka, Ont., and joined fellow Komoka native Beckham Edwards (5th round – Detroit) and Londoners Ryan Roobroeck (2nd round – Chicago) and Eric Frossard (5th round – Anaheim) to deliver a big couple of days for area connections.

Former London Knight Ben Wilmott was selected in the third round by the Stanley Cup runner-up in the Vegas Golden Knights.

Wilmott was traded to the Barrie Colts right before the 2026 OHL Trade Deadline and helped Barrie to a runner-up finish in the Ontario Hockey League Championship Series against the Kitchener Rangers.

Sokolovskii and Cover were two of seven OHLers drafted in the opening round.

Caleb Malhotra was the highest pick at third overall. He joined the team his father Manny Malhotra is now coaching.

Manny is a former member of the Guelph Storm.

Chase Reid (Seattle), Nikita Klepov (Anaheim), Ethan Belchetz (Utah) and Adam Novotny (Vancouver) were the other first round picks.

London’s draft selection streak is the longest in the Ontario Hockey League.

The Ottawa Senators are next at 24 years after having four of their players taken at the 2026 Draft.

The Knights also had four players chosen from their team as the streak began in 1969.

Gilles Gilbert (Minnesota), Bert Wilson (New York Rangers), Guy Delparte (Montreal) and Neil Nicholson (Oakland) had their names called in a much different format that was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.

No players were invited to the draft in 1969.