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MOCK THE FULL DRAFT
The lottery's done — now run all 7 rounds. Draft for any team using the real post-lottery order.
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DRAFT FOR TORONTO
Toronto holds #1. Draft Gavin McKenna first overall — or trade the pick and rebuild your board.
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410 RANKED PROSPECTS
Every pick backed by consensus rankings from EliteProspects, McKeen's, Daily Faceoff, and NHL Central Scouting.
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REAL TRADES
Offer picks, trade up, trade down. 31 AI GMs negotiate with their own team needs and draft strategy.
WHO WON THE 2026 NHL DRAFT LOTTERY?
The Toronto Maple Leafs won the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery and hold the #1 overall pick, jumping up from the fifth-worst record. The San Jose Sharks also won a lottery drawing to land the #2 pick, while the Vancouver Canucks — who finished with the league's worst record — fell to #3 overall. The lottery was held May 5, 2026.
WHO IS THE PROJECTED #1 PICK?
Gavin McKenna (LW, Penn State, NCAA) is the consensus #1 overall prospect in the 2026 NHL Draft and the projected top selection for Toronto. Other top candidates include Ivar Stenberg (LW, Frölunda, SHL), defenseman Keaton Verhoeff (D, North Dakota, NCAA), and Tynan Lawrence (C, Boston University, NCAA).
Use our NHL Mock Draft Simulator to draft McKenna — or any of 410 prospects — for Toronto or any team, across all 7 rounds with real trades.
WHEN IS THE 2026 NHL DRAFT?
The 2026 NHL Entry Draft takes place June 26-27, 2026 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. Round 1 is held on June 26, with rounds 2-7 on June 27.
HOW THE NHL DRAFT LOTTERY WORKED
The NHL Draft Lottery determines the selection order for the top of the first round. The 16 non-playoff teams entered a weighted lottery where the team with the worst record carried the most lottery balls. Two separate drawings were held — one for the #1 pick and one for the #2 pick — and a team could move up a maximum of 10 spots, meaning only the bottom 11 teams were eligible to win first overall.
In 2026, Toronto and San Jose were the two lottery winners, each leaping up the order, while every non-winning team moved down by the number of teams that jumped them. Since the 2022 lottery, teams can only win the lottery twice in a five-year period — a rule introduced to discourage tanking.
