Inside that room, with a practical but simplistic set-up featuring the lottery machine itself, a handful of TV screens and some light snacks, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman initiated the lottery draw process a little bit before 7 p.m. Eastern.
One-by-one, lottery balls numbered one through 14 were loaded into the machine. With the press of a green button, the balls dropped into the cylindrical container, and with the press of a blue button, the balls began to bounce and fly around in the machine.
"Begin," Bettman instructed with a brief wave of his right hand.
Lottery balls were drawn in 15-second intervals. The Buffalo Sabres, the favorite to win the first overall pick with 18.5 percent odds, landed the first winning four-digit combination.
"Release the remaining balls back into the machine, please," Bettman said after ensuring the representatives from the Ernst & Young accounting firm were set for the second lottery draw.
Green button. Balls in.
Blue button. Balls flying.
Fifteen seconds.
Red button. The first ball: 14.
Fifteen seconds.
Red button. The second ball: 5.
Fifteen seconds.
Red button. The third ball: 1.
With one ball left to draw, the
list of 1,001 combinations
had been whittled down to 11 potential four-digit winners. The Hurricanes owned just one of those 11 combinations, a 9.1 percent chance of winning the lottery. Detroit, Vancouver and the New York Islanders also each had a 1-in-11 shot. Buffalo had a 3-in-11 (27.3 percent) chance to win, which would have triggered a redraw, while Ottawa's odds were best to hang on to the second pick, with four of the 11 remaining combinations (36.4 percent).
Red button. The fourth ball: 2.
1, 2, 5, 14.
Representatives from Ernst & Young checked and double-checked the sequence before relaying the winner to Bettman.
"The second selection in the 2018 NHL Draft," he announced, his wide eyes punctuating the significance, "belongs to the Carolina Hurricanes."
