NHL reveals draft lottery details

The National Hockey League has announced that the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery will officially be held on May 5.

The draft lottery will also take place at the NHL Network’s Secaucus, N.J., studio, with the event broadcast live on ESPN, Sportsnet and TVA Sports at a time to be later announced. The announcement surrounding the further details was made by the league on the early afternoon of April 18. For the uninformed reader, the NHL Draft Lottery will fittingly feature a live drawing of the lottery balls which will determine the selection order for the first 16 picks in the first round of the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft.

Those participating will be 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 lottery is to be conducted in two phases, the first to determine the first overall pick in the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft and the second to determine the second overall pick. Though, there is a limit on the total number of selections (10) a team participating in the Draft Lottery can “move up” in the event it wins one of the Lottery Draws. In a corresponding move, only the top 11 seeds will be eligible to receive the first overall Draft pick.

All to know on the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery

The league also released the odds for the 1st Lottery Draw of the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery in their media release relative to the aforementioned lottery.

The Vancouver Canucks lead the odds with 18.5%, followed by the Chicago Blackhawks with 12.5%. The Washington Capitals make up the bottom with 0.5%.

Penn State left wing Gavin McKenna tops the list for those prospects expected to be taken at No. 1 overall. Fellow-LW Ivar Stenberg leads the list of all international-based skaters per NHL Central Scouting.

McKenna finished tied for fifth in the NCAA with 51 points (15 goals, 36 assists) and was second with 1.46 points per game in 35 games this season. 

The NHL Draft Lottery comes ahead of the 2026 NHL Draft taking place in Buffalo, N.Y. at KeyBank Center. Round one is to take place on June 26 at 7 p.m. EST and aired on ESPN, ESPN+, Sportsnet, TVA Sports. The remaining second to seventh rounds till take place on June 27 at 10 a.m. EST and can be watched on NHL Network, ESPN+, Sportsnet.

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