NHL announces dates for NHL Draft Lottery, Combine
Connor Bedard now knows when he’ll learn where he’s going.
The winner of the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery, informally known as the Bedard sweepstakes, will be conducted on Monday, May 8 from the NHL Network studios in Secaucus, New Jersey, the league has announced.
The first round of the 2023 draft will be held Wednesday, June 28 with rounds two through seven set for Thursday, June 29.
Bedard, the consensus No. 1 pick for the 2023 draft, leads all NHL Draft eligibles with 129 points (63 goals, 66 assists) in 50 games for the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League.
By comparison, Connor McDavid logged 120 points (44 goals, 76 assists) in 47 games in his draft-eligible season in 2014-15 with the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League, and Sidney Crosby logged 168 points (66 goals, 102 assists) in 62 games with the Rimouski Oceanic in 2004-05.
The Columbus Blue Jackets currently have the best odds at Bedard and the No. 1 pick with an 18.5% shot via their .3.71 points percentage. The San Jose Sharks are second at 13.5% by way of their .375 mark, and the Chicago Blackhawks, who have logged points at a .388 pace, are third at 11.5%.
Teams that fail to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs are entered into the lottery, or those teams that own first-round picks from non-playoff clubs. The lottery will determine the order for the opening 16 picks in the first round of the 2023 draft at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Only teams finishing 22nd or later in the NHL standings will have a shot at drafting Bedard. Teams can only advance 10 positions by way of a lottery win.
The full lottery odds are as follows:
- 32nd place – 18.5%
- 31st place – 13.5%
- 30th place – 11.5%
- 29th place – 9.5%
- 28th place – 8.5%
- 27th place – 7.5%
- 26th place – 6.5%
- 25th place – 6.0%
- 24th place – 5.0%
- 23rd place – 3.5%
- 22nd place – 3.0%
- 21st place – 2.5%
- 20th place – 2.0%
- 19th place – 1.5%
- 18th place – 0.5%
- 17th place – 0.5%
The NHL also announced the NHL Draft Combine would be held Sunday June 4-Saturday, June 10 in Buffalo.