Once again, the NHL’s lottery balls didn’t line up favorably for the Blue Jackets.
They didn’t win either of the league’s two lottery draws May 5 at NHL Network’s studios in Secaucus, New Jersey, but the Jackets did get a small bit of good news. Unlike last year, when they dropped a spot and received pick No 14, this year the Blue Jackets held the 14th position they owned going into the draws.
They had just a 1.5% chance of winning the first draw, so it was unsurprising that none of their 15 number combinations were drawn. The surprise is not dropping back again, something that happened to the Jackets in six of 18 previous lotteries that included Columbus.
In addition to the pick No. 14, the Jackets have six more selections on the second day of the 2026 NHL Draft, which will be held June 26-27 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York.
In their 25-year history, the Blue Jackets have never won the lottery’s first draw and have won the second draw just once in 2016. They moved up to third in that draft and selected center Pierre-Luc Dubois. The Blue Jackets have picked first overall one time, selecting Rick Nash in 2002, but that required a trade atop a draft without a consensus top prospect.
Otherwise, they’ve dropped a lot, including last year after the Utah Mammoth overcame long odds to leapfrog from 14th overall to fourth in the second draw. The Jackets selected defenseman Jackson Smith from Tri-City of the Western Hockey League 14th overall, adding a smooth skater with a big frame and left-handed shot.
Smith shifted away from the WHL, enrolled at Penn State and put together an impressive freshman season.
Picking in the middle of the first round makes draft forecasts much tougher, but analysts feel this draft class has some gems who could slide to the Jackets. Not sliding back, even one spot, could become a bigger deal when they’re on the clock.
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: NHL draft lottery keeps Columbus Blue Jackets 14th overall
Reporting by Brian Hedger, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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