The National Hockey League Playoffs dates have been announced, alongside other NHL events. The Stanley Cup Playoffs start on April 17, the Draft Lottery on May 8, and round one of the 2023 Draft is on June 28.
The biggest news around the league is who’s ending up with the number one pick. It’s always big news every year, but this one is different, with a superstar prospect, Connor Bedard.
Bedard is the predicted No.1 pick, and for a good reason. The 17-year-old has played for the Regina Pats in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and got an exceptional player status to play for the Pats at age 15. He attended the IIHF World Junior Championship for Team Canada in 2022 and 2023, winning both and being awarded MVP in 2023.
In the WHL, he leads the league in goals, assists, and points, 61-64-125. And second in his league for game-winning goals and powerplay points, 10 and 43.
When he played in the World Juniors, he set new world records for five categories, 4 being Canadian records. He set the new record for most World Junior Points and Goals by a Canadien, 36 and 17. His single World Junior records are most points, and most assists by a Canadien, 23 and 14. His most notable accomplishment was the most points at a single World Juniors by a U18 player, 23, above both Jaromir Jagr and Wayne Gretzky.
Now that we know how Connor Bedard dominates all aspects of hockey, we can refocus on the 2023 draft.
The bottom 11 teams in the league will have a shot for the No.1 pick this year. Before 2021, all 16 teams who missed the playoffs would have a chance for that pick, but in the 2021 draft, the rule changed to only the last 11 teams.
As of March 17, these are the first-pick lottery odds:
Columbus Blue Jackets - 25.5%
San Jose Sharks - 13.5%
Anaheim Ducks - 11.5%
Chicago Blackhawks - 9.5%
Philidelphia Flyers - 7.5%
Montreal Canadiens - 8.5%
Arizona Coyotes - 6.5%
Vancouver Canucks - 6.0%
St. Louis Blues - 5.0%
Detroit Red Wings - 3.5%
Ottawa Senators - 3.0%
As the backend of the season progresses, these odds may change, and some teams might not be in the running for Bedard anymore.
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