All the hype leading up to the NHL’s Draft Lottery, and all the excitement that was in the air leading up to the big day, came to an end in a snap of a finger as we have finally found out who will be drafting first overall and subsequently drafting the next generational talent in the upcoming draft that is being held on the 28-29th of June in Nashville.
The Philadelphia Flyers, who finished 7th-last in the NHL’s standings, received the 7th overall selection in a draft lottery that had no changes until the top 3 picks were announced. The Chicago Blackhawks won the draft lottery as they jumped 2 spots to nab the first overall pick, the Anaheim Ducks dropped one spot to 2nd, and the Columbus Blue Jackets dropped one spot to 3rd.
The Connor Bedard sweepstakes were tantalizing for everyone involved, but the likelihood of the Flyers jumping up to first overall was very unlikely as they stood with a 6.5% chance. Even for second overall they held a 6.9% chance, and a very minuscule 0.2% chance for third.
At 7th overall, the Flyers will have a bevy of options to choose from even if the top-6 goes the way many have projected it to fall. Bedard, Adam Fantilli, Leo Carlsson, Matvei Michkov, Will Smith, and Zach Benson could (and should) all be off the board by the time Daniel Brière and company make their way to the podium. Oliver Moore, Eduard Sale, Dalibor Dvorsky, and Ryan Leonard should all be looked at intensely, should the dominos fall as previously mentioned.
The Blue Jackets were primed for the best odds to draft Bedard for most of the season but after winning their final game of the season, coupled with the Ducks’ long losing streak to end theirs, the Blue Jackets dropped to 31st and held the second-best chances. Things only got worse for them as the Blackhawks jumped from 3rd-last to 1st, but even without Bedard off the board, the Ducks and Blue Jackets will be drafting a transcendent talent to add to their loaded pipelines.
The Blackhawks lucked out and are currently in a very interesting spot moving forward. They have over $41 million in cap space this summer, they don’t have any contracts outside of Seth Jones and Connor Murphy signed through beyond 2023-24, and with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews moving on and/or retiring, they are perfectly ushered into the Bedard-era.
They entered last year’s draft with 0 first round picks but ended the night with 3 selections after making several moves to get into the first round. This year they have 2 first round picks, 4 second round picks, and 2 third round picks, as well as a fourth, fifth, and seventh rounder.
As for the Flyers, they will add a great young talent to the likes of Cutter Gauthier, Tyson Foerster, Bobby Brink, Elliot Desnoyers, and Emil Andrae, among others.
