- Toronto jumps from fifth-best odds (8.5 percent) all the way to the No. 1 pick
- New GM John Chayka and adviser Mats Sundin walk into a franchise-altering selection
- Read below for full details on McKenna, Stenberg, and the Boston fallout
Toronto’s wildest dream came through on Tuesday night.
The Maple Leafs won the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery, jumping from fifth-best odds at 8.5 percent all the way to the No. 1 pick, per NHL.com. The draw was held at NHL Network studios in Secaucus, New Jersey, with Toronto’s winning combination coming up 7, 2, 11, 12.
The San Jose Sharks grabbed the No. 2 pick, leaving Vancouver, which held the top odds going in, slotted at No. 3.
This is just the third time the Maple Leafs have picked first overall. They took Auston Matthews in 2016 and Wendel Clark back in 1985.
Toronto pulled this off only days after a major front office shakeup. The Maple Leafs hired John Chayka as GM and brought back Mats Sundin as senior executive adviser of hockey operations on Monday.
Now the new regime walks into a franchise-altering selection on their first week on the job.
Sundin spoke to ESPN minutes after the draw and sounded like a guy still processing things:
“I’m extremely happy for the Toronto Maple Leafs fan base, of course,” Sundin said. “It’s great to get the first pick. Great night, great lottery.”
“Certainly this is really going to help when you’re looking into the future.”
The choice at No. 1 looks like a two-man race.
Gavin McKenna, the 5-foot-11 left wing out of Penn State, sits atop NHL Central Scouting’s final ranking of North American skaters. He put up 51 points in 35 NCAA games this season and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
The other option is Ivar Stenberg, a 5-foot-11 forward who logged 33 points in 43 SHL games for Frolunda. That’s the most ever by an 18-year-old in that league since Daniel and Henrik Sedin in 1998-99.
Boston is watching the dust settle too. Brandon Carlo trade conditions would have sent Toronto’s first-rounder to the Bruins if it fell outside the top five.
Toronto winning the whole thing means Boston waits on a future Leafs pick instead.
The 2026 NHL Draft kicks off June 26 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.
After missing the playoffs and watching their captain stew over his future, the Maple Leafs just got the kind of break that can reset a rebuild on day one.
