The Washington Capitals did not win either of the two draws at the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery on Tuesday night.
Given those results, the team stands pat and will pick 16th overall in the first round. The Capitals came into this year’s lottery with the joint-worst odds (0.5 percent) of winning and moving up a maximum of 10 spots.
The Capitals have picked 16th overall in the first round only once before in franchise history (2012), and the selection, Tom Wilson, turned out pretty great for them. The Caps are still waiting to find out where their second pick in this year’s first round, acquired from the Anaheim Ducks at the trade deadline, will land.
If the Vegas Golden Knights eliminate the Ducks in the second round of the playoffs, the pick will be 18th overall. If the Ducks beat the Golden Knights, the pick will then move to at best 29th overall.
The NHL aired the lottery drawing live from the NHL Network’s Secaucus, New Jersey studio again. The Toronto Maple Leafs won the first-overall selection, while the San Jose Sharks moved up to the second-overall pick. The Vancouver Canucks came into the draft with the best odds (18.5 percent) to pick first or second and will have to settle for third.
Penn State forward Gavin McKenna is expected to be the top prospect in this year’s class. Swedish winger Ivar Stenberg is the consensus second-best available player.
“Just really excited for the organization, for the fanbase,” new Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka told Sportsnet. “I think it’s a meaningful step. Elated. You need some luck, and we got it tonight. Long road ahead, of course, lots of work to do still. But when you get a first-overall pick, it’s a monumental type of opportunity.”
The Maple Leafs came into the night with the fifth-best odds (8.5 percent) of winning the lottery. They have picked first overall twice during their history, taking Wendel Clark in 1985 and Auston Matthews in 2016.
The 2026 NHL Draft will take place in Buffalo at the KeyBank Center on June 26-27. The draft will again be decentralized, with teams making picks from their home bases.
Here’s the full press release from the NHL:
Maple Leafs Win NHL Draft Lottery, First Selection in 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft; Sharks Secure Second Overall Pick
SECAUCUS, N.J. (May 5, 2026) — The Toronto Maple Leafs and San Jose Sharks made moves up the order of selection for the First Round of the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft as a result of the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery, conducted this evening at NHL Network’s Secaucus, N.J., studio.
The Maple Leafs were selected in the first of two drawings to climb from the No. 5 position to No. 1. The Sharks were selected in the second drawing, moving up from the No. 9 position to No. 2.
Participants in the Draft Lottery included all teams that did not qualify for the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs (or the teams that have acquired the first-round drafting positions of those non-playoff teams).
The two draws were conducted to determine the order of selection for the first 16 picks in the First Round of the Draft. Among the changes to the Draft Lottery format announced on March 23, 2021, there was a limit on the total number of selections (10) a team participating in the Draft Lottery could “move up” in the event it won one of the Lottery Draws.
The broadcast of the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery again featured a live drawing of the lottery balls. Viewers were able to follow along and learn the results at the same time as the Draft Lottery participants. As each lottery ball was drawn, odds changed and teams were eliminated. The viewing audience learned which clubs were still in the running in real time.
The order of selection for the first 16 picks of the First Round, only, of the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft is as follows:
1. Toronto Maple Leafs
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Vancouver Canucks
4. Chicago Blackhawks
5. New York Rangers
6. Calgary Flames
7. Seattle Kraken
8. Winnipeg Jets
9. Florida Panthers
10. Nashville Predators
11. St. Louis Blues
12. New Jersey Devils
13. New York Islanders
14. Columbus Blue Jackets
15. St. Louis Blues (from Detroit)
16. Washington Capitals
The remaining positions are determined by the results of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Maple Leafs Win First Draw, No. 1 Drafting Position
In the drawing that determined the No. 1 drafting position, the Maple Leafs combinations had the fifth-greatest percentage likelihood of being selected based on inverse order of regular-season finish (8.5%).
The Maple Leafs have selected first overall twice before, in 1985 (Wendel Clark) and 2016 (Auston Matthews).
Sharks Win Second Draw, No. 2 Drafting Position
In the drawing for the No. 2 drafting position, the Sharks had the eighth-greatest percentage likelihood among the remaining clubs eligible for selection (5.5%).
San Jose has selected second overall four times, beginning with the first draft pick in franchise history, Pat Falloon, in 1991. The Sharks also have used the second overall pick to select Andrei Zyuzin (1996), Patrick Marleau (1997) and Michael Misa (2025).
Winning Combinations for Maple Leafs, Sharks
For each of the two drawings, 14 balls, numbered 1 to 14, were placed in a lottery machine. The machine randomly selected four balls. The resulting four-number series (without regard to selection order) was matched against a chart that shows all possible combinations and the clubs to which each was assigned. The chart showed that the Maple Leafs had been assigned the numbers (7-2-11-12) that were expelled in the first drawing, followed by the Sharks (11-4-3-7) in the second drawing.
Live Draw Adds To Suspense
In the First Draw, the winning Maple Leafs were among eight clubs still in contention to claim the first overall pick after the first three balls had been drawn (7-2-11). The others were Vancouver, NY Rangers, Chicago, Calgary, Seattle, Winnipeg and San Jose.
In the Second Draw, the winning Sharks were among five clubs still in contention to land the second overall pick after the first three balls had been drawn (11-4-3). The others were Vancouver, Chicago, NY Rangers and Seattle. A sixth club, Toronto, was still in contention to have one of its combinations chosen but its selection would have resulted in a re-draw, as the Maple Leafs had locked up the No. 1 position in the First Draw.
2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft
The NHL Draft returns to Buffalo for the first time in a decade with the Sabres set to host the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft on Friday, June 26 (Round 1: 7 p.m. ET on ESPN, ESPN+, Sportsnet, TVA Sports) and Saturday, June 27 (Rounds 2-7: 11 a.m. ET on NHL Network, ESPN+, Sportsnet) at KeyBank Center.
Tickets to the NHL Draft will be available for purchase tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET, here via Ticketmaster, the official ticketing partner of the NHL, on a first-come, first-served basis, while supplies last. Ticketmaster is the official marketplace of the NHL, providing fans with peace of mind in knowing the seats they buy on Ticketmaster.com and the Ticketmaster app are the seats they’ll get.
Top Prospects and Scouting Combine
NHL Central Scouting has released its final rankings for the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft, where Penn State left wing Gavin McKenna tops the list of North America-based skaters and Frolunda (Swedish Hockey League) left wing Ivar Stenberg leads all international-based skaters.
