The Stanley Cup Playoffs roll on, but on Tuesday night the league conducted the 2026 NHL Draft lottery with the Toronto Maple Leafs winning the No. 1 pick, and the right to draft either Gavin McKenna or Ivar Stenberg in a class with more parity at the top than originally expected.
McKenna was viewed as the grand prize for much of the 2025-26 season. The rangy left wing already has good height, great playmaking, and a knack for driving the pace from the wing — making him a low-risk top overall pick. At times he’s been compared to Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini, though personally, I don’t think he has quite the same ceiling as either phenom. Still, he’s a franchise cornerstone player, and it will be interesting to see whether a team chooses to keep him at his natural LW, or tries to convert him into a center.
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The choice at No. 1 will be between McKenna and Sweden’s Ivar Stenberg, who has been racing up the boards as scouts take a deeper look into his run in the SHL. It’s unusual for a true 18-year-old to have any modicum of success in a pro league, but Stenberg more than held his own with his hockey IQ, and a shot volume that routinely made him one of the biggest threats on the ice for Frölunda HC. That pro-readiness is appealing for a team looking for an immediate impact, and his polish could cause him to be the top overall pick.
We’ll take a deeper dive into this year’s class as the draft approaches, but for now here’s a rapid-fire mock draft involving the teams in the lottery for the 2026 NHL Draft.
Pick
Team
Player
Position
Current Team
League
1
Toronto Maple Leafs
Gavin McKenna
LW
Penn State
NCAA
2
Ivar Stenberg
LW/RW
Frölunda HC
SHL
3
Keaton Verhoeff
D
North Dakota
NCAA
4
Chase Reid
D
Soo Greyhounds
OHL
5
Tynan Lawrence
C
Boston University
NCAA
6
Caleb Malhotra
C
Brantford Bulldogs
OHL
7
Viggo Björck
C/RW
Djurgårdens IF
SHL
8
Ethan Belchetz
LW
Windsor Spitfires
OHL
9
Carson Carels
D
Prince George Cougars
WHL
10
Daxon Rudolph
D
Prince Albert Raiders
WHL
11
St. Louis Blues
Adam Novotny
LW/RW
Petersborough Petes
OHL
12
Ryan Lin
D
Vancouver Giants
WHL
13
Mathis Preston
C
Spokane Chiefs
WHL
14
Oliver Suvanto
C
Tappara
Liiga
15
St. Louis Blues (from Detroit)
Albert Smits
D
Jukurit
Liiga
16
Xavier Villeneuve
D
Blainville-Boisbriand Armada
QMHL
As a reminder, these were the lottery odds for winning the first draw entering Tuesday night.
Vancouver Canucks — 18.5%
Chicago Blackhawks — 13.5%
New York Rangers — 11.5%
Calgary Flames — 9.5%
Toronto Maple Leafs (Top 5 protected to Bruins) — 8.5%
Seattle Kraken — 7.5%
Winnipeg Jets — 6.5%
Florida Panthers — 6.0%
San Jose Sharks — 5.0%
Nashville Predators — 3.5%
St. Louis Blues — 3.0%
New Jersey Devils — 2.5%
New York Islanders — 2.0%
Columbus Blue Jackets — 1.5%
St. Louis Blues (from Red Wings) — 0.5%
Washington Capitals — 0.5%