According to the Flyer’s website, the Chicago Blackhawks, in the NHL’s New York offices, had the lucky ping-pong balls fall their way, winning the NHL Entry Draft Lottery. This means Chicago, with just an 8% chance of winning the lottery, vaults from the #5 pick to the #1 pick overall, bumping the Caps from selecting #4 (based on their standings finish) to #5.
30th-place Philadelphia now drafts #2 overall, Phoenix slips to third, Los Angeles falls to fourth, and the Caps come in fifth. This was the worst position the Caps could have finished.
For those looking for how the draft was conducted, Mike Vogel does an excellent job of explaining the rules and the nuances of the lottery here, but the long and short of it is that every non-playoff club was entered, and each team could rise a maximum of four spots of the draft order; therefore, only teams in the top 5 were eligible to win the #1 overall pick.
Opposite of the result today, the Caps have had noted lottery success before, winning the right to draft uber-winger Alex Ovechkin on April 6th, 2004, jumping from the #3 spot.
What’s on the line this year? That’s an interesting question. This year’s draft is considered to be without a true Ovechkin- or Crosby- level pick, and the top-end talent isn’t thought to be comparable to the past few drafts. Center Kyle Turris and winger Jakub Voracek are considered to be the two players with true franchise-level ability by some, but they haven’t really separated themselves from the pack. London Knights winger Patrick Kane had an excellent showing in the WJC’s for the U.S., but questions remain.
Below are the most recent prospect rankings from three leading scouting services:
| ISS | McKeen’s | Red Line Report | |
| 1 |  Jakub Voracek / RW |
 Pat Kane / LW |
Pat Kane / LW |
| 2 | Pat Kane / LW |
 Kyle Turris / RW |
Jakub Voracek / RW |
| 3 |  Alexei Cherepanov / C |
Alexei Cherepanov / C |
Kyle Turris / RW |
| 4 | Kyle Turris / RW |
Karl Alzner / D |
Karl Alzner / D |
| 5 | James van Riemsdyk / LW |
Logan Couture / C |
James van Riemsdyk / LW |
| 6 | Karl Alzner / D |
James van Riemsdyk / LW |
Logan Couture / C |
| 7 | Sam Gagner / C |
Jakub Voracek / RW |
Sam Gagner / C |
| 8 | Maxim Mayorov / LW |
Brandon Sutter / C |
Angelo Esposito / C |
| 9 | Keaton Ellerby / D |
Sam Gagner / C |
Alexei Cherepanov / C |
| 10 | Logan Couture / C |
Keaton Ellerby / D |
Mark Katic / D |
3 Comments
The under 18s starting tomorrow should help evaluate a few of the top end picks. Cherepanov/Riemsdyk/Turris/Couture.
Trade it.
Red Line has Cherepanov all the way down at No. 9? Yeesh…
Strange draft class. Maybe Philly would be interested in two top 5 picks?
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