SALT LAKE CITY — Lady Luck was smiling upon the Utah Hockey Club during the NHL Draft Lottery on Monday, as the team moved up 10 spots and will own the fourth overall pick.
With only a 1.5 percent chance of winning the lottery, Utah faced tough odds in the first place, and those odds worked in the club's favor, moving up 10 spots to the fourth pick when the draft gets underway on June 27.
Even if Utah had won the lottery, league rules stated they were only able to move up to the fourth overall selection.
“We are thrilled to have won the fourth overall selection in this year’s NHL Draft,” said Utah Hockey Club general manager Bill Armstrong. “With the fourth overall pick, we are confident that we will add another great player to one of the top prospect pools in the NHL. We are very excited about tonight’s results and looking forward to this year’s draft in June.”
After failing to make the playoffs in its inaugural season, many expect Utah to look for a strong defender and points-scoring center in a draft in which they currently own six picks.
Notable No. 4 picks in the NHL Draft:
- 2010 - Ryan Johansen
- 2013 - Seth Jones
- 2014 - Sam Bennett
- 2015 - Mitch Marner
- 2017 - Cale Makar
- 2018 - Brady Tkachuk
- 2020 - Lucas Raymond
- 2021 - Luke Hughes
- 2023 - Will Smith
