What If There Was No NHL Draft Lottery?

Alsmost every professional sport has a prospect draft. The draft is obviously one of the best ways for a slumping team to begin or continue a rebuilding process with the hopes that the next Wayne Gretzky or Patrick Roy is waiting to be selected.

Because of the value of the prospects in these drafts, there was some obvious concern that teams may intentionally lose games in an effort to get the first overall pick. This is the reason that most sports hold a draft lottery. The lottery helps to ensure, to some degree, that teams will continue working hard and attempting to win even if they are out of playoff contention. This brings up another thought: how different would the NHL be without the draft lottery? What if the team with the worst record was simply handed the first overall pick?

Patrick Kane

In the 2007 the Chicago Blackhawks drafted Patrick Kane with the first overall pick. Kane would become a star for both the Blackhawks and Team USA during the 2010 Vancouver Olympic games. If there was no draft lottery, Patrick Kane would never have played a game for Chicago. In the 2006-2007 season Chicago won the draft lottery, but the Philadelphia Flyers actually had the lowest point total during the season. Assuming that the Flyers would have still picked Kane first overall, he would have brought respect back to the #88 in Philadelphia.

Rick Nash

Nash is one of the top power forwards in the NHL. He is the type of player you build a team around. If the Columbus Blue Jackets are to be a contender in the next few years, Nash will be their centerpiece. Nash was selected first overall in the 2002 draft. Columbus did have a terrible year in the 2001-2002 season, but they were not the worst team. The Atlanta Trashers would have had the first overall pick and they would have definitely selected Nash.

Ilya Kovalchuk

Now that we have mentioned what they could have had, let's talk about what the Thrashers could have lost. Kovalchuk was selected first overall in 2001 by the Thrashers even though the New York Islanders actually had the worst record in the 2000-2001 season. Kovalchuk would have been an Islander if there was no lottery. 

Alexander Ovechkin

One of the largest surprises of all is that Ovechkin would have never been a Capital if there was no draft lottery. The superstar Ovechkin was drafted in 2004 by the Capitals but the Pittsburgh Penguins actually were the worst team the previous season. Ovechkin would have been a Penguin. What is most interesting is that the following season was the lockout and then Crosby was drafted. If draft lotteries did not exist and the 2005 draft was still based on the record of the last season played, then Ovechkin and Crosby would both be Penguins. Imagine a team which had Sidney Crosby feeding the puck to Alexander Ovechkin... 

With all this being said, I like the way the lottery has structured the NHL draft. Despite these big changes, the worst team still gets the best odds of getting the first overall pick and has done so in many of the drafts including the 2008, 2009 and 2010 drafts.

But it is always fun to say "what if...”