Sunday 19 April 2015 09:02, UK
The Edmonton Oilers will have the first pick in the NHL draft for the fourth time in six seasons after winning Saturday's lottery.
Edmonton went into the draw with the third highest chance of picking first, behind the Buffalo Sabres, who finished the season in last place, and the Arizona Coyotes.
But it was the Oilers whose card was pulled out and they will have the right to pick center Connor McDavid, who appears almost certain to be the No 1 pick in the draft on June 26.
McDavid is rated as the brightest prospect to enter the NHL since Sidney Crosby was drafted in 2005. He has scored 285 points in only 166 games while playing for the Erie Otters in the Ontario Hockey League.
"It’s going to affect your entire line-up, and getting the No 1 pick is certainly going to fill a big hole in our line-up," said Oilers assistant general manager Bill Scott.
McDavid said of the prospect of playing in Edmonton: "It's going to be a dream come true and it's a great situation to be in.
"They have had fan support even through a little bit of a tough slide they have gone through for a few years.
"The fan support they still receive is amazing and the group of guys they have there is pretty special. If it happens to be me that is selected there it would be a tremendous honor to step in with a group of talent like that."
The Oilers already have three No 1 picks on their roster, although they have met with mixed success in their careers so far.
Taylor Hall (2010) has been most successful of the trio, scoring a career-best 80 points in the 2013-14 season, but his 2014-15 campaign was derailed by injury as he only played in 53 games and scored 38 points.
Since then they have picked up Ryan Nugent Hopkins (2011), who has scored 56 points the last two seasons, while 2012 first pick Nail Yakupov has proved a bust so far, scoring no more than 33 points in his three seasons as an Oiler.
The Sabres were guaranteed the No 2 pick, and that is where they will select, with Boston University center Jack Eichel likely to be their man.
Eichel is also a highly-rated prospect and would most likely have been the No 1 pick in most drafts in recent history - he tallied 71 points in 40 games for his college team, Boston University, this season.
