The San Jose Sharks have won the 2026 Draft Lottery!
They moved up from the No. 9 spot to No. 2.
“It’s exciting for us,” San Jose Sharks GM Mike Grier told ESPN. “For the most part, we’re going to look at best player.”
The Sharks were in the running for the No. 1 pick, and in the first draw for that pick, after three lottery balls (of four), needed a No. 3 ping pong ball. They didn’t get that, and the Toronto Maple Leafs moved from the fifth spot to first-overall.
But, in the second draw, the San Jose Sharks got the winning combination, and got the No. 2 pick.
The Vancouver Canucks, the worst team in the NHL this season, ended up with the third-overall selection.
Winger Gavin McKenna is the consensus No. 1 pick, and if he goes to the Maple Leafs, there’s still a world of possibilities for the Sharks. Could they opt for winger Ivar Stenberg, perhaps the biggest threat to McKenna for the top pick? Or, they’ll get their choice of top defensemen, perhaps Chase Reid?
Either way, even after a resurgent 2025-26 season that saw the Sharks in the playoff hunt until the last week of the season, they’re still sitting pretty for the 2026 Draft.
The 2026 Draft will be held in Buffalo on Jun. 26 and 27.
This is the current order of the first 16 picks of the 2026 Draft:
1. Toronto Maple Leafs
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Vancouver Canucks
4. Chicago Blackhawks
5. New York Rangers
6. Calgary Flames
7. Seattle Kraken
8. Winnipeg Jets
9. Florida Panthers
10. Nashville Predators
11. St. Louis Blues
12. New Jersey Devils
13. New York Islanders
14. Columbus Blue Jackets
15. St. Louis Blues (from Detroit)
16. Washington Capitals
