Well.
Not only was it anticlimactic, we ended up watching a put-upon, small organization with like a quarter of Seattle’s resources finally get what’s coming to them
Isn’t that nice.
Excuse me, I need to wipe the blood from my mouth on account of the lockjaw level of clenching I’ve been doing.
Kraken Pick 7th Overall…and Leafs pick 1st.
The results of the 2026 NHL Lottery were as follows, as they were pulled live on ESPN:
- Toronto
- San Jose
- Vancouver
- Chicago
- New York Rangers
- Calgary
- Seattle
- Winnipeg
- Florida
- Nashville
- St. Louis
- New Jersey
- New York Islanders
- Columbus
- St Louis…again! (thanks to a trade)
- Washington
Yes, the Kraken moved down a spot, and the Maple Leafs, of all teams, get to pick 1st overall. In fairness, the Maple Leafs were in fact bad enough to warrant a Gavin McKenna type player joining their team if only because the league may actually begin to cut the cap if Toronto stops being marginally competitive, but come the hell on; it’s the Leafs. They have just about everything going for them minus the ability to effectively run a hockey team and they get Gavin McKenna?
Some teams get all the luck.
Oh, and just to rub salt in the wound for Kraken fans, the Sharks are probably going to get a shot at Ivar Stenberg, who a lot of people think may have outperformed McKenna dramatically through the last season; meaning they are once again getting a valuable player to add to their rebuild; arguably accelerating it.
Fuuuuun stuff! Even if the Kraken have a decent shot at revamping some of their defensive prospects with the 7th overall selection, that still stings quite a bit!
Who do the prognosticators like at 7th overall?
The good news is that a lot of the guys mentioned in the preview are still very much in play. Alberts Smits (who is almost a lock at 7 because a lot of the prognosticators like him there) , Keaton Verhoeff, Tynan Lawrence, and Viggo Bjorck are all in play here.
We will of course discuss these players as we gear up for the NHL Draft Profiles, as well as quite a few that are set for the 23rd overall spot that the Kraken were guaranteed!
Still…Would’ve been nice to get 1st overall.