The Stanley Cup Playoffs roll on, however on Tuesday night time the league performed the 2026 NHL Draft lottery with the Toronto Maple Leafs successful the No. 1 choose, and the best to draft both Gavin McKenna or Ivar Stenberg in a category with extra parity on the prime than initially anticipated.
McKenna was considered because the grand prize for a lot of the 2025-26 season. The rangy left wing already has good peak, nice playmaking, and a knack for driving the tempo from the wing — making him a low-risk prime general choose. At occasions he’s been in comparison with Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini, although personally, I don’t suppose he has fairly the identical ceiling as both phenom. Nonetheless, he’s a franchise cornerstone participant, and it will likely be attention-grabbing to see whether or not a workforce chooses to maintain him at his pure LW, or tries to transform him into a middle.
The selection at No. 1 might be between McKenna and Sweden’s Ivar Stenberg, who has been racing up the boards as scouts take a deeper look into his run within the SHL. It’s uncommon for a real 18-year-old to have any modicum of success in a professional league, however Stenberg greater than held his personal together with his hockey IQ, and a shot quantity that routinely made him one of many largest threats on the ice for Frölunda HC. That professional-readiness is interesting for a workforce in search of a direct influence, and his polish might trigger him to be the highest general choose.
We’ll take a deeper dive into this 12 months’s class because the draft approaches, however for now right here’s a rapid-fire mock draft involving the groups within the lottery for the 2026 NHL Draft.
As a reminder, these have been the lottery odds for successful the primary draw getting into Tuesday night time.
Vancouver Canucks — 18.5%
Chicago Blackhawks — 13.5%
New York Rangers — 11.5%
Calgary Flames — 9.5%
Toronto Maple Leafs (High 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 Pink Wings) — 0.5%
Washington Capitals — 0.5%
