TORONTO- For the second year in a row, the Buffalo Sabres will select eighth overall when the 2017 NHL Draft is held in Chicago on June 23 and 24.
Three drawings were made to allocate the top three picks at the NHL Draft Lottery in Toronto on Saturday night. New Jersey won the drawing for the first overall pick, while Philadelphia will pick second and Dallas will pick third.
The Sabres began the night with a 7.6-percent chance of obtaining the No. 1 pick, the sixth-highest odds among the 15 teams involved, but dropped two spots because Philadelphia and Dallas jumped into the top three. Dallas began the night with a 5.8-percent chance of winning the top draw, while Philadelphia had the third-worst odds at 2.2 percent.