The NHL Draft Lottery is scheduled for next Monday, May 5th. For the second consecutive season, the San Jose Sharks have the best odds of securing the coveted first overall selection.
This lottery, which will determine the order of the top 16 selections in the upcoming June draft, will take place at the NHL Network`s studio in New Jersey and will be televised.
The lottery process involves two drawings: one for the first overall pick and another for the second. A key rule is that teams can only advance by a maximum of 10 spots in the draft order, effectively limiting eligibility for the first overall pick to the 11 teams with the lowest regular-season point totals.
Analysts do not widely regard the top prospects in this draft class as being as strong as in some recent years. According to the league`s central scouting bureau, the leading North American skaters are defenseman Matthew Schaefer and center Michael Misa, both from the Ontario Hockey League.
Last year, the Sharks won the lottery and selected Macklin Celebrini first overall. Despite Celebrini`s strong rookie performance (25 goals, 38 assists), San Jose finished the recent season with the league`s worst record.
This season`s finish grants the Sharks a 25.5% chance of securing the No. 1 pick again. This percentage includes the possibility of winning the lottery drawing itself, or if a team ranked 12th through 16th wins a drawing but is ineligible to move up to first overall (due to the 10-spot limit), allowing the top pick to default to the team with the best odds.
The Chicago Blackhawks hold the second-best odds at 13.5%, followed by the Nashville Predators (11.5%), Philadelphia Flyers (9.5%), and Boston Bruins (8.5%). Chicago previously won the 2023 lottery and selected Connor Bedard first overall.
Complete First Overall Pick Drawing Odds:
- San Jose Sharks (18.5%)
- Chicago Blackhawks (13.5%)
- Nashville Predators (11.5%)
- Philadelphia Flyers (9.5%)
- Boston Bruins (8.5%)
- Seattle Kraken (7.5%)
- Buffalo Sabres (6.5%)
- Anaheim Ducks (6%)
- Pittsburgh Penguins (5%)
- New York Islanders (3.5%)
- New York Rangers (3%)
- Detroit Red Wings (2.5%)
- Columbus Blue Jackets (2%)
- Utah Hockey Club (1.5%)
- Vancouver Canucks (0.5%)
- Calgary Flames (0.5%)
The 2025 NHL Entry Draft is scheduled for June 27-28.
Tristan Blackwood