Maple Leafs Win Lottery for No. 1 Pick — Nhl Live
nhl live: The Toronto Maple Leafs won the NHL Draft Lottery on Tuesday and grabbed the No. 1 pick in the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft. Toronto entered with 8.5 percent odds and now holds the first selection for the third time.
That swing changes the top of the draft order immediately. The San Jose Sharks moved to No. 2, the Vancouver Canucks to No. 3, and the first round is set for June 26 at 7 p.m. ET at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.
Toronto Gets the Top Choice
John Chayka said the Leafs needed some luck and got it, then called the first overall pick a monumental opportunity. He added that it is a long road ahead and lots of work still remains, but he described the chance to pick first as an honor. Mats Sundin said he was extremely happy for the Toronto fanbase and called it a great night and a great lottery.
The Leafs have used the top pick before. They chose Wendel Clark first in the 1985 NHL Draft and Auston Matthews first in the 2016 NHL Draft, giving them a familiar place at the front of the board when the draft opens in Buffalo.
Gavin McKenna Leads the Board
The most likely name at No. 1 is Gavin McKenna, the Penn State left wing who tops NHL Central Scouting’s final ranking of North American skaters. He finished tied for fifth in the NCAA with 51 points in 35 games, scoring 15 goals with 36 assists and ranking second in the league with 1.46 points per game.
McKenna was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and earned two National Rookie of the Month honors and four Big Ten Star of the Week selections. He was also the only unanimous choice on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, and he remains the most prominent among the 175 players in this class.
Draft Order Settles in Buffalo
Toronto finished 28th in the NHL with a 32-36-14 record, and the lottery gave it a direct path to the top choice after a season that left it in the draft mix rather than the playoff race. The Maple Leafs are the third team in the past six lotteries to win without the best odds, joining recent lottery winners from 2023 and 2025.
Rounds 2-7 will follow on June 27 at 10 a.m. ET, and the rest of the order will be shaped by the playoffs for picks 17-32. For Toronto, the immediate decision now sits at the top of the board: whether the first pick becomes McKenna or another player from a draft Chayka called a really good one.
