The Toronto Maple Leafs are set to open the 2026 NHL Draft with the number one overall pick on Friday, June 26, at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.
Toronto secured the top selection after winning the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery despite entering the draw with just an 8.5 percent chance, according to NHL.
com.
This marks the third time in franchise history that the Maple Leafs hold the first overall pick, following their 2016 selection of center Auston Matthews at the same venue.
Top Prospects Emerge
Left wings Gavin McKenna from Penn State University and Ivar Stenberg from Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League have emerged as the leading candidates for Toronto.
General manager John Chayka and senior executive adviser of hockey operations Mats Sundin, both appointed in May, are overseeing the final selection process.
"It's not every day you get a chance to make the first overall selection and to do it in a market like Toronto, with obviously the tradition and the history and the expectation of excellence, I think makes it really unique," said Chayka.
The management team conducted extensive scouting on both top prospects, including visits to McKenna's family in Yukon and multi-year evaluations of Stenberg in Sweden.
McKenna recorded 51 points in 35 games as a college freshman, while Stenberg registered 33 points in 43 games in the Swedish Hockey League.
"We all know he's not big and strong yet, so college hockey was not going to be easy for him.
He's so smart and skilled that he was able to produce exceptionally well," said John Williams, Central Scouting's senior Western scout.
Scouts noted that McKenna exhibits a highly skilled playing style comparable to Patrick Kane, enabling him to manipulate defenders and create offensive opportunities.
International talent evaluators highlighted the comprehensive capabilities of Stenberg. "He's exceptionally smart," said Jukka-Pekka Vuorinen, NHL Director of European Scouting.
"High hockey IQ, elite awareness and decision-making. He's a highly skilled playmaker-scorer hybrid, able to drive offense and finish.
He also has a great two-way reliability, makes strong defensive reads, and has an effective retrieval and disruption game."
The first round of the draft will be broadcast on ESPN, Sportsnet, and TVA Sports starting Friday at 7 p.
m. ET.
Rounds two through seven follow on Saturday, June 27, at 11 a. m.
ET via the NHL Network and ESPN+.
