SAN JOSE – San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier could hardly believe what he was seeing as he watched Tuesday’s NHL draft lottery unfold on live television.
“Shocked, really,” Grier said. “You never know what’s going to happen and how the balls are going to bounce.”
After the Toronto Maple Leafs won the right to select first overall in next month’s NHL draft in Buffalo, the Sharks — with only a 5.2% chance — won the second draft lottery and will have the No. 2 overall selection.
This marks the third straight year the Sharks will draft inside the top two, giving them the chance to bolster an already deep prospect pool, and, unexpectedly, add another high-end player who might be available to help next season as the team tries to end what is now a seven-year playoff drought.
The Sharks held just 50 of 1,000 four-digit combinations available to them, and were most likely to come out of Tuesday’s lottery with the ninth or 10th overall selection. But Grier and the Sharks, dramatically, saw one of their combinations come up in 11-4-3-7.
On the second draw, the Sharks saw their lottery odds improve to 18.2% after 3 came up as the third number. They then needed either a 7 or a 9 to pop up inside the bingo-style machines at the NHL Network studio in Secaucus, N.J., where the lottery was held.
This is the second straight year the Sharks will select second overall, after taking center Michael Misa at No. 2 at the 2025 draft. It’s also the fourth straight year the Sharks have two first-round picks, with the first pick being inside the top four.
Shortly after the lottery, Grier spoke with Sharks team owner Hasso Plattner.
“It’s a little wild and unexpected to get the bounces of the balls that we’ve been able to and are fortunate to have things play out the way they have,” Grier said. “It’s been a lot of pain for the fans here, to go through a lot of losing here that at the Tank. Over the last couple years, it got better this year, but the fan base has been through a lot.
“I’m just excited for them that we’re hopefully trending in the right direction, and this is something else that gives them some hope and be excited for.”
Gavin McKenna, who was tied for fifth in NCAA Division I scoring this past season with 51 points in 35 games as a freshman at Penn State, is NHL Central Scouting’s top North American skater and could go to the Maple Leafs.
But even if McKenna goes to Toronto, the Sharks will still have their pick of exceptional players to choose from.
Other top players available include winger Ivar Stenberg, Central Scouting’s top international skater, and North American skaters Caleb Malhotra of the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs, a center, and defensemen Keaton Verhoeff of the University of North Dakota, and Chase Reid of the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds.
Grier said he’s still looking at taking the best player available at No. 2.
“There’s lots of options there,” Grier said of the No. 2 pick. “There’s centers, there’s (defensemen), there’s wingers. So to have the opportunity to add another very talented player to our young core is very exciting.”
The Sharks finished 24th in the NHL’s overall standings and had a 5% chance of winning the first lottery draw and a 10.2% chance of landing one of the top two picks for the NHL draft in June.
As has been the case in the previous four seasons, the first two picks in the draft were both determined by the lottery, with the first overall selection determined by one draw and the No. 2 pick by another. Teams were eligible to move up a maximum of 10 slots, and for the second straight year, the drawing of lottery balls was shown live.
The Sharks had 135 fewer four-digit combinations than the Vancouver Canucks, who had a 25.5% chance of winning the first draw on Tuesday after they finished this past season in 32nd and last place. The Canucks, in a major disappointment to that franchise, will select No. 3 overall.
The Sharks had the best odds of winning the NHL draft lottery in the previous two years, after finishing last in the NHL’s overall standings in 2023-24 and 2024-25.
The Sharks won the lottery in 2024, selecting center Macklin Celebrini first overall, and were awarded the No. 2 overall pick last year, taking Misa. Celebrini established a new single-season franchise record with 115 points in 82 games this year, and Misa was 11th on the team with 21 points in 45 games as a rookie.
This year, it was possible for the Sharks to come out of the lottery with first, second, third, ninth, 10th, or 11th overall selection. The most likely outcome for the Sharks was to draft ninth overall (64.4%), followed by 10th (23.5) and second (5.25).
The Sharks also hold a second first-round pick they acquired from Edmonton last year as part of the trade that sent defenseman Jake Walman to the Oilers.
That pick this year will wind up 19th or 20th overall, depending on whether the Anaheim Ducks can beat the Vegas Golden Knights in their second-round playoff series and advance to the Western Conference final, thereby passing the Oilers in the first-round draft order.
Grier said last month — and reiterated Tuesday — that he is open to trading one of his two first-round draft picks if the right deal comes along. But he also has no problems adding another top player to an already impressive pipeline.
“It’s obviously a different price tag trading the ninth pick and what you might be asking for, and if you’re going to move the second pick, what your ask would be,” Grier said. “So that’s probably the part of the equation that changes. We’ll see if anything comes our way, but I’m open to listening.”
NHL draft lottery results
1. Toronto Maple Leafs
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Vancouver Canucks
4. Chicago Blackhawks
5. New York Rangers
6. Calgary Flames
7. Seattle Kraken
8. Winnipeg Jets
9. Florida Panthers.
10. Nashville Predators
11. St. Louis Blues
12. New Jersey Devils
13. New York Islanders
14. Columbus Blue Jackets
15. St. Louis (from Detroit Red Wings)
16. Washington Capitals