The draft lottery decides who picks at the top of the NHL Entry Draft. Here's how it works — and every No. 1 overall pick it has produced.
A weighted drawing among the teams that missed the playoffs that decides the top of the first round of the NHL Entry Draft. Instead of the worst team automatically picking first, every non-playoff team gets a chance — with better odds the lower a team finished.
Separate drawings are held for the first two picks. The remaining non-playoff teams then pick in inverse order of the regular-season standings. Under the current format a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots, so only the bottom finishers can land the No. 1 overall pick.
Typically in early May, after the regular season ends and before the NHL Entry Draft in late June.
The lottery winner. The full history of No. 1 overall picks and the teams that made them is listed on this page.
| Year | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Gavin McKenna | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 2025 | Matthew Schaefer | New York Islanders |
| 2024 | Macklin Celebrini | San Jose Sharks |
| 2023 | Connor Bedard | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 2022 | Juraj Slafkovsky | Montréal Canadiens |
| 2021 | Owen Power | Buffalo Sabres |
| 2020 | Alexis Lafrenière | New York Rangers |
| 2019 | Jack Hughes | New Jersey Devils |
| 2018 | Rasmus Dahlin | Buffalo Sabres |
| 2017 | Nico Hischier | New Jersey Devils |
| 2016 | Auston Matthews | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 2015 | Connor McDavid | Edmonton Oilers |
| 2014 | Aaron Ekblad | Florida Panthers |
| 2013 | Nathan MacKinnon | Colorado Avalanche |
| 2012 | Nail Yakupov | Edmonton Oilers |
| 2011 | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | Edmonton Oilers |
| 2010 | Taylor Hall | Edmonton Oilers |
| 2009 | John Tavares | New York Islanders |
| 2008 | Steven Stamkos | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| 2007 | Patrick Kane | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 2006 | Erik Johnson | St. Louis Blues |
| 2005 | Sidney Crosby | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 2004 | Alex Ovechkin | Washington Capitals |
| 2003 | Marc-Andre Fleury | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 2002 | Rick Nash | Columbus Blue Jackets |
| 2001 | Ilya Kovalchuk | ATLATL |
| 2000 | Rick DiPietro | New York Islanders |
Full round-by-round results live on each draft-year page — browse every NHL draft →