Sad your favorite NHL team won’t be competing for the Stanley Cup this season? If so, mark your calendar for Saturday, April 30th as the league will hold the Draft lottery which will determine which team will pick behind Edmonton first at the upcoming 2016 NHL Draft.
HNIC announces NHL draft lottery will be on April 30th. All Canadian NHL teams interested.
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) March 20, 2016
Don’t forget that the NHL recently changed the rules for the lottery, giving more teams a shot at a top draft pick. Instead of simply handing the first pick to the team with the worst record, the current system only gives the worst record a 20% chance to claim the first pick.
Here’s the lottery odds, courtesy of Sportsnet:
The Oilers most recently proved that an 11.5% chance to win the top pick is more than enough to make it happen. Will the Oilers defy the odds and win the top pick again? It’s possible, but it looks like the Maple Leafs or the Jets may have better odds of winning the first selection – not that percentages or odds will change the Oilers’ inexplicable tradition of drafting first.
A lot can change before the year wraps up, but it’s clear that Canadian hockey fans will be watching closely as all of the teams north of the border will have a chance to earn a pick which may eventually be used on Auston Matthews.
