NEWSLETTER
In a mostly chalk NHL Draft Lottery, the Chicago Blackhawks came in with the 12th-best odds to win the top overall pick and finished exactly where they were supposed to with the 11th overall pick. That may sound confusing, but remember the Arizona Coyotes, which originally held the 11th-best odds, are forfeiting their first-round selection this year.
The only drama on the night was when the Seattle Kraken moved from the third-overall pick to the second-overall pick. Could you imagine still acting a brand new franchise with an Expansion Draft AND the top overall pick? So close.
It was a long-shot for the Blackhawks with just a 2.7% chance at the top overall pick, and a 2.9% chance at the second-overall pick, but the dream of repeating the luck of the 2019 Draft Lottery was fresh in the minds of Blackhawks fans when they moved from the 12th pick to the third pick and landed Kirby Dach.
Here are the final lottery results for this July’s NHL Draft:
1. Buffalo Sabres
2. Seattle KrakenÂ
3. Anaheim Ducks
4. New Jersey Devils
5. Columbus Blue Jackets
6. Detroit Red Wings
7. San Jose Sharks
8. Los Angeles Kings
9. Vancouver Canucks
10. Ottawa Senators
11. Chicago Blackhawks
12. Calgary Flames
13. Philadelphia Flyers
14. Dallas Stars
15. New York Rangers
*Arizona must forfeit its first-round pick for violating the NHL’s combine testing policy
This year’s NHL Draft is going to be one of the more interesting ones to date. Not because of the talent in the draft class, but because of how teams are going to evaluate that talent. Every prospect in this year’s draft class had to deal with the COVID-19 Pandemic affecting their season in one way or another. Some prospects had shortened or canceled seasons, some had to travel out of their home countries to play even just a half season. And even not just factoring in the traveling or lack of games, but of course having to deal with staying healthy on and off the ice. It’s truly one of the weirdest years for talent evaluation and there isn’t a clear-cut, unanimous top prospect in the draft class.
With the dust settled, the Blackhawks can now narrow down their draft board for first-round picks as they know now they will be selecting 11th overall in this July’s NHL Draft. The following round, second through seventh, are determined by regular season standings. The Blackhawks currently hold eight picks in this year’s Draft, including three in the first two rounds.
