This Saturday the Golden Knights will have a 10.3% chance to win the NHL Draft Lottery and be awarded the first selection in June’s Entry Draft. It’s the first time Vegas will participate in an NHL “competition” against the Original 30, and while we have no clue what kind luck the new franchise will have, we can only hope GM George McPhee’s luck carries over.
McPhee has been a general manger in the NHL for 17 years, six of which is Capitals missed the playoffs and were in the lottery.
| Year | Finish (to last) | Lottery Odds | Pick Number | Draft Selection |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 5th | 8.1%* | 7th | Kris Beech |
| 2002 | 12th | 0% | 12th | Steve Eminger |
| 2004 | 3rd | 14.2% | 1st | Alex Ovechkin |
| 2006 | 4th | 10.7% | 4th | Nicklas Backstrom |
| 2007 | 4th | 10.7% | 5th | Karl Alzner |
| 2014 | 14th | 0.5% | 13th | Jakub Vrana |
*In 1999 the Thrashers joined the league. The Internet struggled back then, so finding exact odds was tough. If anyone finds them, let me know
Hopefully McPhee is partying like it’s 2004. With just a few percentage points more than the Golden Knights will have this year, McPhee hit the lottery and jumped up to get Ovi.
Of course there’s also 2006 and 2007 when the Capitals had similar numbers to the Golden Knights and were not lucky enough to win the lottery.
Based on most accounts the top two players are a cut above the rest, so really the goal for the Golden Knights is to win one of the first two lotteries. (Here’s our breakdown on how the lottery works) They have around a 21% chance to do that.
The key to the lottery is always twofold. First, who attends. Second, what they bring as a good luck charm. Despite my endless questioning which has annoyed many in the Golden Knights organization, they have yet to announce who will represent Vegas in Toronto on Saturday.
The obvious options are George or The Creator to attend. But there are also the dark horse options such as Micha Donskov, Vaughn Karpan, or Kerry Bubolz. The good luck charm should be clear… Stanley the Golden Rooster.
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Be sure to join us at Miller’s Ale House on Saturday to watch the lottery. SinBin.vegas is throwing a party to celebrate the first time Vegas beats the rest of the NHL. Please come out and have fun with us.
James
@Ken Boehlke
‘Despite my endless questioning which has annoyed many in the Golden Knights organization, they have yet to announce who will represent Vegas in Toronto on Saturday.
The obvious options are George or The Creator to attend. But there are also the dark horse options such as Micha Donskov, Vaughn Karpan, or Kerry Bubolz.’
I’m 99% sure all the general managers in the NHL Draft Lottery were in attendance last year for the Sportsnet made-for-television event. It is worth noting that seven Canadian teams were in the lottery hunt for first-overall
PhiSig 150
We need to get Dan Gilbert’s son as a good luck charm. The Cavs won like 4 or 5 lottos. Talk about good “luck.” Doesn’t matter we don’t need luck. (Las) Vegas is getting #1. Guaranteed. These things have a way of happening. We would be the best story for #1 thus we will get #1.
James
If luck is not on our side, would you trade the pick for Jonathan Drouin?
Bob McKenzie said we have been scouting the Tampa Bay Lightning.
We could free up valuable cap space for the Lightning by absorbing their erroneous contracts in exchange for picks and prospects