New Jersey Devils will pick first at 2017 NHL Draft after winning lottery
TORONTO — The New Jersey Devils were the big winners of Saturday’s NHL Draft Lottery moving up from No. 5 to earn the top selection in June’s NHL Draft, much to the surprise of general manager Ray Shero.
The Devils, who finished 27th overall this season with a 28-40-4 record, had an 8.5 per cent chance of winning the lottery.
“You know what your odds are, it happens real quickly,” said Shero. “For me, it’s really great for our franchise and our fans, especially with what we’re trying to do. Coming into today, we have 11 draft picks. Now we’ve got the No. 1 overall pick, which is a great building block for our franchise moving forward.”
It marks the third time in draft lottery history that a team has moved from the fifth spot to No. 1 following the New York Islanders (2000) and Chicago Blackhawks (2007).