Roughly an hour after the NHL announced the Calder Trophy finalists on Tuesday afternoon, the NHL Draft Lottery took place to determine the draft order at the top of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
Here were the odds for eligible teams to win the first lottery draw and select first overall:
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The Toronto Maple Leafs won the drawing to select first overall, and the San Jose Sharks won the second drawing and will select second overall.
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Beckett Sennecke Calder Trophy Finalist
Takeaways from the Ducks 3-1 Loss to the Golden Knights, Vegas Leads Series 1-0
The Sharks and Anaheim Ducks franchises had been in the basement of the NHL standings for nearly an identical amount of time. The Ducks just snapped their seven-year playoff drought, and the Sharks just missed the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season in 2025-26.
The two teams, on similar trajectories and rebuilding schedules, are projected to soon represent two of the top teams in the Pacific Division and Western Conference due to the talent they’ve amassed over the better part of the last decade.
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Though the Ducks are finding current success, making the playoffs and advancing to the second round, it’s undeniable that the Sharks boast the roster with the best player, likely the best since Connor McDavid took hold of the “best player in the world” title: Macklin Celebrini.
Relying heavily on a season from Celebrini that deserves Hart Trophy consideration, the Sharks took a sizable leap in the NHL standings, missing the Western Conference’s second wild card spot by four points. They’ll now be selecting in the top two of the NHL Draft for the third consecutive season and in the top four for the fourth consecutive season.
With all their top ten picks throughout the course of their rebuild having been at forward positions, they could best utilize one of this draft’s top blueliners (Chase Reid, Carson Carels, Keaton Verhoeff). However, the two players consistently projected as the top two selections are Gavin McKenna and Ivan Stenberg, supremely talented albeit relatively undersized wingers.
Whichever direction San Jose goes with their now-top pick will give them a further significant boost toward their ultimate goal of consistent contention. The Ducks will likely have their hands full with the Sharks for a long time, and it could produce one of the most entertaining and high-powered rivalries in the NHL for a long time to come.
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Sharks GM Mike Grier will have a tall order surrounding their young talents with quality complementary pieces. The potential advantages the Ducks can cling to at the moment, when comparing trajectories, is that they have the projected edge along the blueline, and their core pieces, in theory, may have an advantage when playoff hockey rolls around, size is more valuable, and physicality is amplified.
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