The Chicago Blackhawks have won the draft lottery and end up with the first overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, and thus have the right to select sensational prospect Connor Bedard.
Eleven teams were in the running for him, with the Anaheim Ducks holding the best odds to retain the top pick (25.5 per cent). And though Bedard's talent is great enough for this to be called The Connor Bedard Draft, we can't forget that there are other phenomenal talents to be had early in the process.
But Bedard is the one who single-handedly could change the trajectory of the franchise the same way Connor McDavid did for Edmonton, or Auston Matthews did for Toronto. That's what was on the line tonight. See how the night and reveal unfolded in our blog.
Bukala's top 60
Bedard is obviously the headliner, but there are loads of good players in this draft. Here's our guy Jason Bukala's top 60 ranking.
I'd like it to be known that I ran the lottery simulator just once this year, and it went:
— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) May 8, 2023
1. Flyers
2. Ducks
Godspeed to all those involved, for better or for worse.
Lottery Time!
Welcome to our NHL Draft Lottery live blog. I'll be here for every bounce of the ping-pong balls tonight as we find out where Connor Bedard — among others — will land in about seven weeks. To get you started, here's a primer I wrote earlier today that also asks the question, which team deserves Bedard the most?
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