Sabres win NHL Draft Lottery; 'Canes, Habs move into top 3
The Buffalo Sabres won the NHL Draft lottery Saturday night, securing the first overall pick.
The Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens also made jumps up the selection board, and will pick second and third overall, respectively.
The three picks were announced during the second intermission of Game 2 between the Vegas Golden Knights and San Jose Sharks, with the rest of the lottery results decided earlier in the night.
Related - NHL Draft lottery: Order set for picks 4-15
Here's a look at the entire lottery board:
| Pick | Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Buffalo Sabres |
| 2 | Carolina Hurricanes |
| 3 | Montreal Canadiens |
| 4 | Ottawa Senators |
| 5 | Arizona Coyotes |
| 6 | Detroit Red Wings |
| 7 | Vancouver Canucks |
| 8 | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 9 | New York Rangers |
| 10 | Edmonton Oilers |
| 11 | New York Islanders |
| 12 | New York Islanders (from Calgary) |
| 13 | Dallas Stars |
| 14 | Philadelphia Flyers (from St. Louis) |
| 15 | Florida Panthers |
Three draws were held: the first determined the club selecting first overall, the second determined the club selecting second overall, and the third determined the club selecting third overall. The remaining teams were slotted in accordingly.
The Sabres had the best chance of securing the top pick after being the first team to finish 31st overall in NHL history. Interestingly, Buffalo is only the eighth last-place team to retain the top pick in the NHL Draft lottery, according to NHL Public Relations.
The NHL explained how the other two drawings shook out:
"In the drawing that determined the No. 2 drafting position, the Hurricanes had the 10th-greatest percentage likelihood among the 14 remaining clubs eligible for selection (3.7%) and climbed from No. 11 to No. 2.
"In the drawing that determined the No. 3 drafting position, the Canadiens had the third-greatest percentage likelihood among the 13 remaining clubs eligible for selection (12.1%). After dropping from No. 4 to No. 5 as a result of the second drawing, Montreal climbed to No. 3, improving its drafting position as a result of the Draft Lottery for the first time in franchise history."
The Sabres will almost assuredly select Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin with the first overall pick, adding a blue-chip player to play with franchise center Jack Eichel.