NHL confirms where the Vancouver Canucks will officially pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft
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Once again, luck wasn't on the Canucks' side this year. and will pick 15th at this year's Entry Draft.
The Vancouver Canucks will pick 15th in this summer's NHL Entry Draft in Los Angeles.
To be fair, they had a 97.9% likelihood of staying put, with only a 1.1% chance of moving either up or down.
Noah Strang from DH Sports writes that the Canucks are notoriously unlucky when it comes to draft lotteries. Despite having the third-worst record in the 2015-16 season, they only secured the fifth overall pick. The following year, they finished second-last but still picked fifth. They also slipped in the 2018 and 2019 drafts. In fact, they're one of only five NHL teams that have never moved up in the draft order through the lottery.
"Because of the new NHL draft lottery rules, the Canucks had zero chance at getting the first overall pick. Even if they had won the lottery, they would have just moved up from the 15th overall pick to the 5th overall pick." -Strang
Strang also writes that the Canucks weren't projected to be part of the draft lottery this year, but a disastrous season, marked by major off-ice turmoil and numerous injuries to key players, caused them to plummet in the standings.
"There's no guarantee the Canucks will hold onto their first round pick this summer. President of hockey operations Jim Rutherford recently admitted they'd be open to trading the pick if they could get a significant contributor in return, ideally a centre." -Strang
The New York Islanders came out on top in the first draw, earning the first overall pick in this summer's draft despite having just a 3.5% chance, the 10th-best odds.
This marks the second time the Islanders have won the draft lottery and earned the first overall pick. The last time was in 2009, when they selected standout Canadian forward John Tavares.
Meanwhile, the Utah Hockey Club won the second draw and made the biggest leap possible, jumping from 14th to 4th overall.
This year's draft will take place on June 27 and 28 in Los Angeles, California.
Previously on CanucksDaily
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