Maple Leafs win 2026 NHL Draft lottery and chance to select top CHL developed talent
The Toronto Maple Leafs have won the 2026 NHL Draft lottery and with it the chance to select top CHL developed talent.
The Maple Leafs climbed from the no. 5 spot to now own the first overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Toronto began the draft lottery with a 8.5 per cent chance of landing the no. 1 selection.
Top six players in NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings are all CHL developed players in no. 1 Gavin McKenna (Medicine Hat / WHL), no. 2 Chase Reid (Soo Greyhounds / OHL), no. 3 Carson Carels (Prince George Cougars / WHL), no. 4 Keaton Verhoeff (Victoria Royals / WHL), no. 5 Daxon Rudolph (Prince Albert Raiders / WHL) and no. 6 Caleb Malhotra (Brantford Bulldogs / OHL).
Former Tigers star McKenna topped NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings last month after he completed his freshman campaign with Penn State. Between 2022-25, McKenna dominated in the CHL and WHL.
“There wasn’t anybody that anyone presented an argument about that has the talent that McKenna has,” NHL Central Scouting vice president and director Dan Marr said. “He’s done it for over three years now. He’s not just a newcomer on the scene. He’s done it as the youngest player on most of the teams that he’s been on, and he continues to do that.”
The first overall pick in the 2022 WHL Draft, McKenna played in 133 games with the Tigers where he recorded 244 points (79 goals). In 2024, he was named CHL and WHL Rookie of the Year after a 97-point campaign while his 63 assists led all WHL rookies.
A year later, he took his game to another level where he had 41 goals and 129 points in just 56 regular season games to be named CHL and WHL Player of the Year. In the postseason, he added 38 points (nine goals) in 16 games as the Tigers claimed the Ed Chynoweth Cup as WHL champions and then had six points as Med Hat reached the final of the 2025 Memorial Cup. In the regular season, his 88 assists and +60 rating led the WHL while he also set a modern CHL record (since 2000) for the longest single-season point streak across the regular season, playoffs, and Memorial Cup at 54 games.
In 2025-26, McKenna was a Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalist and B1G Rookie of the Year after he tallied 51 points with the Nittany Lions.
“I have no concerns about his 5-on-5 play going forward, and I think those that have watched him a lot over the previous two seasons (with Medicine Hat in the Western Hockey League) would feel the same,” NHL Central Scouting’s senior Western scout John Williams said. “He’s not going to put himself in bad situations and he has the smarts to avoid them. He will adjust and adapt, and as he gets stronger, he’ll be that much better.”
Internationally, McKenna has won bronze at the 2026 World Juniors as well as gold at the 2024 U18 World Championships and 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
However, the Leafs will have plenty of other CHL options with the first overall pick too if they choose.
The Soo Greyhounds’ Chase Reid was ranked second in NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings. In his two OHL seasons he has compiled 88 points and represented the USA at the 2026 World Juniors as an 18-year-old.
“His calendar year is just seeing him grasp every new challenge and not just show that he can handle it, but he can excel in those spots,” said TSN’s director of scouting Craig Button. “I still think there is a lot of untapped potential there. I still think he’s learning about his capabilities and his own abilities to control the game and be an impact player.
“Chase isn’t hesitant and he has that initiative in his game. He has that confidence in his game and I think that confidence is only going to grow.”
He is closely followed by the Prince George Cougars’ Carson Carels who was ranked no. 3. Carels had 73 points this past season – tied for the third most in the CHL among d-men – and was one of only two WHL blueliners to reach 20 goals. He has also been a mainstay internationally for Canada where he has amassed a gold medal from the 2025 U18 World Championships, silver at the 2024 U17 World Hockey Challenge and bronze at the 2026 World Juniors and 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
“Carson Carels, the way he commands and controls the game, there’s no way anybody’s ever going to be Nick Lidstrom, but the manner in which he plays, in every single regard, the big minutes, the hard minutes, the offensive and defensive play and the timely play, he’s got all those elements,” said Button.
Verhoeff played 75 games across parts of two seasons in Victoria from 2023-25 after he was the fourth overall selection in 2023. He amassed 21 goals and 47 points in his WHL career and internationally has claimed gold at the 2025 U18 World Championships and 2024 U17 World Hockey Challenge as well as bronze at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and 2026 World Juniors. This past season, he suited up for North Dakota and recorded 20 points in 36 games.
The Raiders’ Rudolph sits fifth in a season in which he has helped lead the Raiders to an appearance in the WHL Championship. His 78 points in the regular season led all WHL d-men and ranked second among CHL blueliners while his 28 goals led the league. The first overall selection in the 2023 WHL Draft, Rudolph has collected gold at the 2025 U18 World Championships and 2024 U17 World Hockey Challenge as well as bronze at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
As for Malhotra, his first season in the OHL saw him finish fifth in CHL rookie scoring with 84 points while his 29 goals were second most among OHL rookies. He added a further 26 points in the postseason as the Bulldogs went to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Championship Series.
“With plenty of room to pack pounds on to his frame, an NHL pedigree, and a two-way game that’s equally as good on both sides of the puck, Malhotra looks like a centre that an NHL team can build around,” said Sportsnet’s Sam Cosentino.
San Jose, Vancouver, Chicago and the New York Rangers round out the top five.
If a CHL developed player is selected first overall, it would mark the second straight year and fourth time in the past seven.
The 2026 NHL Draft will take place from Buffalo June 26-27.
