NHL Draft 2026 Predictions for Where Elite Talent Will Land in 1st-Round Mock Draft

The Vancouver Canucks have the best odds to land the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL draft.

However, that doesn't mean the Canucks are guaranteed to land on top of June's draft order.

A year ago, the New York Islanders won the draft lottery with a 3.5 percent chance to claim the top pick.

Whichever team lands the top selection has the right to draft Gavin McKenna, who was been projected to be the top prospect in the 2026 draft class for years.

The rest of the draft lottery odds will be sorted out over the final five days of the regular season. Entering Sunday, Chicago, Calgary and the New York Rangers are directly behind Vancouver for the worst records in the NHL.

2026 NHL Mock Draft

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Projected draft order based on regular-season standings.

1 Vancouver - Gavin McKenna, LW, Penn State

2. Chicago - Keaton Verhoeff, D, North Dakota

3. Calgary - Chase Reid, D, Soo (OHL)

4. New York Rangers - Ivar Stenberg, LW/RW, Frolunda

5. Toronto - Carson Carels, D, Prince George (WHL)

6. Seattle - Tynan Lawrence, C, Boston University

7. Florida - Caleb Malhotra, C, Brantford (OHL)

8. St. Louis - Alberts Smits, D, Jukurit

9. San Jose - Ethan Belchetz, LW, Windsor (OHL)

10. Winnipeg - Daxon Rudolph, D, Prince Albert (WHL)

11. New Jersey - Viggo Bjorck, C/RW, Djurgardens

12. Nashville - Oliver Suvanto, C, Tappara

13. New York Islanders - Oscar Hemming, F, Boston College

14. St. Louis (via Detroit) - Ryan Lin, D, Vancouver (WHL)

15. Washington - Ilya Morozov, F, Miami (Ohio)

16. Columbus - Adam Novotny, LW/PW, Peterborough (OHL)

17. Los Angeles - Elton Hermansson, LW/RW, MoDo

18. San Jose (via Edmonton) - Marcus Nordmark, RW, Djurgardens

19. Washington (via Anaheim) - Nikita Klepov, F, Saginaw (OHL)

20. Utah - JP Hurlbert, F, Kamloops (WHL)

21. Philadelphia - Yegor Shilov, C, Victoriaville (QMJHL)

22. Boston - Malte Gustafsson, D, HV71

23. Pittsburgh - Juho Piiparinen, D, Tappara

24. Vancouver (via Minnesota) - Xavier Villeneuve, D, Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL)

25. Montreal - Maddox Dagenais, C, Quebec (QMJHL)

26. Seattle (via Tampa Bay) - Ryan Roobreck, C, Niagara (OHL)

27. New York Rangers (via Dallas) - Mathis Preston, F, Vancouver (WHL)

28. Calgary (via Vegas) - Niklas Aarom-Olsen, RW/LW, Orebro

29. Buffalo - Liam Ruck, F, Medicine Hat (WHL)

30. Carolina - Alexander Command, C, Orebro

31. St. Louis (via Colorado) - William Hakansson, D, Lulea

32. Ottawa - Wyatt Cullen, F, U.S. Development Program

Draft Lottery Odds to Be Sorted In Next Week

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Vancouver locked in the 25.5 percent chance to land the top pick weeks ago with its league-worst point total.

Chicago sits three points behind Calgary, which puts it in a great position to have a 13.5 percent chance of landing the top pick.

The Blackhawks might be best poised among the NHL's bottom feeders to catapult into a playoff berth next season. If they land even a top-three pick, they can add another top-tier talent to a roster with Connor Bedard and Anton Frondell on it.

Toronto and Florida are the two teams to watch over the next week. The Maple Leafs' first-round pick is top-five protected, while the Panthers' selection is top-10 protected.

A few more losses for both Eastern Conference franchises would be beneficial to help their odds of keeping picks.

Toronto's pick goes to Boston if it lands outside the top 5, while Chicago takes Florida's selection if it out of the top 10.

The Leafs and Panthers are part of a four-team group within two points of each other from 24th to 27th in the NHL overall standings.

Losing is imperative for all of the teams that improve their draft lottery odds, but Toronto and Florida have more incentives to lose because of their situations.