The NHL Draft Lottery Is Set What It Means For The Blackhawks

The NHL draft lottery is set for June 2nd, and this will be a day that could determine a lot of things this off-season. Believe it or not, the Chicago Blackhawks do have a little bit of hope in getting a high draft pick, all they need is to win the lottery.

The last big date of the off-season was announced by the NHL a few days ago. In a press release from the league on May 19th it was announced when the draft lottery would occur and the odds for every team going into the event.

The Chicago Blackhawks finished the season in a better position than expected. The team did win 24 games this season and as a result, they will be picking later in the draft. Going into this they are projected the 12th pick in the draft, but it is important to note that with Arizona having to forfeit their pick it would actually be the 11th spot.

The Blackhawks won the NHL draft lottery a few years ago when they moved up to third and selected Kirby Dach. Maybe they will get another miracle again and move up to one of the top two spots this time around.

This NHL draft will look different than usual for the entire league and the Blackhawks.

This will be the first NHL draft that only the two top picks are at play. Instead of having the first three picks of the draft-eligible for the lottery, it is just the top two, so Buffalo is basically guaranteed a pick in the top three.

In years past we have seen that worst team fall down to the fourth spot and I think different GMs were tired of moving down that far. Now the reward for tanking is a little better. This will also be the first NHL draft that the Seattle Kraken are participating in. Seattle is going to have a busy couple of months as they put together their NHL team.

The Blackhawks are not really going to get any real game-changers with their selection if it truly is the 11th overall pick, but that is okay as the team as the draft isn’t really where this rebuild was going to speed up. However, there are a lot of players to keep your eye on. 

The draft is another opportunity for the Blackhawks to add to their organization. The joy of landing another top pick would be amazing for this city and its fans. Maybe the NHL and the hockey gods will support a team that played their best this season and reward them with a top draft pick once again.