Golden Knights turn four picks into seven-player prospect haul in draft reset

Kelly McCrimmon turned a stripped-down draft hand into seven prospects, and the Golden Knights left with a deeper path toward Henderson’s next wave. Vegas added Juho Piiparinen at No. 29 overall, then came away from the weekend with Ben Wilmott and Sean Burick in the third round, plus four extra picks that stretch the system beyond one class.

The maneuvering mattered as much as the names. McCrimmon picked up another first-rounder in 2028, a third in 2026, a third in 2027 and a fourth in 2026, then used the club’s 2026 seventh-round pick to move from 117th to 113th in the fourth round. In all, Vegas netted four additional picks over the weekend, a significant shift for a franchise that has often treated draft capital as trade currency for established NHL help.

Piiparinen was the headliner. The 17-year-old defenseman played for Tappara in Finland’s Liiga, worked meaningful minutes against men and helped the club win a championship. At 6-foot-3, he arrives with the kind of size and runway the Golden Knights have not always been able to stockpile, and his projection as a player with second-pairing NHL potential gives the organization a possible long-term blue-line anchor.

Wilmott adds a different profile. The center scored 11 goals and finished with 22 points in 20 Ontario Hockey League playoff games for Barrie, production that showed up under pressure and in a short postseason sample. He is headed to Ohio State, but his combination of offense and experience gives Vegas another forward who can eventually feed the Silver Knights’ middle-six pipeline if his development tracks as expected.

Burick gives the class pure size. Drafted 95th overall, the right-shot defenseman is listed at 6-foot-8 and comes from San Clemente, California, after spending the season with the Penticton Vees in the WHL. For a team that has leaned on quick roster fixes, adding a defender with that frame and a longer timeline points directly to the kind of organizational depth the Henderson affiliate has lacked at times.

The new prospects are already being folded into the next phase. The Golden Knights opened their 2026 development camp Monday at City National Arena, with all on-ice sessions open to the public and a community meal service with Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada scheduled for July 1. Piiparinen, Wilmott and Burick are on the camp roster alongside recent top picks Trevor Connelly and Jakob Ihs-Wozniak, a sign that Vegas wants this draft class moving into its pipeline quickly.