NHL Draft Lottery: When to watch and what are the odds?
While several teams are still duking it out in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, plenty of others are gearing up for a potential franchise-changing night.
The 2026 NHL draft lottery is set to take place on Tuesday, beginning at 7 p.m. EDT/4 p.m. PDT. It will be held at the NHL Networkās studio headquarters in Secaucus, New Jersey.
The lottery will be availableĀ to watch on television and stream online, via Sportsnet.
Tankathon.com
The Vancouver Canucks are heading into the lottery with the best odds of landing the first overall pick at 25.5 per cent. That said, there are 11 teams in total with an opportunity to move all the way up to the first selection, including three other Canadian organizations in the Calgary Flames (9.5 per cent), Toronto Maple Leafs (8.5 per cent), and Winnipeg Jets (6.5 per cent).
The draft lottery will feature two draws; the first will determine who holds the first-overall selection, while the second draw will determine who slots in at the number-two spot.
In total, there are 1,000 possible outcomes from the four ping pong balls that will be drawn. Should one of the teams slotted in the 12-16 position come out on top, it will be the Canucks who are rewarded with the first-overall selection, as no team can climb more than 10 spots.
Last year’s draft lottery bid adieu to the dramatic card-turning reveal from Bill Daly. That will be the case once again this time around, asĀ the league holds the live drawing of numbers.
This draft is said to be one of the better classes we’ve seen in some time. Headlining it is Penn State star Gavin McKenna, though he is far from the only potential game-changing prospect. Others, including Ivar Stenberg, Caleb Malholtra, Keaton Verhoeff, and Carson Carels, are also viewed as being potential future stars.
- You might also like:
- Draft lottery rules you should know before the Canucks test their luck