NHL Draft Lottery 2026: Maple Leafs to select first overall

TL;DR

The Toronto Maple Leafs won the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery and will select first overall. The winning sequence of ping-pong balls was 7, 2, 11, 12.

Key points

Toronto Maple Leafs won the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery
They will select first overall
Gavin McKenna is the favorite for the first pick
Winning sequence was 7, 2, 11, 12

Gavin McKennaToronto Maple Leafs

Gavin McKenna is the favorite to be the first overall pick of the 2026 NHL Draft.

(Jared Silber via Getty Images)

It will be the Toronto Maple Leafs selecting first overall at the 2026 NHL Draft.

Toronto won the draft lottery, performed live on ESPN, on Tuesday after a sequence of four ping-pong balls bounced their way. The winning sequence: 7, 2, 11, 12.

It will be the first time the Maple Leafs since 2016, when they selected captain Auston Matthews. They will certainly be hoping for similar success this this pick. They have selected first one other time in franchise history, taking Wendel Clark in 1985.

The good fortune comes one day after Toronto introduced its new leadership of general manager John Chayka and senior executive advisor of hockey operations Mats Sundin. It was a contentious news conference, to say the least, due to concerns about Chayka’s track record.

The industry already has a pretty strong guess at the first pick. Penn State winger Gavin McKenna is coming off a freshman season in which he led the Big Ten with 38 points in conference play. There was some question about an incident involving him at a State College bar, but his aggravated assault charge since been dropped after authorities reviewed the video.

The 2026 NHL Draft is scheduled for June 26 in Buffalo.