Sharks have best odds to receive No. 1 pick in NHL draft lottery on Monday
Macklin Celebrini had 63-point season after San Jose chose him 1st overall last June
The NHL will hold its draft lottery Monday at 7 p.m. ET with the San Jose Sharks holding the best chance of getting the top pick for a second straight season.
The lottery to determine the top 16 picks in the June draft will be held at the NHL Network's studio in New Jersey and broadcast on ESPN.
The lottery is conducted in two phases with the first to determine the No. 1 pick and the second to determine the No. 2 pick. Teams can only move up 10 spots in the order, meaning only the bottom 11 teams have a chance at the first pick.
This draft is not considered to be one of the stronger ones in recent years at the top with defenceman Matthew Schaefer and centre Michael Misa of the Ontario Hockey League ranked by the league's central scouting bureau as the top two North American skaters available.
"I'm pumped for the lottery," Schaefer, a member of the Erie Otters, told NHL.com. "I would be lucky to be selected by any of the teams. I'm sure everything will work out the way it's supposed to."
The 17-year-old had surgery on Dec. 30 for a broken clavicle suffered three days earlier while playing for Canada at the world junior championship in Ottawa.
In 17 games this season with Erie, Schaefer scored seven goals and 22 points while posting a plus-21 rating.
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid is the most recent Erie player to be drafted first overall to the NHL in 2015.
Misa, who turned 18 on Feb. 16, is the first Saginaw Spirit player to win the Eddie Powers Trophy as OHL top scorer.
The six-foot-one, 184-pounder had 62 goals and 134 points this season, collecting a point in 60 of 65 regular-season contests.
His point total is tied for the most by a player under 18 since 2000 when Toronto Maple Leafs forward John Tavares achieved the feat.
The Sharks won the lottery last year and picked Macklin Celebrini first overall. Celebrini had 25 goals and 63 points in an impressive rookie season but San Jose still finished with the worst record in the NHL.
That gives the Sharks a 25.5 per cent chance of getting the No. 1 pick again, either by winning the lottery or if the teams in the 12th through 16th spots win and can't move up to No. 1.
Chicago has the second-best odds at 13.5 per cent, followed by Nashville at 11.5, Philadelphia at 9.5 and Boston at 8.5. Chicago won the lottery in 2023 and picked Connor Bedard with the first pick.
With files from CBC Sports
