What’s at stake in the NHL draft lottery? Why will McLean Celebrini take first place and who will take next place?

The Athletic has live coverage of the match 2024 NHL Draft Lottery

The 2024 NHL Draft Lottery takes place tonight, and the winner will get the chance to select Boston University center Macklin Celebrini.

Celebrini, 17, recently won the Hobey Baker Award as the best player in college hockey. He is a dynamic attacking player with excellent two-way abilities.

So what’s really at stake in the NHL Draft Lottery? Here’s everything you need to know.

What would Maclin Celebrini bring to a team that wins the No. 1 pick

In a poll of NHL scouts and executives that compared Celebrini to the last nine overall picks at the time of their drafting, Celebrini ranked fifth.

Will he single-handedly change the future of the organization? My tendency would be no, and that was the opinion of most of the scouts I spoke to. But Celebrini will likely be a big part of it, and if he scores, he could be a cornerstone of the opposition.

“Jack Hughes will get his points, probably more than Celebrini at his peak, but I would prefer a player like Celebrini in a playoff series,” one NHL scout said during the poll.

Whoever gets Celebrini could pencil him in at the No. 1 position for the next decade. If a team like Anaheim, Chicago or San Jose picks him, they will be in the envious position of having so many elite young quarterbacks and suddenly being rebuilding gas.

What will the draft look like after Celebrini?

After Celebrini, who will finish second is unclear. There is no consensus on the second best possibility. So what is the reward for winning the second pick in the lottery?

“Even if there is no clear choice, there is a group of players. Choosing first among the group means you will prioritize the type of player you want,” said one scouting director. “If you want to get big and fast, there are big, talented defenders or Kayden Lindstrom.” In the line of attack. If you want skill, there are very skilled attackers and defenders. If you choose near the end of the deck, you may still get a great player, but you may have to choose a type of player that you don’t feel comfortable with.

Even without a confirmed pick at No. 2 overall, there are favorites. Within the NHL, the current betting favorites are either Michigan State defenseman Artyom Levshunov or Torpedo defenseman Anton Silayev. Levshunov is 6-foot-2, mobile, and has a lot of natural aggression to his game. At 6-foot-7, Silayev skates very well for a giant, is very physical and has the potential to be the first pass for an NHL offense.

Although the league believes Levshunov and Silayev are the most likely scenario to go 2-3 in some order in the draft, they do not have majority support at those spots. In discussions with NHL scouts this spring, Zeev Boyum (defense, Denver), Berkley Caton (center, Spokane), Ivan Demidov (wing, SKA), Sam Dickinson (defense, London), Kayden Lindstrom (center, Medicine Hat), Zane Parekh (defense, Saginaw) and Carter Yakimchuk (defense, Calgary) each received at least one vote by a scout as the top three prospects in the draft.

“Normally, this time of year, you could try to do an internal concept draft of how the first few picks go, but not this year,” one NHL executive said. “It’s really going to depend on who wins the No. 2 pick, how the draft plays out, and what those organizations prefer.”

Teams within the league believe that the best defensemen in this year’s draft class could be the No. 1 defensemen in the NHL, which means that if a team selects one of the best defensemen, they are likely expecting him to be their No. 1 player in the future. 1D. Of course, if they are correct in their predictions, this represents a huge boost for the organization. So, while it’s possible that a forward could be the second pick, the second pick in a defense-heavy class would likely be a defenseman. Exactly who the defenseman is remains to be determined.

So, while the story of lottery night will revolve around which team is most likely to select Celebrini, the path of the draft and the subject of much discussion for weeks to come will be more determined by the team’s No. 2 pick.

NHL Draft Lottery rules and odds

The NHL Draft lottery will determine the order of the first 16 picks in this year’s draft.

There will be two lottery drawings, which will determine which teams pick first and second overall. Teams can’t move up more than 10 spots, meaning only 11 teams have a chance to earn the No. 1 pick.

No team can win the lottery more than twice during a five-year period. This means that if the Chicago Blackhawks win again this year, they will not be eligible to move up in the draft lottery again until after the 2027-28 season.

How to watch the NHL Draft Lottery

The 2024 NHL Draft Lottery will be broadcast on ESPN, Sportsnet and TVA Sports. The lottery will take place at 6:30 PM ET.

(Photo: Richard T. Gagnon/Getty Images)