The lottery, for teams that miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs, will
set the order for the first 16 selections
of the 2022 NHL Draft, which will be held at Bell Centre in Montreal on July 7-8.
Beginning this season there will be a limit on the total number of selections (10) a team participating in the lottery can move up in the event it wins one of the lottery draws, a change announced by the NHL on March 23, 2021. Only the top 11 seeds will be eligible to receive the No. 1 selection in the 2022 draft.
The odds for the first draw of the 2022 NHL Draft Lottery have been adjusted following the addition of the Seattle Kraken as the League's 32nd team this season. They are as follows:
1. 18.5 percent
2. 13.5 percent
3. 11.5 percent
4. 9.5 percent
5. 8.5 percent
6. 7.5 percent
7. 6.5 percent
8. 6.0 percent
9. 5.0 percent
10. 3.5 percent
11. 3.0 percent
12. 2.5 percent
13. 2.0 percent
14. 1.5 percent
15. 0.5 percent
16. 0.5 percent
The odds for the remaining teams will increase on a proportionate basis for the second draw, based on which team wins the first draw.
The Buffalo Sabres, who finished with the worst record in the NHL last season and had the best odds, won the lottery and selected defenseman Owen Power with the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
It was the first time since the Sabres in 2018 that the team that finished last in the standings won the lottery.
NHL Central Scouting will release its final rankings of the top North American and International skaters and goalies for the 2022 draft on May 5.
Among the top North American skaters are forwards Shane Wright of Kingston (Ontario Hockey League), Logan Cooley of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 team, and Matthew Savoie and Conor Geekie of Winnipeg (Western Hockey League), and defenseman Pavel Mintyukov of Saginaw (OHL).
The top International skaters include forwards Joakim Kemell of JYP in Finland, Juraj Slafkovsky of TPS in Finland and forward Danila Yurov of Magnitogorsk in Russia.
The NHL Scouting Combine will be held at KeyBank Center and LECOM Harborcenter in Buffalo from May 29-June 4. The event will allow the top draft prospects to meet and work out for all 32 NHL teams.
The first day of free agency will be July 13.
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