Everything You Need To Know About This Years Draft Lottery

Finally something is happening in the hockey world as this Friday, June 26th 2020, we will know who has the rights to the first overall pick....... well probably. A different playoff format calls for a different lottery.

Since 24 teams have qualified for the playoffs, that leaves only 7 teams in the draft lottery. Those teams are the Red Wings, Senators, Devils, Ducks, Kings, Sabres, and Sharks, who’s selection had been traded to the Ottawa Senators on September 13, 2018 when the Sharks acquired 2-time Norris trophy winner Erik Karlsson.

But the draft usually has 15 teams not 7. So, the 8 teams that lose their play-in rounds are eligible for a lottery selection. However, the lottery will sport “placeholders” for play-in round teams, because this is the first time in NHL history the draft lottery is before the playoffs.

So let’s start with the 8 “playoff” teams. Their placeholders are projected to get the picks 8-15. But there’s a solid chance at least one of the draft picks can bounce to the top 3. In fact a team projected a pick between 8-15 has bounced up to the top 3 each of the last 3 draft lotteries. The Chicago Blackhawks got the 3rd overall pick in 2019 when they projected the 12th Pick, and drafted Kirby Dach. The Carolina Hurricanes got the 2nd overall pick in 2018 when they projected the 11th Pick, and drafted Andrei Svechnikov. Lastly, the Philadelphia Flyers got the 2nd overall pick in 2017 when they projected the 13th Pick and drafted Nolan Patrick.

Now, we look at the bottom seven teams. The Red Wings, who have the worst Points Per Game Percentage this year are in line for the first overall pick, with an 18.5% chance. However, the Ottawa Senators being projected the second and third picks (13.5% and 11.5%) combined have higher odds to get the number one pick.

The other teams not in the 24-team playoff have the following odds for number one. The Kings, with 9.5%, the Ducks with 8.5%, the Devils with 7.5%, and the Sabres with 6.5%. The qualifying round losers have between 6% to 1% chance for number 1, which unfortunately must be listed as Team A, Team B, etc. to Team H. Once the play-in Round is over, the NHL can fill these no-name teams with actual NHL teams?

Who do you think will get the #1 pick?

By: Ben Kule