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05/05 18:55 CDT New York Islanders win the NHL draft lottery, securing the No.
1 selection. Sharks will pick second
New York Islanders win the NHL draft lottery, securing the No. 1 selection.
Sharks will pick second
By JOHN WAWROW
AP Hockey Writer
The New York Islanders won the NHL draft lottery on Monday and vaulted nine
teams, including the last-place San Jose Sharks, in winning the opportunity to
have the No. 1 pick.
The Islanders, who finished 10th in the standings and are in the midst of a
front-office change, overcame having just a 3.5% chance to winning the lottery.
New York has the right to pick first for the fifth time in team history, and
first since selecting John Tavares with the No. 1 pick in 2009.
Utah won the second lottery drawing and made the jump from 14th to fourth under
the rules limiting teams from moving up no more than 10 spots in the draft
order.
The Sharks will pick second after entering the day with the best odds, 18.5%,
to win the lottery and a 25.5% chance of landing the No. 1 choice. San Jose,
which finished last for a second consecutive year, was seeking to become the
NHL's first team to win the lottery and pick first in consecutive years.
The Chicago Blackhawks had the second-best chances to win the lottery and will
pick third.
The Islanders' jump from 10th to first is the biggest involving a team winning
the No. 1 selection. And it comes after the last-place team won the lottery to
retain the first pick in four of the past five years.
The New York Rangers enjoyed the previous largest move up to No. 1 in 2020,
when they were grouped among eight teams --- ranked eighth to 15th --- with the
same odds to win the lottery after being eliminated in the COVID-altered
play-in round of the expanded 24-team playoff format.
This year's draft will be held in Los Angeles with the first round taking place
on June 27, followed by the final six rounds the next day. Top prospects will
convene for the weeklong predraft combine being held in Buffalo next month.
The prospect pool is not considered as deep at the top as last year's class,
when the Sharks selected Boston University freshman Macklin Celebrini with the
first pick, or next year's group, with Canadian junior forward Gavin McKenna
long regarded as the No. 1 candidate.
Erie Otters defenseman Matthew Schaefer is NHL Central Scouting's top-ranked
North American prospect followed by OHL Saginaw center Michael Misa and Boston
College center James Hagens, the top-ranked U.S. born prospect.
Listed at 6-foot-2 and 183 pounds, Schaefer maintained his No. 1 position
despite missing the final three months of the season after breaking his right
collarbone representing Canada at the world junior championships in December.
"Schaefer easily projects as a future All-Star in the NHL," central scouting VP
Dan Marr said. "He is the complete package playing a dynamic style that
generates results and influences the outcome of games."
Schaefer has the potential of becoming only the fifth defenseman selected No. 1
since 2000, and first since Buffalo chose Owen Power in 2021. And he also has
the chance of being the first OHL player to go No. 1 since Edmonton drafted
Erie's Connor McDavid in 2015.
The top-ranked international skaters are center Anton Frondell and right wing
Victor Eklund, who are teammates with Djurgarden of Sweden's second division
league. Frondell had 11 goals and 25 points in 25 games last season in posting
the second-most points by a second-division player 17 or younger, behind only
current Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander in 2013-14.
The lottery was held at the NHL Network studios in New Jersey, and conducted
live for the first time in the event's 30-year history. Previously, the lottery
was held shortly before the broadcast in front of a limited audience of
sequestered observers, followed by the draft selections being revealed in
reverse order.
Two draws were held, the first to determine the No. 1 pick followed by the No.
2 selection. Only the bottom 11 of the standings were eligible to land the
first pick due to a rule restricting teams from moving up no more than 10 spots
in the draft order. The remaining 14 draft spots will be determined following
the playoffs.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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