For the first time, the NHL Draft Lottery was broadcast live. The NHL Network aired the event at 7:00 p.m. ET. The league president of content and events promised it would deliver "anticipation like you've never seen in a draft lottery." That seems like a bit of a stretch, as we're still talking about bouncing, numbered ping pong balls.
The broadcast featured live feeds from three different locations, one of which was essentially empty, with the one table of patrons leaving when the cameras went live. Host John Buccigross noted the league rehearsed the drawing multiple times, each with a different result. Rehearsed is a word that typically does not sit well with conspiracy theorists.
Before the start of the lottery, the Calder Memorial Trophy finalists were announced. Matvei Michkov did not make the cut, but Macklin Celebrini (San Jose Sharks), Lane Hutson (Montreal), and Dustin Wolf (Calgary Flames) did. The Calder Memorial Trophy is given to the league's top rookie and is determined by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. In their 57 NHL seasons, the Flyers have never had a Calder Memorial Trophy winner.
The Flyers have also never won the first overall pick, losing in 2007 to Chicago, who picked Patrick Kane first overall, and technically winning in 2017 to pick Nolan Patrick second overall. The Flyers were most likely to pick 13th that year. Vegas ended up there, picking Nick Suzuki. Patrick, whose career was cut short due to migraines, played 222 games in the bigs, finishing with 77 total points. Suzuki finished last season with 89 points in 82 games. He has 375 total points in 455 NHL games. And that was the Flyers' "win."
The NHL Draft Lottery consists of two rounds of drawings, each with four ping pong balls that are drawn. There are a total of 1001 possible number combinations to determine who will win what pick. At first, the balls seemed to be bouncing the Flyers' way. The first three balls chosen were 7, 11, and 12, which moved Philadelphia up to the fourth spot.
There is a 30-second wait between each pick to let the balls continue to randomize as they hop around the machine. As the wait came for the fourth and final ball in the first round, the Flyers had an even chance with the Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins, and New York Islanders to win the top pick. Number 13 was drawn.
By the time the three balls were drawn for the second overall selection, the Flyers were out of contention. With Utah winning and only being able to jump into fourth, the Flyers were pushed down to the lowest they could finish. Talk about disappointment and then some.
The full results of the NHL Draft Lottery are below:
1. New York Islanders
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Chicago Blackhawks
4. Utah Hockey Club
5. Nashville Predators
6. Philadelphia Flyers
7. Boston Bruins
8. Seattle Kraken
9. Buffalo Sabres
10. Anaheim Ducks
11. Pittsburgh Penguins
12. New York Rangers
13. Detroit Red Wings
14. Columbus Blue Jackets
15. Vancouver Canucks
16. Calgary Flames