Tonight, the NHL holds the most significant draft lottery in almost a decade. In 2015, the Edmonton Oilers moved up from third to first, winning the right to select the last “generational talent” to enter the league, Connor McDavid.
The prize this year is another Connor: Bedard. He’s been hyped for years, and has lived up to or exceeded every hyperbolic statement about his game. He’s a remarkable young player who will change the trajectory of the team that wins tonight’s lottery, which is why teams like the Chicago Blackhawks circled this draft lottery more than a year ago and planned their 2022-23 seasons accordingly.
Chicago owns six picks in the first two rounds of the 2023 NHL Draft, but only one — their own at the top of the first round — will be impacted by tonight’s process.
Broadcast Info
Puck Drop:
TV: ESPN
What are the Blackhawks’ Lottery Odds?
With all due respect to Han Solo, I do have to tell you the odds now…
Recent Draft Lottery Changes
Beginning in 2021, the NHL cut the number of lottery draws from three to two, guaranteeing the team with the worst record selects no later than third overall if it loses the first and second lottery draws.
Starting in 2022, the NHL made another change. The number of spots that a team can move up if it wins the lottery has been limited to 10 picks, so the No. 1 pick is only in play for the bottom 11 teams in the league. There are two other teams in the Central Division — Arizona and St. Louis — that can move up to No. 1 overall this year. Fingers are equally crossed that neither of them move in front of the Blackhawks.
If two other teams win the lottery and move in front of the Blackhawks, the wors🎀t they can draft is f🀅ifth overall.
Also beginning last year, the NHL adopted the rule that no team can move up the draft board by winning a lottery more than two times in a five-year period. No team in this year’s lottery has moved up in the previous five years. You can see the .
