Who will go No. 1 in 2026 NHL Draft? McKenna leads race ahead of lottery

With the NHL Draft Lottery taking place on Tuesday, there still isn’t a consensus for who will be the No. 1 pick in 2026. The media has largely circled Penn State’s Gavin McKenna, but the discourse in the league is a little different. Because there isn’t a prospect separating from the pack, who wins the lottery will, in part, dictate which player goes first, depending on organizational need and philosophical preference. I’ve polled NHL scouts and front office executives to get a pulse on the top of the board. Based on my own evaluations of their toolkits and what I’m hearing from my NHL sources, here is how I handicap the odds for which top prospect will go first in June.Advertisement