No McDavid Miracle; Kings to pick 13th

The only surprise to come from the NHL’s Draft Lottery was that it was the Edmonton Oilers, and not the Buffalo Sabres or Arizona Coyotes, who received the first overall draft pick in advance of this June’s draft and will likely select a generational-type prospect in Erie Otters forward Connor McDavid.

Edmonton, which owned an 11.5% chance of capturing the top pick, won the lottery over Buffalo (20.0%) and Arizona (13.5%), and the other 11 teams that failed to qualify for the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Los Angeles Kings, who owned a 2.0% chance of claiming the first overall pick, will select 13th when the draft is held at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida on June 26 and 27.

As discussed earlier today, Connor McDavid joining Edmonton was among the least desirable destinations from a Kings perspective. The Oilers, stripped of depth and without a well-regarded defensive structure, have been a league doormat for the better part of a nine-season span in which they’ve cracked 80 points (or surpassed an 80-point pace) only twice. There are questions about their ability to develop young players. On the other hand, Los Angeles’ division rivals have excellent pieces in potential top-four defensive prospects in Darnell Nurse and Oscar Klefbom – the latter of whom regularly drew 25-minute nights for the big club in March and April – and already have a collection of skilled top-six young forwards that will be joined permanently by Leon Draisatl next season. It takes much more than skill to win a Stanley Cup in the NHL, and eventually Edmonton will supplement its top-six types with valuable role players. It will be at Rogers Place, and not Rexall Place, but the Oilers are eventually going to be very competitive team.

NHL Draft Order, 1-14

1) Edmonton Oilers
2) Buffalo Sabres
3) Arizona Coyotes
4) Toronto Maple Leafs
5) Carolina Hurricanes
6) New Jersey Devils
7) Philadelphia Flyers
8) Columbus Blue Jackets
9) San Jose Sharks
10) Colorado Avalanche
11) Florida Panthers
12) Dallas Stars
13) LOS ANGELES KINGS
14) Boston Bruins

The league is expected to publish a video of the ping pong ball process, but I don’t believe it has been uploaded yet. I’ll embed that to this page once it’s available.

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