The 2022 NHL Draft Lottery was held last night, and luck went the Montreal Canadiens’ way.
After a drawing of random labeled balls, the 24-time Stanley Cup champions came up on the first ball, confirming that they would hold the first overall pick at the 2022 NHL Draft, which is scheduled to be held – in Montreal, no less! – on July 7–8, 2022.
This Draft Lottery marks the first time in 42 years that the Canadiens will have possession of the first pick. The last time they selected first overall was in 1980, when they selected Doug Wickenheiser.
“It’s a very exciting outcome for us,” Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes said. “Our fans I’m sure will be thrilled, especially with the draft being held in Montreal, to have all of that anticipation and excitement leading into it.”
“Montreal! My oh my!” Gary Bettman’s reaction to Montreal winning the NHL Draft Lottery 😂 pic.twitter.com/TG75tukqCF
— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) May 11, 2022
In a leaked video, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman can be seen awkwardly freaking out when he found out that the Canadiens had won the Draft Lottery. The Canadiens entered the Lottery with an 18.5% chance of winning it, the best odds of any team, and they came out successful.
“You always go with your evaluation first and if there’s a player we feel is the best player available in the draft, then that’s the player we’re going to with,” Hughes said on the player choice. “If there are different shades of the same color in our opinion, could we value one because of a positional need? Yeah, certainly. But we’re not at that point yet, so I can’t really tell you that’s the case where we can see multiple players in the same ballpark.”
The New Jersey Devils followed the Canadiens with the second overall pick, which marks the third time in six years that the team will either be selecting first or second in the Draft. The Devils were then followed by the Arizona Coyotes, Seattle Kraken, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Ottawa Senators.
What do you think of the NHL Draft Lottery results? Let us know, by either leaving a reaction below or by sending us a tweet at @celebsecrets.
