The next game for the Seattle Kraken will be held on Tuesday, May 5 – not with pucks, but with ping-pong balls.
Their regular season having concluded Thursday, Seattle and all other non-playoff teams will await the annual NHL Draft Lottery. The Kraken will have a 7.5% chance of winning the lottery, which awards the club the #1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
All 16 teams which missed this season’s playoffs are eligible to improve their draft position, which is weighted in favor of teams with fewer points.
From Tankathon.com: “The 1st overall pick is awarded by a drawing of ping pong balls. A team can only jump ten spots, so only the top 11 teams are eligible for the 1st pick. If a team in the 12-16 range wins the first drawing, the first pick will be awarded to the worst team.
“A second drawing is held to determine the other lottery winner. Like the first drawing, the second winner can only jump ten spots, but this time it is using the re-seeded order following the first drawing. This second drawing will not affect the team(s) with locked-in positions from the first drawing.”
Here are Tankathon’s odds of having their ping-pong balls chosen for the 1st overall pick. The number of standings points earned by each team in 2025-26 is in parentheses.
- Vancouver Canucks (58) – 25.5%
- Chicago Blackhawks (72) – 13.5%
- New York Rangers (77) – 11.5%
- Calgary Flames (77) – 9.5%
- Toronto Maple Leafs (78) – 8.5%
- Seattle Kraken (79) – 7.5%
Kraken Lost For Winning
Let’s say the Kraken had lost in regulation to the Flames on Apr. 11, instead of topping Calgary, 4-1. That would have jumped Seattle from 6th to 3rd in the lottery, improving their odds of grabbing the #1 pick from 7.5% to 11.5%.
Although, given how the last three Kraken seasons have gone, only a mathematician or blind optimist believes those 4% will make a difference. Remember, last year, the Islanders had a 3.5% chance of earning the #1 pick, the 10th longest odds, yet that’s exactly what happened.
What If Kraken Beat The Odds?
Should the Kraken ping pong balls be drawn, Seattle’s search for a superstar-level prospect would be answered. Here are the top skaters as ranked by several draft publications. The numbers shaded in blue are each publication’s #6 prospect, the draft slot where the Kraken are currently placed.
Publication Abbreviations:
- CSN – NHL Central Scouting North America skaters
- CSI – NHL Central Scouting International skaters
- SN – Sportsnet TV Canada
- TSN – TSN TV Canada
- DF – Daily Faceoff.com
- BF – Bleacher Report.com
- SPN – Sporting News.com
- MH – McKeen’s Hockey.com
The 2026 NHL entry draft will be held on June 26-27 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.
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