Devils win draft lottery, Jets fall to 13th pick

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This article was published 01/05/2017 (3275 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Jets were not so lucky at this year’s NHL draft lottery.

A year ago, the Jets struck it rich when they moved up four slots in the lottery and went on to select superstar Finnish right-winger Patrik Laine No. 2 overall at the 2016 NHL Draft.

On Saturday night, the Jets dropped from 12th to 13th in the draft order during the NHL’s televised lottery on Sportsnet.

The No. 1 pick went to the New Jersey Devils, followed by the Philadelphia Flyers and Dallas Stars, who will choose second and third, respectively.

The Devils are expected to make a choice between the two top-rated players (both forwards) in the draft — Nolan Patrick of the Western Hockey League’s Brandon Wheat Kings, and Nico Hischier of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Halifax Mooseheads.

Patrick, a Winnipeg product, has been the No. 1-ranked player all season. His status as the top player available has been challenged by the Swiss-born Hischier’s superb play this season.

Patrick has also been hampered by hernia surgery last summer and a subsequent upper-body injury that limited him to 35 games during the 2016-17 regular season.

He was also unable to play during the WHL post-season because of a lower-body injury suffered when he was slewfooted by an opponent.

The draft lottery is a weighted system devised to determine the order of selection of non-playoff teams plus the expansion Vegas Golden Knights in the first round of the draft, which is slated for June 23 to 24 in Chicago.

The odds heading into Saturday’s lottery gave the Jets a 76.4 per cent chance of drafting in the 12th-overall slot, based on their 20th-overall finish during the 2016-17 regular season.

Winnipeg’s chance of winning the top pick was 2.705 per cent, while the odds of getting the second or third pick were 2.9 per cent and 3.2 per cent, respectively.

The Flyers moved up from 13th, bumping the Jets back one spot. The Stars, meanwhile, made the leap up from No. 8.

Kevin Cheveldayoff, who has been Winnipeg’s GM since the franchise transferred from Atlanta in 2011, has an impressive track record of first-round selections — Mark Scheifele (2011), Jacob Trouba (2012), Josh Morrissey (2013) and Nikolaj Ehlers (2014).

He added forwards Jack Roslovic and Kyle Connor in the first round of 2015 before selecting Laine and towering defenceman Logan Stanley in the opening round a year ago.

The Jets would prefer to be a playoff team next season and thereby excluded from consideration for the draft lottery.

In a pre-lottery interview, Sportsnet’s John Shannon told Cheveldayoff: “I mean this sincerely, I don’t want to see you next year.”

A smiling Cheveldayoff responded: “I’m not coming back.”

The Colorado Avalanche, which had the best odds to win the lottery, fell to No. 4, while the Vancouver Canucks and Golden Knights will choose fifth and sixth, respectively.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @sawa14