Devils win draft lottery; Flyers, Stars move into top 3
Well, that was unexpected.
The New Jersey Devils won the NHL draft lottery Saturday night, securing the first overall pick in June. The Philadelphia Flyers and Dallas Stars also made significant jumps, and will pick second and third overall, respectively.
New Jersey had the fifth-highest odds, entering the lottery with an 8.5 percent chance of landing the top selection, while the Flyers and Stars made even bigger leaps up the draft board.
Philadelphia had only a 2.4 percent chance of getting the second overall pick, and the Stars came into the lottery with only a 6.4 percent shot at getting the No. 3 selection.
The Colorado Avalanche had the best odds of receiving the first overall pick, but fell to fourth, while the Vancouver Canucks slipped to fifth despite having the second-highest odds of nabbing the No. 1 selection.
It was also a disappointing draw for the expansion Vegas Golden Knights, who, along with the Arizona Coyotes, came in holding the third-highest odds of finishing the lottery in the top spot.
Here's the full order for the first 15 picks in the 2017 draft:
| Pick | Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey Devils |
| 2 | Philadelphia Flyers |
| 3 | Dallas Stars |
| 4 | Colorado Avalanche |
| 5 | Vancouver Canucks |
| 6 | Vegas Golden Knights |
| 7 | Arizona Coyotes |
| 8 | Buffalo Sabres |
| 9 | Detroit Red Wings |
| 10 | Florida Panthers |
| 11 | Los Angeles Kings |
| 12 | Carolina Hurricanes |
| 13 | Winnipeg Jets |
| 14 | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| 15 | New York Islanders |
The draft will take place June 23 and 24 at the United Center in Chicago.