The Toronto Maple Leafs are the winners of the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery and with the first-overall pick, TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button has them taking Penn State forward Gavin McKenna.
“I think he is the best player in the draft,” said Button. “Now we start to think about the Toronto Maple Leafs and what was the biggest absence for Auston Matthews last year? It was the playmaking winger when Mitch Marner left to go to the Vegas Golden Knights. Well Gavin McKenna is a playmaking winger.
“For Gavin McKenna, this could be a really good fit for him to come in and to be able to play with somebody as significant as Auston, that can carry play like Auston and take some of the burden off.”
After tearing up the Western Hockey League with the Medicine Hat Tigers the previous two seasons, McKenna decided to take his talents to the NCAA for his draft year.
As a freshman in the NCAA, McKenna scored 15 goals with 51 points in 35 games last season with the Nittany Lions.
He also represented Canada for a second straight year at the World Junior Championship, where he scored four goals with 14 points in seven games to win bronze.
The Maple Leafs drafted first overall in 2016, when they took Matthews with the top selection.
With the second-overall pick, Button has the San Jose Sharks, who won the draft lottery to move up from No. 9 to No. 2, taking Soo Greyhounds defenceman Chase Reid.
Reid averaged over a point-per-game last season with the Greyhounds, scoring 18 goals with 48 points in 45 games.
He also represented Team USA at the World Juniors, scoring two goals with two assists in five games.
This will be the fourth year in a row the Sharks will draft in the top five after taking forward Will Smith at No. 4 in 2023, centre Macklin Celebrini first overall in 2024 and forward Michael Misa with the second-overall selection last year.
At No. 3, Button has Brantford Bulldogs centre Caleb Malhotra going to the Vancouver Canucks, who finished last in the NHL standings in 2025-26 but lost the lottery for the top two selections.
Malhotra scored 29 goals with 84 points in 67 regular-season games with the Bulldogs in 2025-26 and added 13 goals and 26 points in 15 postseason games before Brantford was eliminated Monday night by the Barrie Colts in the OHL playoffs.
“They need a centre and I think Caleb Malhotra projects as a No. 1 centre all day long,” said Button. “He’s a complete, two-way, competitive centre, does it all. He’s had tremendous progression over the course of the season. You’ve see what he did in the playoffs. He’s a big-time player.”
Rounding out the top five selections, Button has the Chicago Blackhawks drafting Swedish forward Ivar Stenberg at No. 4, followed by the New York Rangers taking University of North Dakota defenceman Keaton Verhoeff at fifth overall.
At No. 6, Button has Prince George Cougars defenceman Carson Carels going to the Calgary Flames.
Carels, 17, scored 20 goals with 73 points in 58 games last season with Prince George and had 10 points in 10 playoff games.
He also had one assist in five games at the World Juniors for Canada as the Cypress River, Man., native helped the team win bronze.
“I think he is a No. 1 defenceman,” said Button. “He can be the bookend to the right shot of Zayne Parekh. They want a centre, they need some offence up front, there’s other ways they’re going to have to do that, I just think Carson Carels is too good to pass even if you might be looking for other things. He’s that good.”
The Winnipeg Jets hold the eighth overall pick, where Button has them taking Boston University centre Tynan Lawrence.
Button believes that the Jets should first explore trading the selection with Winnipeg’s current core of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Josh Morrissey and Connor Hellebuyck not getting any younger.
“If they have to take the pick, he’s a really good second-line centre,” said Button of Lawrence.
Lawrence split the 2025-26 season between the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks and Boston University. After joining the Terriers in January, he had two goals and seven points in 18 games.
The 2026 NHL Draft takes place from June 26-27 from KeyBank Center in Buffalo.
Craig Button’s Lottery Edition Mock Draft
| No. | Team | Player | Team | Pos | HT | WT | GP | G | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tor | Gavin McKenna | Penn State (NCAA) | LW | 5′11 | 170 | 34 | 15 | 51 |
| 2 | SJ | Chase Reid | Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) | D | 6′2 ¼ | 188 | 45 | 18 | 48 |
| 3 | Van | Caleb Malhotra | Brantford (OHL) | C | 6′1 ¼ | 182 | 67 | 29 | 84 |
| 4 | Chi | Ivar Stenberg | Frolunda (SHL) | LW | 5′11 | 183 | 43 | 11 | 33 |
| 5 | NYR | Keaton Verhoeff | North Dakota (NCAA) | D | 6′3 ½ | 208 | 33 | 6 | 20 |
| 6 | Cgy | Carson Carels | Prince George (WHL) | D | 6′1 ½ | 189 | 58 | 20 | 73 |
| 7 | Sea | Daxon Rudolph | Prince Albert (WHL) | D | 6′2 ¼ | 206 | 68 | 28 | 78 |
| 8 | Wpg | Tynan Lawrence | Boston U (NCAA) | C | 6′0 ½ | 185 | 18 | 2 | 7 |
| 9 | Fla | Alberts Smits | Jukurit (SM Liiga) | D | 6′3 | 205 | 38 | 6 | 13 |
| 10 | Nsh | Viggo Bjorck | Djurgårdens (SHL) | C/RW | 5′9 | 177 | 42 | 6 | 15 |
| 11 | StL | Ethan Belchetz | Windsor (OHL) | LW | 6′5 | 228 | 57 | 34 | 59 |
| 12 | NJ | Oscar Hemming | Boston C (NCAA) | LW | 6′3 ½ | 193 | 19 | 1 | 8 |
| 13 | NYI | Oliver Suvanto | Tappara (SM Liiga Jr) | C | 6′2 ¾ | 207 | 48 | 2 | 11 |
| 14 | CBJ | Adam Novotny | Peterborough (OHL) | LW | 6′1 | 204 | 58 | 34 | 65 |
| 15 | Det (StL) | Malte Gustafsson | HV71 (SWE J20) | D | 6′4 ¼ | 200 | 14 | 4 | 12 |
| 16 | Wsh | Ryan Lin | Vancouver (WHL) | D | 5′11 | 177 | 53 | 14 | 57 |
