Draft simulator offers hours of hockey fun

Website rates chances of landing No. 1 pick

By: Ed Tait Posted: 5:23 PM CST Tuesday, Mar. 8, 2016

Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, hockey fans of all ages!

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Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, hockey fans of all ages!

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/03/2016 (3500 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, hockey fans of all ages!

Forget the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon or the Statue of Zeus and behold the true eighth wonder of the World!

We give you the National Hockey League’s Draft Simulator!!!

Markku Ulander/Lehtikuva via AP, File
FILE - In this Jan. 5, 2016, file photo, Auston Matthews, left, and Matthew Tkachuk of the United States, celebrate a goal during the 2016 IIHF World Junior Ice Hockey Championship bronze medal game against Sweden in Helsinki, Finland. — Markku Ulander/Lehtikuva via AP, File FILE - In this Jan. 5, 2016, file photo, Auston Matthews, left, and Matthew Tkachuk of the United States, celebrate a goal during the 2016 IIHF World Junior Ice Hockey Championship bronze medal game against Sweden in Helsinki, Finland.

Who will win the right to call out Auston Matthews’ name this June?

Will it be the Edmonton Oilers who defy the odds and land the first overall pick AGAIN?

Or will Matthews land in the centre of the universe with the moribund Toronto Maple Leafs?

Do the Winnipeg Jets get the NHL’s next generational talent or do they score one of the Fantastic Finns, Patrik Laine or Jesse Puljujarvi?

Take a shot and spin the simulator now!! No charge!!

• • •

The Winnipeg Jets’ 2015-16 season, quite clearly, has not unfolded as so many had hoped. Coming off a franchise-record 99 points and a playoff appearance last spring that was to launch them into the elite in the NHL’s Western Conference, the Jets instead find themselves near the bottom of the overall league standings.

That means that as the remainder of the season plays out, more and more attention will be placed on the NHL Draft Lottery, to be conducted after the regular season to see which teams land the top picks.

And it’s here where the draft lottery simulator — the brainchild of Buffalo native Rob Zaenglein, who came up with it last year during the Connor McDavid/Jack Eichel hype — can be a fun little distraction from the frustrations of watching the Jets play out the string.

The simulator, found online at nhllotterysimulator.com, below on this story, and our Winnipeg Jets page, provides percentages as to chances to win the first overall pick, as well as the updated percentages to selecting second. It also allows fans to hit the reset button and play over and over and over again.

Zaenglein reworked his simulator after this season to include the new draft lottery rules. This year, for the first time, the draft’s first three spots are up for grabs in the lottery. The NHL team with the lowest point total could drop as far as fourth, instead of second, as was the case last year with the Buffalo Sabres.

The simulator also updates the odds of selecting second and third, considering these odds increase proportionally, depending on which team won the previous draw.