Before tonight’s slate of games for the first round of the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs, the NHL had their annual draft lottery to figure out the order of the first sixteen picks of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.
Since the Winnipeg Jets missed out on the playoffs for the first time in five years, they were included in the draft lottery.
Although the Jets were participating in the lottery, they came into the lottery knowing they could not win the first overall draft selection. The rules of the lottery limited how much a team could move in the lottery.
The most a franchise can move up is ten spots from where they finished the regular season and since the Jets finished the 2021-2022 regular season fourteenth from last, the most they could move up is to fourth overall. Therefore, only teams that finished between last and eleventh overall had a chance of winning the lottery and obtaining the number one overall selection.
The Winnipeg Jets will draft fourteenth overall at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft
As mentioned above, the Jets finished with the fourteenth worst record in the NHL and they received that exact pick in the upcoming draft.
The Jets could have moved up in the lottery a maximum of ten picks or they could have moved down to the fifteenth or the sixteenth pick, but the lottery draw kept them in the same spot they entered in.
This is the first time that the Jets will select fourteenth overall. This is the highest draft pick since the Jets drafted Cole Perfetti tenth overall in the 2020 draft.
Winnipeg was not the only team that held the draft pick they entered into the lottery with. Oddly enough, every team with pre-draft lottery odds between sixteenth and sixth received the selection they entered the lottery at.
The Montreal Canadiens have Won the Draft Lottery
The Canadiens entered the draft lottery with the highest odds to win the first overall pick, since they finished last place in the NHL during the regular season, and they received that pick. This is the first time since 1980 the Canadiens will have the first pick in the draft.
The Devils will select second overall and the Arizona Coyotes will draft third overall. The full results of the lottery can be seen here.
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The 2022 NHL Entry Draft will take place on June seventh and eighth in Canada. The first round will be on June seventh and rounds two through seven will be on June eight.
Winnipeg Jets Fans: Who should the Winnipeg Jets select with the 14th overall pick in the first round of the upcoming draft? Leave your comments below!
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