Chase Reid is headed toward the first five picks of the 2026 NHL Draft on Friday night at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y. The top-rated defenseman in the class got there after a path that ran through the USHL, the NAHL, and a move that tested him early.
Chase Reid in Buffalo
Reid said Thursday that he welcomes the pressure. "I love the pressure," he said. "I think I play better under pressure."
He also laid out the mindset that carried him into draft week. "If I knew what was going to happen now, I would have just told myself to keep pushing through," Reid said. "The end result’s going to be what you want it to be."
That result now points to Buffalo, where he is likely to hear his name called within the first five picks. Michigan State is waiting after that, with Reid set to suit up there this coming season.
From Victory Honda To The USHL
Reid’s route was not a straight climb. In Michigan AAA with Victory Honda, he played as an offensive defenseman and was the youngest player in his age group because of a late birthday.
In the USHL with the Waterloo Black Hawks, the numbers flattened. He played 10 games and did not score, then was healthy scratched before his next move.
That turn sent him to the NAHL in 2024 after Waterloo GM Bryn Chyzyk’s call led Bismarck Bobcats general manager Niko Kapetanovic to bring him in. Reid wound up 1,100 miles from home in North Dakota, a stretch Garrett Roth described this way: "He’s almost on an island, moving away from home".
Michigan State And The Draft
Reid said the grind did not change his target. "I want to play in the NHL, and that’s always been my goal," he said. He also pointed back to the message from his mother, Magyn: "My mom always said, 'If you want it, you gotta get it,'" and, "My mom taught me in my younger ages to just embrace the moment wherever you are, and where you are is where God put you."
His father, RJ, works as a Penske salesman, and that family base sits behind the climb that brought him here. On Thursday, surrounded by microphones and cameras, Reid said, "I think I have been fighting adversity my whole life, so I think I definitely know how to handle it."
The draft puts the arc in one place. A player who was once pushed out of the USHL is now being projected among the first five picks, with Michigan State next on the list and the NHL goal still sitting in front of him.
