Consensus top pick Alex Lafreniere will have to wait to find out where he'll start his career
Phase 1 of the NHL's draft lottery has been won by a team yet to be named. In the biggest jump ever in the draft lottery, one of the team's that will fight it out in the play-in round of the NHL's upcoming 24-team Return to Play format.
The L.A. Kings also made a sizeable jump, grabbing the second overall spot. The third overall pick went to Ottawa with the first-rounder they received in the Erik Karlsson trade with the San Jose Sharks. The fourth spot went to the Detroit Red Wings. Number five goes to the Ottawa Senators with their own selection in this draft. Number six goes to the Anaheim Ducks. Number seven belongs to the New Jersey Devils. The number eight overall selection belongs to the Buffalo Sabres.
With one of the placeholder teams winning moving into the number one spot, another phase of the draft will need to take place. All eight teams eliminated in the first round play-ins will have equal odds in getting that first overall selection.
Alex Lafreniere is the consensus top pick in this year's draft. This development adds another element of excitement to the playoffs, with those eliminated immediately getting a decent at someone who can be a franchise player.
For what it's worth, Sportsnet analyst and former NHL GM Brian Burke described the process in this draft as a disgrace. Meanwhile, Lafreniere was scheduled to do a live int
erview with Sportsnet immediately following Friday's draft but he declined after learning that he would have to wait to find out which team he would be joining next season. We'll finish by adding that even if you aren't a Detroit fan, you can't help but feel somewhat disappointed for the team. The Red Wings had to best chance at the first overall pick and dropped all the way to fourth. Ottawa had the second and third best odds with their two picks and will select third and fifth.
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MAY 12, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Tage Thompson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Josh Doan | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Zach Benson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Cole Caufield | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alex Newhook | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Mattias Samuelsson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Rasmus Dahlin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ivan Demidov | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jake Evans | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Lane Hutson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Norris | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Juraj Slafkovsky | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Anderson | - | - | - | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | - | - | |
| Zachary Bolduc | - | - | - | |
| Bowen Byram | - | - | - | |
| John Carlson | - | - | - | |
| Leo Carlsson | - | - | - | |
| Alexandre Carrier | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||