One of the most highly anticipated nights on the NHL calendar has finally arrived as the annual NHL Draft Lottery was held to determine which team would have the honor of selecting first and second overall at the 2023 NHL Draft. The 16 teams that failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs all had a chance to win the lottery, though teams can only move up a maximum of ten slots, so the bottom 11 teams in the NHL standings all had a chance of landing the top draft pick.
The results are now in and the Chicago Blackhawks have won the first overall selection in the 2023 NHL Draft. They had the third best odds entering the night, but jumped ahead of the Anaheim Ducks and the Columbus Blue Jackets to win the top pick. The Ducks won the second overall pick and will now step to the podium second at the draft after entering the lottery with the best odds at winning the first overall pick. The Blue Jackets had the second best odds of winning the lottery, but have dropped to third overall.
The now official order of the first 16 picks in the 2023 NHL Draft will go as follows:
- Chicago Blackhawks
- Anaheim Ducks
- Columbus Blue Jackets
- San Jose Sharks
- Montreal Canadiens
- Arizona Coyotes
- Philadelphia Flyers
- Washington Capitals
- Detroit Red Wings
- St. Louis Blues
- Vancouver Canucks
- Arizona Coyotes (via Ottawa Senators)
- Buffalo Sabres
- Pittsburgh Penguins
- Nashville Predators
- Calgary Flames
The prize for winning the first overall pick is a big one this season. Connor Bedard is slated to go with the top selection at the 2023 NHL Draft and he promises to be an exceptional NHL player.
Bedard will not turn 18 years old until July, but he did lead the WHL in goals, assists and points this past season. He scored 71 goals, 72 assists and 143 points in just 57 games. He was away from the team for a few weeks around Christmas to suit up at the World Juniors where he brought his world-class skills to the biggest stage yet. He was named MVP of the tournament after scoring nine goals and 23 points in just seven games, helping Canada claim a gold medal.
Adam Fantilli is likely to be the second player off the board at the draft, but he is an exceptional consolation prize. He won the Hobey Baker Award as the best player in college hockey during his freshman season. Fantilli scored 30 goals and 65 points in just 36 NCAA contests, showing he is ready to take the next step to the NHL immediately after being drafted.
The 2023 NHL Draft will be held in Nashville, Tennessee on June 28.
What a total lottery joke it’s the NHL version of a market rebuild in Chicago.
The NBA Draft lottery has been rigged since the Knicks got Ewing. It’s another way for the league to control the narrative.
Well played! The first to chime in with babbling paranoia!
Exactly. The Warriors had the worst record that year, but the NBA needed the Knicks to be relevant again.
Pretty much looks like the Whole Fox News Trump Conspiracy Nuts have been waiting, Keyboards at the ready to start typing this nonsense. They never disappoint. Most of these teams have had multiple #1 picks and still reek so one wonders why they’re crying. I’m still not sure Bedard is the best pick. Fantilli is an amazing talent. Boo Hoo. The Hawks now have 1-20-and the first pick in the second round and 4 picks in that round. Should be interesting. Davidson is running the draft.
Not sure Bedard is the best pick?
If the NBA is working on behalf of the Knicks, it is doing a poor job. That franchise has not won a title since 1973, has had 27 losing seasons versus 23 winning seasons since that title, and has made the playoffs twice in the past ten years. Your babbling, paranoid theory goes off the rails when facts are introduced.
cp- Bedard is probably the best player, But Fantilli and Carlsson are also elite. Taking any one of the 3 wouldn’t be like a big loss. Fantilli is a stud and Carlsson is big and durable and a great skater. The Russian can’t even come over here until 2027 so I have no idea why anyone would draft him anyway. He could get injured, Sent to the Ukranian front or just plain disappear. I wouldn’t take him all that high. If I was a good team with a late round pick I might gamble because I could get a stud cheap that way. I don’t think being 1st means all that much in this draft. 1-10 all look like studs. The US team that just won the under 18 tournament were phenomenal.
No, these are the MSNBC Russian collision hoaxers here. Sorry to break up your narrative. :)
@gbear unclemike1526 hasnt had his 23rd booster shot. Leave the guy alone with his misery
While I agree that Fantilli’s NCAA season was awesome (Leading scorer and Hobey Baker winner playing against guys in their early 20s), Bedard was clearly superior at the World Juniors Tourney.
One other factor to consider: Bedard is over 9 months YOUNGER than Fantilli! Bedard also looks his age, while Fantilli has a full beard at 18. Bedard is already better, plus he is still growing.
i smell bettman …lol congrats hawks
Nice effort but you only get the silver.
And you get the booby prize for worst, most cowardly trolling ever, pu ssyhockey. Your usual chickensh it snark and run
Wow, epic blast. It is duly noted that you did not actually dispute my posts.
Pu ssyhockey I won’t dispute anything you ever write, because you have a long track record of trolling and running. Why should I argue with the air? I got better things to do. Just because you answer once out of a couple hundred snark and runs, doesn’t mean you all of a sudden grew a pair. And you chose one of the easier subjects to make a stand on. Try defending something like, I dunno, something about what happens on the ice, and I might be impressed. You’re still the biggest coward on the internet. Wuss.
Oooo scary internet muscles
@roob
Defending the cowardly troll. Interesting
That organization should have been drafting last in every round for their coverups.
want some cheese with that wine? everyone involved or was playing on that team is gone now
That’s a non sequitur.
Actually it is not. Nice effort though.
So the NHL never considered the possibility that one of their most marketable new stars will now be pulling on the jersey of a team penalized for covering up sexual assault barely 1.5 years ago? I’ve seen teams get picks taken away over salary cap violations, but they didn’t think to avoid this scenario?
Sloppy and rigged. Woof
Come on man, you know you’ve got better conspiracy complaints than that. Dig into your playbook and entertain us!
So are you a bot or just a jazzed Blackhawks fan?
@meatmachine
He’s a cowardly little troll, who snarks and runs. Doesn’t have the guts to respond when you challenge him on one of his inane hit and run remarks. I call him pu ssyhockey, because he’s more pu ssy than dog
Lol you picked 1/8th of the league and feel vindicated for your prediction months ago, as a Blackhawks fan I’m so happy this was rigged LETS GOOOO
Simply amused by the babbling, paranoid crowd that infest these sites every year at lottery time. Not a Hawks fan.
Sloppy and smelled funny to me.
I believe it’s time to end the lottery in the NHL. It’s been fixed for years by Bettman and his cronies making sure the teams they like get the top picks and the teams they hate get screwed! Would prefer to see teams getting the benefit they “earned” by suffering through such bad seasons
Any evidence of this conspiracy? And by evidence, I mean factual proof, not the stuff that pours out of your melon this time every year.
Kleenex to all those crying
Hey pu ssyhockey, any evidence that you’re man enough to actually defend a point of view, and not snark and run, like your usual cowardly self? You’re the Brad Marchand of hockey trolls. Start something, then runaway, like the chickensh it you are.
Rent free
@AndyMeyer
Cowards simultaneously amuse and disgust me. Pu ssyhockey is a train wreck of a human, and it’s fun to watch him do what he accuses others of doing. Classic projection
Dude who cares? It’s a hockey chat. You’ll probably never see this person in your life. Let it go. You’ll be much better off
@AndyMeyer
You care, since you brought it up again two weeks later. I’d forgotten about it. You should get off your own high horse before you lecture others.
Haven’t been on the site in 2 weeks and saw your initial response. My high horse? Ok dude. And if you think me giving you some useful advice is “lecturing”, then maybe you’ve got more important things to worry about
Bedard welcome to Chicago.
Such a joke I am convinced of two things the NHL hates Detroit and never wants them to be good again, and the lottery every year is rigged so a big market team wins. I called this months ago and said Bedard will end up in Chicago, Montreal, Philly, or Anaheim. So predictable
Next year it will be Trono, LOL
Anaheim is not like those others lol
Not sure how Anaheim fits your metric, but I do agree with the point you’re making. I don’t wanna be the tinfoil hat guy, but really? This felt like Chicago the second they decided to rebuild.
What part don’t you understand? The NHL just made sure their best two prospects in years wound up in the Chicago and LA TV markets. Bettman wasn’t going to put Bedard in Columbus, and I’m sure he feels he’s doing everything in his power to keep the Coyotes in Arizona. Besides, the Yotes probably got the best player at #3 last year in Cooley.
And based on the odds in the lottery those four teams had a combined 54% chance of getting him.
Your prediction is less impressive than guessing the outcome of a coin flip.
Seriously? They want large markets to get the best players so they rig it for Montreal the year BEFORE Bedard? Slavkofsky is their big prize?
Or maybe they didn’t rig it last year?
Expected
When you attempt to bribe a federal judge with $152M+, do you really think Gary is going to let Anaheim win the NHL Draft
Lottery? No secret Gary hates
Henri& Susan.
Wait, somebody tried to bribe a federal judge?
When you attempt to bribe a federal judge with $152M+, do you really think Gary is going to let Anaheim win the NHL Draft
Lottery? No secret Gary hates
Henri&Susan and wanted to force them to sell.
Wait, somebody tried to bribe a federal judge?
Why does he hate them???
When you attempt to bribe a federal judge with $152M+, do you really think Gary is going to let Anaheim win the NHL Draft
Lottery? No secret Gary hates
Henri& Susan.
Wait, somebody tried to bribe a federal judge?
I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but man that felt rigged. I can’t imagine what the league’s rational was for doing this year, of all years, behind closed doors.
They did the Crosby sweepstakes offscreen, which only lends itself to allegations of improper things going on. Rightfully so too, this should all be out and in the open for all to witness.
Interesting idea. Yet, Pittsburgh is not a large market. If it were rigged, why send Crosby there? Wouldn’t the league be better off if Crosby went to LA, NY, Chi, or Philly?
Pittsburgh was struggling at the time and there was talks of relocation. Not saying it was rigged but without Crosby the Pens may have moved.
Don’t you dare argue with facts when it’s your “feelings” and “beliefs” that makes things true.
I
Pittsburgh was moving and Mario was leaving, what better way to pass the torch? Again, when working offscreen it lends itself to cries of being rigged. There is not one legit reason why the whole process couldn’t play out on tv right in front for all of the audience to witness.
Pittsburgh was moving and Mario was leaving, what better way to pass the torch? Again, when working offscreen it lends itself to cries of being rigged. There is not one legit reason why the whole process couldn’t play out on tv right in front for all of the audience to witness.wait, somebody really tried to bribe a judge? LOL!
Why can’t the drawing be conducted live?
Or just conduct the whole show on stage on screen, with all balls being pulled live.
Dave really really really (3x) wanted everyone to read that comment. Lol
So predicatble. 100% rigged. I saw this coming a mile away.
If your team had won it, would you still say it was rigged?
Wild fans are cringing everywhere and are not happy at this.
Not only can we now stand Chicago already but not this kid(who will not be popular in the state off hockey)
Honestly if I was bedard I wouldn’t sign with the hawks after that sexual abuse fiasco.
I agree. I would tell them I’m going to Anaheim. Don’t bother with me.
Thanks Uncle Gary!
Sounds like alot of whiny socalled fans who have the guts to call out the commissioner and the greatest professional sports league in the world with ZERO PROOF of any cheating or wrong doing. Alot of you sound like CNN. LAZY JOURNALISTS.
Amen
I seriously think this whole draft lottery was completely rigged! teams 16 through 4 were identical. and did anyone notice right before they went to commercial break with the top three picks left to be drawn Kevin weeks on the NHL Network said and now we have our first change in the position with Columbus fall on the third but they hadn’t even shown who came in third. I’m telling him I didn’t want it this guy to go to Chicago they want the Blackhawks to be good not completely think it was rigged
@bumpy
Yeah, I did notice that. Kevin spilled the beans. Velly interesting.
Saw that too….the network had the results prior to the broadcast
Duh. The drawing was held before the show. Maybe even days before. They had to set the stage up in the right way so people knew. Stop trying to make something out of nothing. When Columbus fell from 2 o 3 It was obvious that was a change.
McDavid went to Edmonton after all their top picks.
It’s not rigged kids. If it was McJesus would be in a better market in the US
Ducks tanked with precision. And alas.
The issue is not about the draft lottery as there is no proof of anything amiss. The question is why was Chicago not penalized in the draft process as the Blackhawks Sexual Assault Scandal was worse than anything that Phoenix did to forfeit their first round pick. The loss of a first rounder is much more punishment than the $2M fine to the organization. The other penalties were applied to individuals not the club itself.
I know it sounds fishy with these results, but the Athletic had an article about the draft. Each team had a representative present to watch. It wasn’t just Bettman and his cronies present. I would think Anaheim would say something had something amiss occurred.
So now the question is how much did Anaheim get bribed to not say anything…
Who was that guy Bettman looked at and asked who those numbers pointed to? The guy looked down at the papers and then said Chicago Blackhawks. How do we know we can trust that guy? Someone needs to look at his papers.
I’m siding with the fix – Why is it Black Hawks, Rangers, Devils, Maple Leafs and years ago Penguins always won the draft lottery, but the smaller market teams never do?
Buffalo won twice too
Yeah, but the years they got it, they only ended up with ok talent. They generational prospects always seem to end up in the major markets.
Pittsburgh, NYR and Toronto have only won the lottery once, which is a far cry from ALWAYS. Nice omission of Edmonton, who along with Florida and Chicago have won the most lotteries. Chicago won one over Philly, so it’s really hard to say a big market fix was in there.
Edmonton had the overall #1 pick 4 times between 2010 – 2015
Edmonton had the overall #1 pick 4 times between 2010 – 2015. Aren’t they considered small market?
Edmonton had the overall number 1 pick 4 times between 2010 – 2015. Aren’t they considered small market?
Conner McDavid?
Uhhh, This is the SECOND time ever the Hawks have had the #1 Pick. So how exactly have they won the MOST lotteries Conspiracy boy?
Chicago only won it once before cause they been a championship caliber team for MOST of the last 15yrs
Im a hawks fan and ive been saying for months, Chicago gets him, the NHL will rig it to put him in a market who can actually sell out games, Anaheim and Columbus can’t even for a playoff game
If he had gone to arizona then i would believe gary would have fixed it. . personally i wanted him to go to chicago, ,detroit, , montreal , vancouver ,. somewhere people like hockey. will enjoy his skill..
#NHLDRAFTLOTTERYRIGGED
Of course they did.. the star players can’t be in a smaller market.. the Rangers making the playoffs in 2020 somehow were eligible to participate in the lottery that year gets the first pick. The system is definitely rigged
The NHL channel broadcast had a hiccup that proves it was rigged.
After the #4 card was overturned for the Sharks the announcer stated that “we have our first change in the order as Columbus will pick #3.” They then went to a commercial. The #3 card reveal was not shown until AFTER the commercial. And what a surprise, it was Columbus.
How does that prove it was rigged?
Ya i don’t know why people think that means it was rigged. Cant it just simply mean they knew the results before the show and Weekes ruined the suspense accidentally?
Rigged!!
Who was that guy who looked at a bunch of papers and told Bettman Blackhawks won? Let’s see his papers. He was told to say that. The ping pong balls mean nothing.
If you’re basing your stupid conspiracy theory on the fact that Kevin Weekes blurted it out you aren’t qualified to use a steak knife at the dinner table because you’ll probably cut your hand off. You’re even dumber than he is. Let’s face it, There isn’t anybody on an NHL telecast that can spell cat if you spotted them the c and the a. There are no Mensa members there. In fact between periods I change the channel because I feel myself slipping away into GED land. He knew the results he was just too stupid to announce it the way he was supposed to even though he probably had it on the teleprompter in front of him.
Here’s how you avoid the whole “it’s fixed” debate: Stop rewarding bad behavior with more lottery balls! Imagine the increased competition during the regular season if the higher you finished in the standings resulted in being higher in the draft order? No more tanking for better draft odds!
Or, just conduct the whole lottery process on stage in full view of the cameras. Nothing needs to be done back stage and/or in advance of the LIVE production.
That’s not going to fix it. So the team with the most points gets more lottery balls. Make the better the best? more points = more balls. Got it
No, you didn’t get it. What I’m saying is that teams draft order be based on where they finish in the standings. Incentivise trying to win games instead of losing them.
Too many fans are living in a pre-salary cap era. If a team drafts top end players, they have to pay them eventually, which leaves more UFA’s available for other teams to sign. The current system allows organizations to do endless rebuilds and continue to reward them for being lousy.
I wonder when is Bedard going to tell the Hawks he wants to play for Anaheim? So, don’t bother drafting him.