Maple Leafs Win the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery

Gavin McKenna, Penn State (Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images)

Maple Leafs Win the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Spencer Lazary | Last updated May 5, 2026 7:30 PM ET

The Toronto Maple Leafs have won the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery. This will be only the third time they will pick first in an NHL Draft in franchise history.

With just an 8.5% chance of winning the lottery coming in, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be selecting first in the 2026 NHL Draft pic.twitter.com/Cs22fADYCB
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 5, 2026

With the new draft lottery format using a combination of numbers, the Maple Leafs needed the 12th ball to pop up. After a suspenseful 15 seconds, the 12th ball did just that, and they officially won the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery and will pick first overall in June.

Maple Leafs Win the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery

As mentioned, this is just the third time in franchise history that they will hold the first overall pick. Their previous two selections at No. 1 were Wendel Clark in 1985 and current captain Auston Matthews in 2016.

Gavin McKenna, Penn State (Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images)

As they look ahead to the 2026 NHL Draft, the Maple Leafs will almost certainly select Gavin McKenna, who is widely expected to go first overall. It’s exactly what this organization needed if this retool is going to turn around quickly and get them back into the playoff picture. McKenna should help with that.

The 2026 NHL Draft is set for Friday, June 26, in Buffalo at KeyBank Center.

This article first appeared on The Hockey Writers and was syndicated with permission.

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