Live 2026 draft draw puts Canucks, Blackhawks, Rangers on watch — Loterie Nhl

The loterie nhl goes live Tuesday at 19 h HE from NHL Network studios in Secaucus, New Jersey, and the draw will decide which club gets the first overall pick in 2026. The Canucks, Blackhawks and Rangers enter with the best chances, while the draft itself is set for June 26 and 27 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.

Secaucus draw at 19 h HE

Steve Mayer said the live format makes the process more transparent and dramatic. “Nous avons beaucoup appris de l’an dernier, et cette évolution rend l’expérience encore plus transparente et dramatique,” he said about the setup.

The league will once again put the balls on screen instead of waiting for the result to surface later in the broadcast. That changes how the order is revealed for the 16 teams that missed the Stanley Cup playoffs, because the lottery outcome will now unfold in real time.

Canucks hold the top odds

Vancouver finished 32nd and gets 185 combinations, the highest total in the field. Chicago finished 31st with 135 combinations, and the Rangers sit at 30th with 115.

There are 1001 possible combinations of four balls numbered 1 to 14, and one combination sends the process to a second draw with 11, 12, 13 and 14. An NHL team can move up a maximum of 10 places, and only the 11 teams at the bottom of the standings can win the first overall pick.

That leaves little margin for the clubs near the bottom of the table. The Islanders already handled the 2025 lottery and used the first pick on Matthew Schaefer, a reminder that the draw can flip the draft board in one night.

Bettman and Daly lead again

Gary Bettman will preside over the lottery again, Ernst & Young will supervise the draw, and Bill Daly will announce the selection order. For fans tracking their team’s draft position, the result arrives live rather than later in the show, and it sets the board for Buffalo before the draft opens on June 26 and 27.