NHL Draft Lottery 2023: Date, How to Watch, Team Odds, and Top Prospects

The teams sit in anticipation for the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery, which is set to take place after the completion of the current season. It will be broadcast live from NHL Network studios in Secaucus, New Jersey on May 8 at 8 p.m. ET. It will be broadcast live on ESPN in the United States, and Sportsnet and TVAS in Canada.

The 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft will span over two days. On June 28th, teams will make 16 selections to complete the first round of the draft followed by rounds 2-7 which will be determined on June 29. The Draft will take place at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.

The NHL Draft Lottery occurs after the end of the regular season. It gives a chance to the 16 teams who did not advance to the playoff rounds to select who will have the first choice in the draft.

Teams finishing last in the league have a better chance of getting the first choice than the other teams who were close to making it through to the playoffs rounds. To put it simply, the draft lottery is based on a weightage method.

For example, teams ending 32nd have an 18.5 percent chance of receiving the first or second overall pick, while teams finishing 16th have a .5 percent chance. There is still a lot of time left until the season concludes. It remains to be seen which teams and prospects will headline the event.

The 2023 NHL Draft Lottery can be watched live on ESPN, SN, and TVA Sports.

The NHL Draft Lottery is an annual event in which teams select the rights to young ice hockey players who have reached a certain age or skill level. The Draft order is determined by a lottery system, in which the odds of winning the first overall pick are based on a team's regular season performance.

Each team has a chance to win the lottery, but the odds of winning are not equal. The team with the worst regular-season record has the best odds of winning the lottery, while the team with the best record has the worst odds.

NHL Draft Lottery odds and teams with the best chance

Anaheim Ducks - 18.5%

Columbus Blue Jackets - 13.5%

Chicago Blackhawks - 11.5%

San Jose Sharks - 9.5%

Montreal Canadiens - 8.5%

Arizona Coyotes - 7.5%

Philadelphia Flyers - 6.5%

Washington Capitals - 6.0%

Detroit Red Wings - 5.0%

St. Louis Blues - 3.5%

Vancouver Canucks - 3.0%

Ottawa Senators - 2.5%

Buffalo Sabres - 2.0%

Pittsburgh Penguins - 1.5%

How does the NHL Draft Lottery work?

The NHL draft order is determined by a lottery system, in which the odds of winning the first overall pick are based on a team's regular season performance.

Each team has a chance to win the lottery, but the odds of winning are not equal. The team with the worst regular-season record has the best odds of winning the lottery, while the team with the best record has the worst odds.

The league uses a weighted lottery system to determine the draft order. The team with the worst record has the best odds of winning the lottery, with a 25.5% chance of winning the first overall pick.

The odds of winning decreases for each subsequent team, with the team with the 11th worst record having just a 3% chance of winning the first overall pick.

Projected Top 5 Picks of the 2023 NHL Draft

#1. Connor Bedard

#2. Adam Fantili

#3. Will Smith

#4. Zach Benson

#5. Ryan Leonard