Coyotes Can Finish First Through Sixth at NHL Draft Lottery

TORONTO --Of the 15 teams eligible to win the 2018 NHL Draft Lottery on Saturday night, the Coyotes have the third-best chance. Only Buffalo and Ottawa are more likely to win the lottery, which is actually three lotteries, not one.
Per the NHL: There will be separate drawings to determine the teams that will pick No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 on Saturday, and the 12 teams not selected in the lottery will be assigned selections Nos. 4-15 in inverse order of regular-season points. Picks Nos. 4-15 will be announced during the "2018 NHL Draft Lottery Show," which begins at 4:30 p.m. (Arizona time). Fans can watch on NBC Sports Network. The top three selections will be revealed during the second intermission of Game 2 of the Western Conference second-round Stanley Cup Playoffs game between San Jose and Vegas, which starts at 5 p.m. (Arizona time) on NBC.

The Sabres, who earned a league-low 62 points in 2017-18, have an 18.5 percent chance to win the first overall pick. Ottawa, which banked 67 points, has a 13.5 percent chance.
Arizona, which tallied 70 points, has an 11.5 percent chance to win the first overall pick. The Coyotes could also end up picking second, third, fourth, fifth or sixth.
Arizona's Possibilities at the 2018 Draft Lottery:
Coyotes will get 1st pick: 11.5 percent chance
Coyotes will get 2nd pick: 11.3 percent chance
Coyotes will get 3rd pick: 11.1 percent chance
Coyotes will get 4th pick: 13.2 percent chance
Coyotes will get 5th pick: 37.7 percent chance
Coyotes will get 6th pick: 15.2 percent chance
Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is considered the grand prize for the team who wins the first overall pick. Draft experts agree he's the top prospect in this year's draft and that he'll likely make an impact in the NHL next season. But there are other elite prospects who will be waiting to be drafted among the top six picks including forwards Andrei Svechnikov, Brady Tkachuk, and Filip Zadina and defensemen Evan Bouchard, Noah Dobson, Quintin Hughes and Adam Boqvist, to name just a few.
"We know we're going to get a good player no matter where we're picking," Coyotes General Manager John Chayka said. "Obviously we're competitive and want to win the lottery, but we feel confident this is a deep draft. It's exciting to have a chance to add another great young player to our existing core."

The Coyotes have selected a prospect within the first six picks of the annual draft only four times since moving from Winnipeg to Arizona in 1996: Blake Wheeler (fifth in 2006), Kyle Turris (third in 2007), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (sixth in 2009), and Dylan Strome (third in 2015).
The 2018 NHL Draft will be staged June 22-23 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Arizona currently owns seven picks in the draft: one in the first round, one in the second round, two in the third round, one in the fourth round, one in the sixth round and one in the seventh round.
Chayka and Coyotes Chief Operating Officer Ahron Cohen will represent the team at the NHL Draft Lottery, which is again being staged at CBC headquarters. Chayka said he's not a superstitious person, so don't look for him to be holding a rabbit's foot and/or a four-leaf clover when the TV cameras show him sitting among the other draft lottery officials.
"I wish it were that easy," Chayka said with a smile. "My approach is to go there and find out where we pick, and then it's my time to go do my job and get us a great player."