The Columbus Blue Jackets will hold the 14th overall pick at the 2026 National Hockey League Draft to be held from June 26-27 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. The club’s draft position was determined by tonight’s NHL Draft Lottery. The Toronto Maple Leafs won the initial drawing and moved from fifth position up to the first overall pick, while the San Jose Sharks won the subsequent drawing and moved from ninth up to select second overall.
The final results of tonight’s draft lottery:
- Toronto Maple Leafs
- San Jose Sharks
- Vancouver Canucks
- Chicago Blackhawks
- New York Rangers
- Calgary Flames
- Seattle Kraken
- Winnipeg Jets
- Florida Panthers
- Nashville Predators
- St. Louis Blues
- New Jersey Devils
- New York Islanders
- COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
- St. Louis Blues (from Detroit)
- Washington Capitals
The remaining draft positions will be determined at the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Blue Jackets currently hold seven picks in the 2026 NHL Draft. In addition to selecting 14th overall for the second consecutive Draft, Columbus also owns the Blues’ second-round pick, which was acquired as part of a trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 29, 2025. The club additionally holds its own picks in rounds five and seven, as well as Colorado’s third-round selection, Toronto’s fourth-round pick and Pittsburgh’s sixth-round selection.
The NHL Draft Lottery is a weighted lottery system that determines the order of selection for the first 16 picks of the Draft with the lottery assigning the top slots in the first round of the NHL Draft for the sixth-straight year. Two draws were held with the first drawing determining the club selecting first overall and the second drawing determining the team selecting second. A team could only move up 10 selections if it won one of the draws. Clubs that did not qualify for this season’s Stanley Cup Playoffs participated in the lottery.
Under the lottery system, the Blue Jackets had the 14th-highest chance (1.5 pct.) of winning the first lottery and an opportunity to move up to fourth overall. The percentage chance of being selected in the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery was as follows: Vancouver (18.5 pct.), Chicago (13.5 pct.), NY Rangers (11.5 pct.), Calgary (9.5 pct.), Toronto (8.5 pct.), Seattle (7.5 pct.), Winnipeg (6.5 pct.), Florida (6.0 pct.), San Jose (5.0 pct.), Nashville (3.5 pct.), St. Louis (3.0 pct.), New Jersey (2.5 pct.), NY Islanders (2.0 pct.), COLUMBUS (1.5 pct.), St. Louis (0.5 pct.) and Washington (0.5 pct.).
NHL Central Scouting’s 2026 Draft Prospect Rankings have Penn State University (Big Ten) left wing Gavin McKenna as the top North American Skater, followed by North Dakota University (NCHC) defenseman Keaton Verhoeff and Prince George Cougars (WHL) defenseman Carson Carels. Left Wing Ivar Stenberg of Frolunda (SHL, Sweden) finished as the top-ranked international skater, followed by Munchen blueliner Alberts Smits along with Tappara (Liiga, Finland) center Oliver Suvanto. The complete rankings can be found at https://www.nhl.com/draft/prospects/.
Blue Jackets Draft Lottery History
2000: Lost expansion team coin flip with Minnesota (No. 3 pick) to earn No. 4 overall pick in 2000 Entry Draft.
2001: Entered in No. 8 position and earned No. 8 pick. Atlanta (No. 3) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2002: Entered in No. 2 position and earned No. 3 pick. Florida (No. 3) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.*
2003: Entered in No. 3 position and earned No. 4 pick. Florida (No. 4) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2004: Entered in No. 4 position and earned No. 4 pick. Washington (No. 3) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2005: No Drawing due to cancellation of 2004-05 season.
2006: Entered in No. 6 position and earned No. 6 pick. St. Louis (No. 1) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2007: Entered in No. 7 position and earned No. 7 pick. Chicago (No. 5) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2008: Entered in No. 6 position and earned No. 6 pick. Tampa Bay (No. 1) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2009: Not eligible for Drawing. NY Islanders (No. 1) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2010: Entered in No. 4 position and earned No. 4 pick. Edmonton (No. 1) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2011: Entered in No. 7 position and earned No. 8 pick. New Jersey (No. 8) won Drawing and No. 4 overall pick.
2012: Entered in No. 1 position and earned No. 2 pick. Edmonton (No. 2) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2013: Entered in No. 14 position and earned No. 14 pick. Colorado (No. 2) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2014: Not eligible for Drawing. Florida (No. 2) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2015: Entered in No. 8 position and earned No. 8 pick. Edmonton (No. 3) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2016: Entered in No. 4 position and earned No. 3 pick. Toronto (No. 1) won First Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2017: Not eligible for Drawing. New Jersey (No. 5) won First Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2018: Not eligible for Drawing. Buffalo (No. 1) won First Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2019: Not eligible for Drawing. New Jersey (No. 3) won First Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2020: Not eligible for Drawing. New York Rangers won Second Phase and No. 1 overall pick.
2021: Entered in No. 5 position and earned No. 5 pick. Buffalo (No. 1) won First Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2022: Entered in No. 12 position and earned No. 12 pick. Montreal (No. 1) won First Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
^Entered in No. 6 position (Chicago) and earned No. 6 pick.
2023: Entered in No. 2 position and earned No. 3 pick. Chicago (No. 3) won First Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2024: Entered in No. 4 position and earned No. 4 pick. San Jose (No. 1) won First Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2025: Entered in No. 13 position and earned No. 14 pick. NY Islanders (No. 10) won First Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2026: Entered in No. 14 position and earned No. 14 pick. Toronto (No. 5) won First Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
*pick acquired by Columbus, which selected Rick Nash No. 1 overall
^conditional pick acquired by Columbus in trade with Chicago on July 23, 2021
