NHL draft lottery results revealed, Nashville Predators remain in No. 10 spot
The NHL held its draft lottery on May 5 and the Nashville Predators’ draft position did not change after the draw.
After draft lottery results were revealed, the Predators remain in the No. 10 spot, which was their pre-draft position. The Toronto Maple Leafs won the top pick in the first draw, moving up from the No. 5 spot. The San Jose Sharks won the second pick in the second draw, moving up from No. 9.
The Vancouver Canucks (No. 3), the Chicago Blackhawks (No. 4), and the New York Rangers (No. 5) will round out the rest of the top five picks.
Entering the lottery draw, the Predators had the 10th-best odds (3.5%) to win the top pick, but the most likely scenario was to retain the No. 10 spot.
The 2026 NHL Draft is scheduled for June 26-27 in Buffalo.
Last season, the Predators had the third-best odds to win the top pick, but dropped to No. 5 overall, where they took Brady Martin.
The top selection is likely either Penn State forward Gavin McKenna or Swedish forward Ivar Stenberg. Most experts give McKenna, who led the Nittany Lions with 51 points last season, the edge to be the No. 1 pick. There are also several talented defensemen at the top of the draft, including Chase Reid (Soo Greyhounds), Carson Carels (Prince George Cougars), and Keaton Verhoeff (University of North Dakota).
The Predators have 12 picks in the 2026 draft, including two second-round picks, two third-rounders, two in the fourth and three in the fifth.
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex at jdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.
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