{"id":33738,"date":"2026-05-06T03:40:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T03:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/33738\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T03:40:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T03:40:32","slug":"toronto-maple-leafs-san-jose-sharks-win-2026-nhl-draft-lottery-pro-hockey-rumors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/33738\/","title":{"rendered":"Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks Win 2026 NHL Draft Lottery \u2013 Pro Hockey Rumors"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Toronto Maple Leafs have won the 2026 NHL draft lottery, shared by the league<\/a>, which was conducted at the NHL Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey this evening. On 8.5% odds, Toronto jumped from #5 to the top selection and will be first on the stage on June 26 in Buffalo.\u00a0<\/p>\n

They were not the only club to have luck on their side, as the San Jose Sharks jumped from #9 to the second overall selection (5.2%), leaving the Vancouver Canucks to drop from the top slot to #3 overall. At this point, with the lottery determined, the 2026 draft\u2019s first 16 selections are now official:<\/p>\n

Toronto Maple Leafs
\nSan Jose Sharks
\nVancouver Canucks
\nChicago Blackhawks
\nNew York Rangers
\nCalgary Flames
\nSeattle Kraken
\nWinnipeg Jets
\nFlorida Panthers
\nNashville Predators
\nSt. Louis Blues
\nNew Jersey Devils
\nNew York Islanders
\nColumbus Blue Jackets
\nSt. Louis Blues (from Red Wings)
\nWashington Capitals<\/p>\n

The Maple Leafs will have their choosing of the first player, for the first time since 2016, where they netted Auston Matthews,<\/a> a draft which was also held in Buffalo.\u00a0It will be the third time ever, the first being Wendel Clark<\/a> in 1985.\u00a0Of all the lottery scenarios tonight, Toronto\u2019s chances at winning were a wild possibility, and sure enough, it has happened. <\/p>\n

After hiring John Chayka<\/a> as general manager, it was already apparent there\u2019s serious pressure<\/a> on the new regime to win over Matthews.\u00a0Things couldn\u2019t be off to better of a start than they are tonight. With a sparse free agent market, and complicated trade assets, the Leafs got a lucky break which has dramatically shifted their outlook. Just hoping to stay in the top five, to avoid relinquishing their pick to Boston as a result of the Brandon Carlo<\/a> trade, that\u2019s no longer a concern. Boston fans may simply look ahead to next year, but with conditions existing on the Philadelphia\/Scott Laughton<\/a> deal as well, they may have to wait for 2028 to obtain Toronto\u2019s first rounder, while the 2027 selection would end up in the hands of Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

Not to be outdone, already building one of the most talented young teams in the league, San Jose will pick #2 for the second consecutive season, despite taking a serious step forward, going 39-35-8 on the back of soon to be 20-year-old Macklin Celebrini<\/a>\u2018s 115 points. It\u2019s an embarrassment of riches for a team already thought to have one of the highest ranked prospect pools in the NHL, who will pick in the top five for the fourth straight year.<\/p>\n

Gavin McKenna<\/a>, widely considered to be the top prospect, jumped from Medicine Hat of the WHL to Penn State University in 2025-26, seeking a bigger challenge. Adversity he got, facing questions early on about his production<\/a> against higher competition, as well as an off the ice incident<\/a> where charges were eventually dropped. Through it all, the Whitehorse, Yukon native stayed the course, tying for fifth in NCAA scoring with 51 points in 35 games. Barring any major developments, Leaf fans can expect to see #72 in the blue and white next fall, although his immediate full time NHL role is a question mark. Even if not an immediate standout, McKenna\u2019s offensive flair, reminiscent of Patrick Kane<\/a>, has him a potential star for years to come. It\u2019s about as perfect of a match as the organization could hope for after losing Mitch Marner,<\/a> as McKenna is a natural wing who could feast alongside Matthews.<\/p>\n

Likely missing out on the chance to select McKenna, but certainly not complaining, the Sharks still have a tremendous prospect in their grasp, Ivar Stenberg<\/a>. The Swedish winger posted 33 points for Frolunda of the SHL, playing against men and coming away fifth in team scoring despite playing in fewer games than teammates. Back in January, the 18-year-old was thought to be emerging<\/a> as jumping McKenna for the top spot. Largely considered to be a top six lock, with first line upside, Stenberg could be an immediate contributor wearing the teal next season. If so, he\u2019d complete an entire top six corps made up of dynamic young forwards: Celebrini, Will Smith<\/a>, William Eklund<\/a>, Michael Misa<\/a>, and Igor Chernyshov<\/a>. Clearly not in much need of another forward, Stenberg is likely too strong a prospect to pass on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Outside of McKenna and Stenberg, holding the highest upside, the field opens up a bit, which is especially cruel to Vancouver, who fell to #3, a range the haven\u2019t found themselves in since selecting the Sedin twins in 1999. Defensemen Chase Reid<\/a>, Keaton Verhoeff<\/a>, and Alberts Smits<\/a> all offer top pairing potential as prospects any team would salivate over. If that\u2019s the path they take, the Canucks would create a tremendous one-two punch with 20-year-old Zeev Buium<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Also worth mentioning, Caleb Malholtra<\/a> stands out as the top center. Son of longtime NHL center Manny Malholtra<\/a>, and current head coach of the AHL\u2019s Abbotsford Canucks, Caleb will benefit from a major breakout campaign with the OHL\u2019s Brantford Bulldogs, and being a member of a draft class which is more thin down the middle among the top five. Besides the obvious connections, it will be a story line to watch on if Vancouver passes on the defensemen and considers Malholtra, who will join Boston University next fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last year the New York Islanders jumped from #10 to the top spot. After a solid playoff window, their aging core was running out of juice. There was a fair bit of speculation on if they could select a game-breaking forward such as Misa\u00a0or go with the top player, defenseman Matthew Schaefer<\/a>, who lost a large chunk of his draft year due to injury.\u00a0<\/p>\n

New York went with Schaefer, as Misa landed with the Sharks, and the reward was massive. The teenager led all Islanders in ice time, playing over 24 minutes a night, scoring 23 goals and 36 helpers for 59 points in 82 games. The #1 pick finished second in the entire NHL in goal scoring from defensemen, a spectacular campaign for a player who wasn\u2019t even a lock to make the roster. For how good he was as a rookie, it\u2019s scary to think about what is in store. Such is indicative of the power of the draft lottery, and a number which will always be synonymous with Schaefer as an Islander; 3.5%.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Toronto will hope to have the same sort of fortune with their selection. Often the NHL lottery is weighed by the \u201cdeserved\u201d scale, up for interpretation. While every franchise deserves the opportunity to select game breaking talent, especially those with the worst records, it\u2019s fascinating to consider how different things could be for the Maple Leafs, and just how much they had at stake tonight. Rather than forking over a top 10 selection to their playoff nemesis, and coming away with nothing from a lost season, the lights are as bright in Toronto as ever, and now, they\u2019re on the clock for June 26.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Toronto Maple Leafs have won the 2026 NHL draft lottery, shared by the league, which was conducted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33739,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[5471,15042,1563,48,954],"class_list":{"0":"post-33738","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-toronto","8":"tag-2026-nhl-draft","9":"tag-newsstand","10":"tag-san-jose-sharks","11":"tag-toronto","12":"tag-toronto-maple-leafs"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}