The ping pong balls didn’t bounce Boston’s way in the NHL Draft lottery.
Despite finishing with the league’s fifth worst record, the Bruins left the lottery with the No. 7 overall pick, the worst possible outcome for them on Monday night.
The Bruins could have landed as high as No. 1 overall, and couldn’t pick any lower than No. 7. There was only a 13.5% chance they’d wind up seventh, but that’s how the ping pong balls bounced.
Still, it’s the highest Boston has picked since taking Tyler Seguin at No. 2 overall in the 2010 NHL Entry draft.
The Bruins haven’t been in the Top 10 since selecting Dougie Hamilton ninth in 2011, something President Cam Neely alluded to as he defended the team’s draft record in a contentious season-ending press conference.
“We’ve got a number of players, not necessarily playing with the Boston Bruins, but a number of players that we have drafted that have played NHL hockey games,” Neely said. “We have traded those picks, we have traded some of the prospects to try and improve our club to win Stanley Cups. So I think the narrative that we’re not hitting on all of our draft picks, no one is. You pick in the Top 10, you better hit. We haven’t done that in quite some time. So have we been perfect? No. Can we be better? Yes.”
They’ll return to the Top 10 on June 27th in Los Angeles.
Boston had an 8.5% chance of landing the first pick, an 8.5% chance of second, a 0.2% chance of third, no shot of fourth, a 24.6% chance of fifth, a 44.7% chance of sixth, and a 13.5% chance of seventh.
Ultimately, the Islanders landed the No. 1 overall pick despite finishing with the 10th worst record. Here’s the full list of lottery results:
- Islanders
- Sharks
- Blackhawks
- Utah HC
- Predators
- Flyers
- Bruins
- Kraken
- Sabres
- Ducks
- Penguins
- Rangers
- Red Wings
- Blue Jackets
- Canucks
- Flames