Blackhawks win No. 1 pick in 2023 NHL Draft in lottery

The Chicago Blackhawks won the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery on Monday, and with it the chance to add who many believe is the next generational NHL talent, center Connor Bedard of Regina of the Western Hockey League.

The Anaheim Ducks fell to the No. 2 pick, and the Columbus Blue Jackets have the No. 3 selection.

The Blackhawks, who at 11.5 percent had the third-best chance of winning the lottery, would pick No. 1 for the second time, the first since selecting forward Patrick Kane in the 2007 NHL Draft.

The 2023 draft is scheduled to be held at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The first round will be held June 28, with rounds 2-7 on June 29.

"When our logo flipped over, I was just, 'Wow,'" Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson said. "You understand the impact that a first overall pick can have and having the first overall pick in the right year. Hopefully that's what we've got here and it can change a franchise, it can change a city and it can change an era in a team's history."

The lottery, which was held at the NHL Network offices in Secaucus, New Jersey, included the 16 teams that failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The odds for the teams were based on the inverse order of the regular-season standings.

Only the two top picks were determined by the lottery.

Chicago moved ahead of Anaheim, which had the best odds of winning (18.5 percent), and Columbus (13.5 percent).

The Ducks finished last in the NHL standings this season (23-47-12), one point behind the Blackhawks and Blue Jackets.

"If you were to tell me three or four days before the season was coming to a close we were going to get the No. 2 pick, I would have been extremely excited," Anaheim GM Pat Verbeek said. "Obviously it looks like Connor Bedard will go No. 1, but now we get to determine and pick the player that we want, vs. if we would have slid to [No. 3], someone else would have dictated, so now we get to make the pick."

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The remaining teams were slotted in by the order of their finish in the standings. Picks 17-32 will be determined by the results of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Chicago (26-49-7), which finished 30th in the NHL, could use the No. 1 pick to select Bedard. The 17-year-old forward (5-foot-10, 185 pounds), who has been targeted as the No. 1 pick of this draft the past two years, is Video: NHL Commissioner Bettman conducts 2023 Draft Lottery presented by BioSteel.

"There's a lot of weight to that and a lot of significance to that," Davidson said when asked about selecting No. 1. "When that No. 1 card flipped over and it was our logo, it hits you all at once because you think about it in the lead-up and you think about what could be and you don't let yourself go there that often, because chances were we weren't going to see that come to fruition."

If the Blackhawks decide to select Bedard, he'll be the second Bedard to play for the NHL franchise. Connor's great-great uncle, defenseman Video: NHL Commissioner Bettman conducts 2023 Draft Lottery, had two points (one goal, one assists) in 22 games for Chicago from 1949-51.

Connor, a right-hand shot, led the WHL with 143 points (71 goals, 72 assists) in 57 games with Regina. He also had 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists), including six multipoint games, in Regina's seven-game loss to Saskatoon in the first round of the WHL playoffs. He was the first WHL player since 2012 to score at least 10 goals in a playoff series.

"My will to get better is something I take a lot of pride in, and I love to practice the game and try to improve," Bedard told ESPN. "In games, my best attributes are my competitiveness and love to be creative. I try to make plays. Overall, my will to train and get better are things I like to do to improve."

Bedard excels in all areas of his game, including a shot that is reminiscent of Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews, who was selected with the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.

Bedard also helped Canada win the gold medal at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship in January with a tournament-best 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) in seven games. It's the most points ever for a Canada player, and the fourth-most by any player in WJC history.

The Ducks and Blue Jackets will have plenty of elite-level players to choose from if Bedard is off the board. University of Michigan center Adam Fantilli, who won the Hobey Baker Award as the best NCAA men's hockey player this season, is No. 2 on Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters. The 18-year-old led NCAA players with 65 points (30 goals, 35 assists) in 36 games and helped Michigan reach the Frozen Four.

"(The players after Bedard are) very good," Verbeek said. "These players are going to be outstanding players, so now it's going to be up to us to make sure we develop them properly and give them the best tools to be able to succeed down the road."

One other player projected to be chosen in the top five is right-shot center William Smith of USA Hockey's National Team Development Program Under-18 team. Smith, No. 3 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters, was second on the NTDP with 127 points (51 goals, 76 assists) in 60 games. That includes 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists) in 22 games against NCAA competition. He is committed to play for Boston College next season.

The two top players on Central Scouting's final ranking of International skaters also are expected to be top-five picks: forward Leo Carlsson of Orebro in the Swedish Hockey League, and forward Matvei Michkov of SKA St. Petersburg in the Kontinental Hockey League.

Whichever NHL team decides to select Michkov in the draft will do so with the understanding that his KHL contract runs through 2025-26, so patience will be needed. Additionally, Michkov was unable to play in the 2023 WJC since Russia has been banned from international tournaments because of its invasion of Ukraine.

"We feel Carlsson is a bit more mature and more of an NHL type of player as he is bigger and stronger," NHL director of European Scouting Goran Stubb said. "Carlsson is also a better two-way player with a good knowledge of his defensive responsibilities. Both are very special players, excellent prospects and have the tools needed to be stars in the NHL in the future.

"Both played big roles on their club teams this season against seniors. It won't be easy to say who will be better in 3-5 seasons."

2023 NHL Draft Order

1. Chicago Blackhawks

2. Anaheim Ducks

3. Columbus Blue Jackets

4. San Jose Sharks

5. Montreal Canadiens

6. Arizona Coyotes

7. Philadelphia Flyers

8. Washington Capitals

9. Detroit Red Wings

10. St. Louis Blues

11. Vancouver Canucks

12. Arizona Coyotes (via Ottawa Senators)

13. Buffalo Sabres

14. Pittsburgh Penguins

15. Nashville Predators

16. Calgary Flames

NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers and deputy manager editor Adam Kimelman contributed to this report

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