It’s more draft lottery misery for the Vancouver Canucks.
The Canucks will pick 10th, moving down from the ninth position. It’s the fourth year in a row that the team has dropped, never mind actually winning a top-three draft pick.
For the second time in three drafts, the New Jersey Devils have won the draft lottery, moving up from the third position. The New York Rangers claimed the second pick, moving up from No. 6.
The Chicago Blackhawks moved up the most spots, vaulting ahead of the Canucks from No. 12 to No. 3.
Image: Sportsnet
On an individual level, dropping to 10th wasn’t a highly improbable result. The Canucks had a 30.7% chance of dropping to 10th and a 48.8% chance of holding ninth spot. They had just a 16% chance of claiming a top-three pick, and just a 5% shot at winning the top pick.
But on the heels of three straight years in which they dropped in the lottery? It’s a tough pill the swallow for Canucks Nation.
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The Canucks’ run of futility, resulting in them being one of the worst teams in the NHL for the past four seasons, has coincided with the NHL expanding the draft lottery to include a raffle of the top three picks. Prior to 2016, the NHL Draft Lottery was a game of chance for only the first overall pick.
“It would have been nice to win and pick in the top three,” Benning told Sportsnet’s David Amber, finding a way to laugh through his misery. “We feel strongly that at 10, we’re going to get a real good player to add to the group of young players that we have right now.”
Vancouver has selected 10th overall on six other occasions in their history, taking Cody Hodgson (2008), Luc Bourdon (2005), Brad Ference (1997), JJ Daigneault (1984), Garth Butcher (1981), and Rick Blight (1975).
The Canucks are the hosts of the 2019 NHL Draft, taking place June 21 and 22 at Rogers Arena.
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