The Florida Panthers selected rangy, left-shot defenseman Jonas Kemps in the fourth round (98th overall) of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft held at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY.
Kemps spent his draft season with the Chicago Steel of the USHL, appearing in 57 of the team’s 62 regular season games. He scored two goals, added seven assists, amassed 52 penalty minutes and finished the campaign with a minus-seven rating.
Unfortunately, playoff hockey was not in the cards for Kemps as the Steel finished in seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
Going back a bit, in 2024-25, Kemps was part of the United States National Development Program and represented the United States at the U17 World Hockey Challenge in Sarnia, Ontario. A California native, he spent time in the Anaheim Jr. Ducks program during the 2023-24 season.
In May, the Seattle Thunderbirds signed Kemps to a WHL Scholarship and Development agreement after acquiring his rights in April via a trade with the Tri-City Americans.
As is customary, Kemps attended Florida’s annual development camp after being drafted. He was one of eight defensemen on the roster, joining fellow prosects Luke Coughlin, Brendan Dunphy, Vladislav Lukashevich, Emil Pieniniemi, Matvei Shurvin, Albert Wikman and invitee James Mackey from Havard.
Standing 6’6” and weighing close to 200 lbs, Kemps is an excellent skater and is comfortable playing in all situations. Continuing with the plus side, he’s athletic, defends well, possesses an enormous wingspan, and has a high compete level. As for negatives, he struggles both in carrying and passing the puck, and despite his prodigious size, isn’t particularly physical.
The next two years of development are seemingly mapped out for Kemps. He’s slated to spend next season, his first at the major junior level, in the WHL with the Thunderbirds and then in 2027-28, he’s already committed to play at Michigan State University. Kemps is obviously a long-term project, but taking an extremely tall teenager with crazy long reach and good mobility is always a saavy move in the middle rounds.