The Toronto Maple Leafs will have the first overall pick in next month’s NHL entry draft after winning tonight’s draft lottery.
The victory comes at a critical time for Toronto in the aftermath of hiring John Chayka as general manager and bringing back franchise legend Mats Sundin to serve as a hockey operations adviser.
The future of captain and best player Auston Matthews is the biggest question after missing the playoffs for the first time in his career. It’s the first time the Maple Leafs have won the lottery since selecting Matthews with the No. 1 pick in 2016.
The Leafs also had the top pick in 1985, when they took Wendel Clark, who was traded to the Quebec Nordiques for Sundin in 1994.
“I’m extremely happy for the Toronto Maple Leafs fan base, of course,” Sundin said during Tuesday’s draft lottery broadcast. “It’s great to get the first pick. Great night, great lottery.”
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Asked if he’d had a chance to discuss the draft yet, Sundin said: “Not really. We’re just starting … a lot of evaluation going on. Certainly this is really going to help when you’re looking into the future.”
The Leafs had the fifth-highest odds of winning it at 8.5 per cent. Vancouver, which finished last in the NHL with a 25-49-8 record, had the highest at 18.5 per cent and has never had the first pick in the draft.
The San Jose Sharks won the lottery for the second pick, while the Canucks fell to third.
Toronto would have had to transfer its pick to Boston to complete a trade last year for Brandon Carlo had it not been in the top five. The Bruins and Philadelphia, as a result, will get the Leafs’ first-rounders in 2027 and ’28.
For this draft, Penn State forward Gavin McKenna and Swedish winger Ivar Stenberg are rated as the top North American and European prospects by NHL Central Scouting.
McKenna, from Whitehorse, Yukon, tied for fifth in NCAA scoring with 51 points (15 goals, 36 assists) in 35 games this season. He was named Big Ten freshman of the year.
Stenberg, 18, had 33 points (11 goals, 22 assists) in 43 games with Frölunda HC in Sweden’s top pro league, the SHL, the most by an 18-year-old there since Daniel and Henrik Sedin in 1998-99. He also helped Sweden win world junior gold with 10 points in seven games.
The 2026 draft will be held at KeyBank Center in Buffalo on June 26-27.
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