Rangers Prepare for NHL Draft Lottery
The Rangers are set to take part in the NHL Draft lottery, which is happening this Tuesday. They hold the third-best odds to secure the No. 1 pick for the second time in six years.
Having wrapped up last season with the worst record in the Eastern Conference and the third-worst overall, they are ensured a top-five pick. They also have an 11.5 percent chance of landing the rights to the highly sought-after No. 1 draft pick, Gavin McKenna, during the event at KeyBank Center in Buffalo on June 26.
This kind of opportunity tends to spark excitement within organizations trying to navigate a shift while still maintaining competitive integrity.
Recent first overall picks like Montreal’s July Slavkowski from 2022 and others, such as Connor Bedard from Chicago in 2023, Macklin Celebrini from San Jose in 2024, and Matthew Schaefer from Long Island in 2025, have certainly set the bar high.
Not too far back, the Rangers felt a rush of luck when a ping pong ball propelled them to top two picks in consecutive drafts in 2019 and 2020.
It’s worth noting, though, that Kaapo Kakko, the club’s No. 2 pick from 2019, is now playing in Seattle. And the outcome for Alexis Lafrenière, the team’s No. 1 overall pick in 2020, remains to be seen.
Though McKenna is seen as ready for the NHL, he isn’t necessarily expected to make a huge impact in his debut season, unlike Schaefer.
What makes McKenna stand out is his ceiling—considered significantly higher than several other prospects likely to be picked early in the draft.
His offensive skills have drawn attention, but it’s his depth and potential that set his college team apart from the competition.
Another top pick could potentially energize a Rangers team looking to regroup as they move into the 2025-26 season.
While McKenna appears to have consensus support as a leading pick, the Rangers could still land someone else from the upper echelon of the draft if luck plays in their favor.
Many anticipate Swedish winger Ivar Stenberg will be chosen second, providing the Rangers an 11.2% chance at snagging him.
The Rangers made a leap from selecting Lafrenière first overall in 2020 to dropping down to the 15th pick, and now they find themselves poised to potentially repeat that surprising trajectory six years later.
The NHL Draft Lottery is set to air live from the NHL Network studios at 7 p.m. on ESPN, determining the order for the first 16 picks of the 2026 NHL Draft.
Participating teams are either out of playoff contention or have obtained first-round picks from non-playoff teams.
The lottery is structured in two phases that will establish who gets the first and second picks.
Teams can move up as much as 10 spots under the current rules, meaning only the top 11 seeds can qualify for the No. 1 pick.
The NHL employs a system based on a four-number combination to figure out selection order, with four balls numbered 1 through 14. There are a total of 1,001 possible combinations.
One of these combinations will be designated as a redraw (11, 12, 13, 14), which divides the league at 1,000 for the 16 teams that didn’t make it to the postseason.
Given the final standings from the regular season and the lottery odds set by the board, each team is assigned four random number combinations.
For example, Vancouver, finishing in last place, receives 185, while the Rangers, who ended up 30th in the NHL, get 115.
Essentially, the lower a team finishes in the NHL standings, the more lottery tickets they acquire.
After McKenna and Stenberg, a slew of defensemen are expected to be drafted soon after.
Among those are left-handed blueliner Carson Carells, right-handed defenseman Chase Reed, and Daxon Rudolph, all of whom are likely to be picked high in the draft.
Incoming sophomore right-hander Keaton Verhoff from the University of North Dakota is also predicted to be a top choice.
In terms of forwards, Caleb Malhotra—son of former Rangers player Manny Malhotra—could catch the Rangers’ eye. His contributions at Boston College make him a notable candidate within the team’s roster filled with Terriers. He’s widely regarded as a standout in this draft class.
OHL players Ethan Belchets and Nikita Klepov are also on the list of potential top-five choices for the Rangers.
