Last night the NHL Draft Lottery was held and the top pick for the upcoming entry draft was drawn. The Toronto Maple Leafs will be able to move to #1 for the third time in their history.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have had a sobering season, which ended the traditional franchise from Ontario in 28th place overall in the National Hockey League. But in the end something was won – namely the NHL Draft Lottery, which has now given the Canadians one of the greatest talents of recent years.
In the annual lottery, the first two picks of the upcoming draft are raffled off. The Vancouver Canucks actually had the best odds of winning 1st overall, but two teams that were behind the Nucks in the final standings jumped ahead. Toronto grabbed the 1st overall pick and the San Jose Sharks, ranked 24th after the regular season, grabbed pick #2.
Canada or Sweden?
But who will be the first player to cross the counter? For many, this question has already been answered for a long time: the Canadian Gavin McKenna will be the 1st overall in the 2026 draft class. But in the last few weeks and months, the Swede Ivar Stenberg has worked his way closer and closer to the exceptional Canadian talent.
McKenna spent the past season at Penn State University and was able to show his qualities there with 51 points in 35 games. In February 2026, the winger came more into the spotlight when he was arrested for assault. Stenberg, on the other hand, has already played at the highest level in Sweden and cut an outstanding figure there. The winger scored 33 points in 43 games in Frölunda’s uniform – as an 18-year-old.
Things get serious at the end of June
The draft will take place on June 26th and 27th at the Key Bay Center in Buffalo. Remarkable: back in 2016, when the draft last stopped here, the Maple Leafs held the 1st overall pick and drafted none other than Auston Matthews. After Wendel Clark and Matthews, the Leafs should now strike at the top for the third time in their career.
Image: Kaiser matias, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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