The Natonal Hockey League held it's lottery drawing on Tuesday to determine the selection order for the upcoming entry draft at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The Chicago Blackhawks won the lottery and will select first overall.
The drawing uses a weighted lottery system to determine the order of selection for the first fourteen picks. All fourteen of those teams either did not qualify for this season's Stanley Cup Playoffs, or acquired the first-round pick from a non-playoff club.
The Capitals had a 10.7% chance (fourth-best) of moving up to the first position overall. They had the fifth worst record in the league, but the lottery permits teams to move up as many as four places. Washington were not as fortunate as they were three years ago when they won the lottery (and selected Alex Ovechkin). This year, they will have the fifth pick overall.
Here are the first fourteen slots that were determined by Tuesday's lottery:
1. Chicago Blackhawks
2. Philadelphia Flyers
3. Phoenix Coyotes
4. Los Angeles Kings
5. Washington Capitals 6. Edmonton Oilers
7. Columbus Blue Jackets
8. Boston Bruins
9. St. Louis Blues
10. Florida Panthers
11. Carolina Hurricanes
12. Montreal Canadiens
13. Toronto Maple Leafs
14. Colorado Avalanche
The rest of the first round will be determined following the NHL playoffs.
Washington will have an additional first-round pick that has yet to be determined. They will receive the Buffalo Sabres' first round pick courtesy of the trade for Dainius Zubrus at the deadline. In fact, Washington will have two picks in both of the first two rounds, and will have a total of ten picks in the 2007 Draft.
The lottery was held at the NHL's office in New York.
The Draft itself will commence with first round selections on Friday, June 22 at 7 pm ET. Rounds two through seven will begin at 10 am on Saturday, June 23.
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