The process to determine the No. 1 pick in the NHL Draft will be televised live in the United States and Canada. The NHL announced on Friday that a live drawing of lottery balls will take place on Monday night at the NHL Network studios in Secaucus, N.J.
The Draft Lottery will air on ESPN, Sportsnet, and TVA Sports at 7 p.m. ET.
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Previous broadcasts of the lottery — which began in 1995 — have revealed results that were determined before the live television show. The exception was the COVID-19-pandemic-impacted lottery in 2020, which included a live-broadcast draw of team-logo lottery balls.
The usual process — conducting the actual lottery in advance, under the supervision of a lottery technician, an accounting firm and media witnesses — sometimes led to unfounded accusations of fixed results. This was especially true when draft featured so-called generational prospects, most notably in 2005 with Sidney Crosby, 2015 with Connor McDavid, and 2023 with Connor Bedard.
Matters weren’t helped in 2023, when ESPN accidentally tipped, before deputy commissioner Bill Daly had a chance to turn over the card, that the Columbus Blue Jackets had fallen to the No. 3 spot.
How does the NHL Draft Lottery work?
The drawing is conducted in two phases. The first sequence of four numbered lottery balls determines the No. 1 overall pick. The second sequence determines which team picks No. 2.
For each phase, there are 14 lottery balls, each numbered between 1 and 14. They are placed in a machine, and four balls are drawn.
A four-digit series is matched against a “look-up table” that lists 1,000 possible numeral combinations to determine the team that was assigned the winning combination. The odds change, and teams are eliminated, as each of the four balls is drawn.
San Jose, which had the worst record in the regular season, has been assigned the most combinations (185 out of 1,000), followed by the Chicago Blackhawks (135) and Nashville Predators (115). The NHL released a full list of the four-digit combinations. So, for instance, if the four lottery balls are numbered 1, 2, 3 and 7, the Sharks will win the lottery. But if they come up as 1, 2, 3, 6, then the Blackhawks will win.
The live setup will allow team executives and fans to learn the drawing results at the same time.
2025 NHL Draft Lottery Odds
All 16 teams that failed to qualify for the playoffs can win the NHL Draft Lottery. However, a team can improve its position by no more than 10 selections, meaning that only teams seeded No. 1 to No. 11 (the teams with the 11 worst records during the regular season) can secure the No. 1 overall pick. If the Detroit Red Wings (No. 12), Columbus Blue Jackets (No. 13), Utah Hockey Club (No. 14), Vancouver Canucks (No. 15) or Calgary Flames (No. 16) come up with the winning four-number combination, they will not pick No. 1 but will move up 10 spots — and the Sharks will “win” the No. 1 pick.
After the draw to determine the No. 1 pick is complete, another draw for the No. 2 pick will take place — unless Detroit “wins” the first draw and moves up to No. 2.
(Photo of NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly at the 2024 Draft Lottery: Mike Stobe / NHLI via Getty Images)
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