The Blackhawks time worrying about the NHL Draft Lottery is coming to a close

The Chicago Blackhawks enter tonight's NHL Draft Lottery with the second best odds to take home the first overall pick, a position they are all too familiar with.

Last summer, the Blackhawks sat in the same position, and landed the second overall pick which brought Artyom Levshunov to Chicago. One year prior, the team won the draft lottery and were able to add a franchise altering player in Connor Bedard.

In just a few seasons, the NHL Draft Lottery (and NHL Draft in general) have done wonders in helping to bolster General Manager Kyle Davidson's rebuilding Blackhawks. But like any rebuilding team, there comes a time to take a step and rise towards contention.

The 2024-25 Blackhawks finished the regular season with a 25-46-11 record, good enough for 61 points and the second worst record in the NHL. While expecting the team to jump from lottery favorite to playoff contention might be out of the question, there is no doubt the Hawks are due to take a step forward.

The NHL Draft Lottery needs to be a turning point for the Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks need to play a more competitive game next season and take that next step towards contention. Instead of a 13.5 percent chance at winning the lottery, the Hawks hopefully will be closer to 5 percent, having risen in the standings.

Rebuilding takes time, but winning the draft lottery and sitting at the bottom of the standings year in and year out is not going to help the Hawks group learn how to win.

Matthew Schaefer, Michael Misa, James Hagens, Porter Martone are amongst a long list of prospects the Blackhawks could potentially add this summer through the NHL Draft. Chicago is guaranteed at last the fourth overall pick, so there is a good chance the Hawks will be walking away with a player to be excited about, and hopefully it is one of the last times they are walking in to the lottery with such good positioning.

Tonight's NHL Draft Lottery should be interesting to watch. For the first time, the actually lottery will take place live as fans will watch the ping pong balls fall into place and alter one team's franchise. While the Hawks have some of the best odds, there is still only a 13.5 percent chance they win the lottery, so anything can happen.