The 2008 Scotiabank NHL Draft Lottery Process

I always thought the NHL gave the first draft pick to the worst team from the year before … what I did not realize is that there is a weighted system to determine the order of selection for the first 14 picks and that will take place Monday, April 7, at 8 p.m. ET at the NHL’s New York City office.

As stripped from the pages of NHL.com – “The League, in cooperation with TSN, further announced that the results of the Draft Drawing will be televised live by TSN in Canada; VERSUS in the U.S.; and NHL Network in the U.S. and Canada. Furthermore, the results will be streamed live on NHL.com and TSN.ca and broadcast live on XM Satellite Radio. It will be only the second time the Draft Drawing results will be televised live, and the first time since 2005, when the Pittsburgh Penguins won the right to select first overall and drafted Sidney Crosby.”

So - let me ask you all this - would you believe that they went and sold the rights to this honored and coveted process … the NHL has now named it the “Scotiabank NHL Draft Lottery” … amazing! For those that want to know (and don’t pretend you don’t care) I might be badmouthing it, but I’ll be glued to the TV on April 7th at 8 p.m. ET - it will originate from the NHL on TSN studios in Toronto. TSN’s James Duthie will host the program, with Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie and analyst Mike Milbury.

The Draft Drawing involves Clubs that do not qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, or the Clubs that acquired the first-round drafting positions of those non-playoff clubs. Here is how the super secret formula works (again, according to NHL.com) … the club selected in the Draft Drawing may not move up more than four positions in the draft order. Thus, the only Clubs with the opportunity to receive the first overall selection are the five teams with the lowest regular-season point totals, or the Clubs that acquired an eligible Club’s first-round draft pick. The 2008 NHL Entry Draft will take place at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, Ontario. The first round will take place on Friday, June 20 commencing at 7 p.m. (local time) and the subsequent rounds (two through seven) will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 21. No club will move down more than one position as a result of the Draft Drawing. Under the weighted system, the club with the fewest regular-season points will have the greatest chance (25%) of winning the Draft Drawing and will pick no lower than second. Based on team finish, the percentage chance of being selected in the Draft Drawing is:

30th place team - 25.0%

29th place team - 18.8%

28th place team - 14.2%

27th place team - 10.7%

26th place team - 8.1%

25th place team - 6.2%

24th place team - 4.7%

23rd place team - 3.6%

22nd place team - 2.7%

21st place team - 2.1%

20th place team - 1.5%

19th place team - 1.1%

18th place team - 0.8%

17th place team - 0.5%