The 2023 NHL Draft Lottery will take place on Monday night. This event is going to have a major impact over the future of the NHL.
The 2023 NHL Draft has a lot of great talent for teams to consider adding to their franchise, but the number one overall pick is different than any other this summer, as Connor Bedard is expected to be drafted in this spot.
The 2023 NHL Draft Lottery will drastically impact the future of the league
So many teams were tanking during the 2022-23 NHL season in the hopes of landing Bedard. Despite what commissioner Gary Bettman says, teams do in fact tank, and this past season saw a lot of it. Chicago, Arizona, Columbus, San Jose and Anaheim were in an all out battle for the worst spot, and Anaheim won the race as they finished with the best odds of landing Bedard on Monday night.
Bedard is expected to be one of those generational players. There are usually some pretty elite players taken at the first spot overall in a draft, but none have been as good as Bedard since 2016 when Auston Matthews went first overall.
When is the 2023 NHL Draft lottery?
The lottery will be held at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, May 8, and will be broadcasted on ESPN, Sportsnet and TVA Sports. The Golden Knights and Oilers playoff game starts at 7:30 so it will be interesting to see how ESPN handles having both the game and the lottery on their network.
For fans hoping to see their team win the lottery, settle in for a bit of a frustrating viewing experience, as something that could be settled in just a few minutes is dragged out way too long. We will have an updated look at the NHL Draft order immediately following the lottery results.