Winning NHL Draft Lottery can become franchise-altering event

When the winner of the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery is announced Monday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS), it will be a transformational moment for one NHL team.

Connor Bedard is expected to be grandest of prizes to be claimed at the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on June 28-29.

The No. 1 skater on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking presented by BioSteel, Bedard had one of the more remarkable seasons ever by a junior hockey player. The 17-year-old Regina center led the Western Hockey League with 143 points (71 goals, 72 assists) in 57 regular-season games, then had 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) in seven WHL playoff games. He also was the most valuable player at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship after he had 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) in seven games to help Canada win the gold medal.

"Bedard has the elite skills and attributes that the elite NHL players have, and it's the precision in which he reads the play, is always in the right place and how he executes and capitalizes on plays," NHL Central Scouting vice president Dan Marr said. "What places him in that Connor McDavid -special category is his natural presence of mind and instincts that allow him to channel all these attributes to dominate when the opportunity is there and when it's needed most by his team."

Bedard's impact might not be felt immediately, but one look at the teams still competing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs shows what his potential could translate to.

The New Jersey Devils are in the second round for the first time since 2012 in large part because of two draft lottery wins. Four years ago, they were able to select center Jack Hughes with the No. 1 pick of the 2019 NHL Draft. Two years earlier, they won the draft lottery and chose center Nico Hischier with the first selection of the 2017 NHL Draft.

Hughes has since emerged as the dynamic engine that drives the New Jersey attack. He had five points (three goals, two assists) in seven games in the Eastern Conference First Round against the New York Rangers after setting a Devils/Colorado Rockies/Kansas City Scouts record with 99 points (43 goals, 56 assists) in 78 regular-season games.

And Hischier, the New Jersey captain since 2021 and a finalist for the Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward in the NHL, is "the heartbeat of the team," Hughes said.

The Toronto Maple Leafs had missed the playoffs 10 times in 11 seasons before winning the draft lottery and selecting center Auston Matthews with the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.

They've qualified for the playoffs in all seven of Matthews' seasons, and this season won a playoff series for the first time since 2004. Matthews led Toronto with five goals in its six-game victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"It's tough to articulate properly but he's had a positive impact on the franchise," Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly said. "Among first-overall picks, he's a standout. ... His first year we made the playoffs and we've made it ever since, and up until that year it hadn't been as consistent.

"He's a world-class player, a great human being and he came in and did some good things. He continues to do it and we are very fortunate he's turned out to be the player he is."

The Edmonton Oilers had a similar stroke of good fortune when they won the draft lottery and selected McDavid with the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.

After winning the lottery, Oilers assistant general manger Bill Scott said, "Obviously we feel very happy about the future and where this team is going."

Edmonton returned to the playoffs in 2016-17, McDavid's second season, after failing to qualify the previous 10. Last season, the Oilers reached the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2006. Despite not playing in the Cup Final, McDavid led the NHL with 33 points (10 goals, 23 assists) in 16 playoff games. He joined Wayne Gretzky (three times), Mario Lemieux and Paul Coffey as the only players in NHL history to average at least 2.05 points (minimum 15 postseason games).

The Oilers previously had won the draft lottery in 2010 and 2012, but never got the same kind of impact from forwards Taylor Hall and Nail Yakupov, who were chosen with the No. 1 pick in subsequent drafts.

"I can't say enough things about him," Edmonton forward Zach Hyman said of McDavid. "Obviously just the best player in the world and just continues to push his own envelope and continues to make himself better and make our team better."

The lottery also paid off for the Florida Panthers, who selected defenseman Aaron Ekblad with the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft.

The Panthers have been to playoffs five times in Ekblad's nine seasons, including back-to-back trips to the second round. In their 20 seasons before he arrived, Florida made the playoffs four times, and only once won a series, when it reached the 1996 Stanley Cup Final.

In addition to the teams still playing now, lottery wins led to Stanley Cup victories for the Washington Capitals (Alex Ovechkin, 2004), Pittsburgh Penguins (Sidney Crosby, 2005), Chicago Blackhawks (Patrick Kane, 2007), Tampa Bay Lightning (Steven Stamkos, 2008) and Colorado Avalanche (Nathan MacKinnon, 2013).

This year, another team is hoping for the same result with Bedard.

"He's just a very fun player to watch and he's one of those guys that takes you off the edge of your seat," Marr said. "Every game he does something.

"We've got a very special player coming into the National Hockey League."

NHL.com staff writer Mike G. Morreale and NHL.com independent correspondent Dave McCarthy contributed to this report

Listen: Video: Connor Bedard displays his incredible skill on ice