It’s been a while since the Dallas Stars had a draft pick higher than 10th overall – you have to go back to 2009, when the Stars drafted 8th overall. It’s been even longer since they had a top five draft pick – 1996, or over 20 years ago to be exact.
With one of their worst regular season finishes this season, the Stars have a chance at a top three draft pick this year. And while pundits agree that this year’s draft isn’t as deep in other years in terms of high-end talent, there are still a few intriguing pieces at the top of the draft order, as we’ll detail in the coming months prior to the actual draft.
But the entire draft process begins tomorrow night, when the Draft Lottery is held in Toronto. That’s when the lottery balls will pop up to determine which three clubs will win the right to draft 1-2-3 in June.
Dallas currently holds a 5.8% chance of winning the first overall draft pick. Which, admittedly, feels really small (but then again, isn’t that the very definition of a “lottery”?)
The Avalanche are the most likely team to win the chance to draft first overall. But at least there’s a less than 1% chance the Edmonton Oilers get yet another #1 pick. Hooray for new faces!
Here is the full draft lottery odds for the non-playoff teams:
Colorado Avalanche 18.0%
Vancouver Canucks 12.1%
Vegas Golden Knights* 10.3%
Arizona Coyotes 10.3%
New Jersey Devils 8.5%
Buffalo Sabres 7.6%
Detroit Red Wings 6.7%
Dallas Stars 5.8%
Florida Panthers 5.4%
Los Angeles Kings 4.5%
Carolina Hurricanes 3.2%
Winnipeg Jets 2.7%
Philadelphia Flyers 2.2%
Tampa Bay Lightning 1.8%
New York Islanders 0.9%
* Vegas receives the same lottery odds as the team finishing the regular season in 28th place this year only (draft odds next year will be dependent on franchise finish at the end of the season, same as everyone else.)
Odds are readjusted after each round of the lottery for the first three picks, depending on who wins and who is left in the lottery to draw from. If Dallas does not win one of the top three positions, they are likely to pick somewhere between 8th and 10th this summer.
The results of the draft lottery will be announced shortly after 7 PM CST and should be televised as part of the NBC/Comcast networks’ coverage of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs Saturday night. So keep your lucky charms handy on Saturday that the Stars have Lady Luck shine upon them after this abysmal season and walk away with a high draft pick to show for it.
The 2017 NHL Draft will be hosted in Chicago, with the first round on Friday June 23rd and rounds two through seven on Saturday June 24th.