Canadiens win No. 1 pick in 2022 NHL Draft in lottery

The Montreal Canadiens will have the No. 1 pick in the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft after winning the NHL Draft Lottery on Tuesday.

The New Jersey Devils won the No. 2 pick, and the Arizona Coyotes have the No. 3 pick.
The Canadiens, who at 18.5 percent had the best chance of winning the lottery, will pick No. 1 for the sixth time, the first since selecting forward Doug Wickenheiser in the 1980 NHL Draft.
The first round of the draft will be held July 7 at Bell Centre in Montreal. Rounds 2-7 will be July 8.
"Obviously a very exciting outcome for us and our fans, (who) I'm sure will be thrilled, especially with the draft being held in Montreal to have that kind of anticipation excitement leading into it," Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes said. "So, we're excited. I think it's a great opportunity for our organization to start taking strides towards returning to the playoffs."

The lottery included the 16 teams that failed to qualify for the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The odds were based on the inverse order of the regular-season standings.
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. This season, the top 11 teams in the lottery were eligible to receive the No. 1 selection after the NHL announced that teams could only move up 10 spots on March 23, 2021.
New Jersey moved ahead of Arizona, which had the second-best odds (13.5 percent), as well as the Seattle Kraken (11.5) and Philadelphia Flyers (9.5).
The Chicago Blackawks will transfer the No. 6 pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets under the terms of the trade that involved defenseman Seth Jones on July 23, 2021.
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 playoffs.
Montreal (22-49-11), which finished last in the NHL, could use the No. 1 pick to select center Shane Wright, who was No. 1 in
NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters
.

Wright (6-foot, 191 pounds) finished eighth in the Ontario Hockey League with 94 points (32 goals, 62 assists) in 63 regular-season games for Kingston. He has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in eight playoff games.
"I would say I'm a really strong 200-foot player," Wright told NHL Network. "I'm an elite offensive player who can also take care of his own end and play really strong on all aspects of the game. I think I'm a smart player who thinks the game at a high level and can also score and make plays, but also take care of my own end and play well defensively. So, I can do a lot of things right."
Logan Cooley (5-10, 174), who was No. 2 in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters, is another option after he had 75 points (27 goals, 48 assists) in 51 games with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 Team. The center, who is committed to the University of Minnesota, also had 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in six games to help the United States finish second at the 2022 IIHF World Under-18 Championship.
"Logan Cooley is a really good skater," Hughes said. "I've seen him play over the past two years, he played with my son (forward Riley Hughes) a good part of last season. He goes on the attack, he's a fast skater and he has hockey sense and good skills."
RELATED: [2022 NHL Draft Lottery lookup tables]
Juraj Slafkovsky, who was No. 1 in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of International skaters, made quite an impression as the second-youngest player at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. The forward was named the most valuable player of the tournament after leading all skaters with seven goals in seven games to help Slovakia win a medal for the first time in its history (bronze).
The 18-year-old also had 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 31 games in his first season with TPS of Liiga, the top professional league in Finland. He had seven points (two goals, five assists) in 18 playoff games.
"Juraj uses his great size, reach and strength inside the rules," said Goran Stubb, NHL director of European Scouting. "He's an effective checker both in the offensive and defensive zone and is surprisingly a mobile and fast skater for a player his size (6-4, 218)."
2022 NHL Draft Order
1. Montreal Canadiens
2. New Jersey Devils
3. Arizona Coyotes
4. Seattle Kraken
5. Philadelphia Flyers
6. Columbus Blue Jackets (via Chicago Blackhawks)
7. Ottawa Senators
8. Detroit Red Wings
9. Buffalo Sabres
10. Anaheim Ducks
11. San Jose Sharks
12. Columbus Blue Jackets
13. New York Islanders
14. Winnipeg Jets
15. Vancouver Canucks
16. Buffalo Sabres (via Vegas Golden Knights)
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