Representatives from the 16 NHL franchises that missed out on the league’s postseason will gather next month with an eye on scoring a franchise-defining prospect.
One of those clubs is the Arizona Coyotes, who finished with the league’s sixth-worst point total (70 points) during the 2022-23 season and created a lot of disappointment for NHL betting in Arizona.
The Coyotes will have a shot at the No. 1 pick — as will the other 10 teams in the bottom 11 in the standings — at the 2023 NHL Lottery held May 8. Since 2021, NHL teams have only been able to climb 11 spots in the draft lottery.
Arizona could have two first round picks in total, with the other coming as part of the team’s trade with the Ottawa Senators for defenseman Jakob Chychrun. The Coyotes only get Ottawa’s first round selection if it doesn’t end up in the top 5.
The Coyotes have the sixth best lottery odds in the league at 7.5%, coming in between Montreal (8.5%) and Philadelphia (6.5%). The Anaheim Ducks have the highest odds of any NHL team at 18.5%.
BetArizona.com, home to extensive coverage of everything Arizona online sportsbooks, wanted to see what Coyotes fans can expect from their first round pick.
We broke down where teams that finished with the NHL’s sixth-worst point total wound up on the board and who they selected.
NHL Draft Lottery Odds
Teams To Hold 6th Best Draft Odds Since 2013
- 2023: Arizona (70 points) — Pick TBA
- 2022: Chicago (68 points) — Picked 7th; Kevin Korchinski, D (No NHL stats)
- 2021: San Jose (49 points) — Picked 7th; William Eklund, LW, (2 goals, 5 assists in 17 NHL games)
- 2020: New Jersey (68 points) — Picked 7th; Alexander Holtz, RW (3 goals, 3 assists in 28 NHL games)
- 2019: New York (78 points) — Picked 2nd; KaapoKakko, RW (44 goals, 54 assists in 239 NHL games)
- 2018: Vancouver (73 points) — Picked 7th; Quinn Hughes, D (26 goals, 215 assists in 283 NHL games)
- 2017: Detroit (79 points) — Picked 9th; Michael Rasmussen, Center (36 goals, 50 assists in 238 NHL games)
- 2016: Winnipeg (78 points) — Picked 2nd; Patrik Laine, D (198 goals, 181 assists in 462 NHL games)
- 2015: New Jersey (78 points) — Picked 6th; Pavel Zacha, Center (90 goals, 146 assists in 468 NHL games)
- 2014: Vancouver (83 points) — Picked 6th; Jake Virtanen, RW (55 goals, 45 assists in 317 NHL games)
- 2013: Calgary (42 points) — Picked 6th; Sean Monahan, Center (218 goals, 261 assists in 681 NHL games)
What Coyotes Fan Can Expect
If Arizona sports betting apps allowed for over/under betting on where the Coyotes might end up in the draft, take over the No. 6 pick.
Of the past 23 teams that held the sixth highest No. 1 draft pick odds in the NHL lottery, only two finished higher than the No. 6 spot — the 2016 Winnipeg Jets and 2019 New York Rangers.
Both of those teams wound up getting the second overall pick in that year’s draft, with the Jets selecting defenseman Patrik Laine, while the Rangers took winger Kaapo Kakko in 2019.
Of the last 23 players drafted by the team entering the NHL Draft Lottery with the sixth-highest odds, longtime Predators and Flyers forward Scott Hartnell wound up with the most goals scored at 327, while 2001 pick Mikko Koivu had the most assists of any player that went to such a team at 505.
Hartnell also was the longest-tenured player of teams that finished the year with the sixth worst record in the league, playing in 1,249 contests between 2000 and 2018 with Nashville, Philadelphia and Columbus.
Conversely, 2008 pick Nikita Filatov of the Blue Jackets had the shortest career (of any retired pick), netting six goals and eight assists in 53 NHL games between 2008 and 2012.
To put those stats in perspective, the Coyotes franchise leader in games played, goals and assists is Shane Doan (who was picked seventh overall in the 1995 NHL Draft when the team was the Winnipeg Jets). Doan finished his run in the desert with 402 goals and 570 assists across 1,540 games, leaving an indelible mark on hockey in the Valley.
