When the NHL began holding an amateur draft in 1963, it introduced a system that would allow the teams in the League to have wider access to the talent pool.
In 1969 the Montreal Canadiens picked Rejean Houle as the first ever pick in an draft that truly represented the best amateur players available.
From 1969 to 1994 teams would draft in the opposite order of their regular season standing, meaning the worst team in the league would have the rights to draft first.
Although drafting is truly an inexact science, the first overall pick was usually counted upon to be an important addition to a team’s roster. And that’s how it remained until 1995 when a draft lottery was introduced to try and dissuade teams from purposely tanking the season in order to get the best player available.
From 1995 to 2012 the rules of the Draft Lottery stipulated that the winning team could not move up more than four spots in the draft, so first overall was only achievable by the five worst teams. That rule was put to the test right away in 1995, as the Los Angeles Kings won the Lottery, however as they were only the seventh worst team in the League, they were only able to move up to the third pick, which they used to draft Aki Berg. Ottawa retained their first pick, and the New York Islanders kept their second pick,
Under these rules the worst team in the League lost the first overall pick six times out of 18, or one in three.
| YEAR | Top Seed | Lottery Winner | First Pick | First Pick |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Ottawa | Los Angeles | Ottawa | Bryan Berard |
| 1996 | Ottawa | Ottawa | Ottawa | Chris Phillips |
| 1997 | Boston | Boston | Boston | Joe Thornton |
| 1998 | Tampa Bay | San Jose | Tampa Bay (via trade) | Vincent Lecavalier |
| 1999 | Tampa Bay | Chicago | Atlanta (via trade) | Patrik Stefan |
| 2000 | Atlanta | New York Islanders | New York Islanders | Rick Dipietro |
| 2001 | New York Islanders | Atlanta | Atlanta | Ilya Kovalchuk |
| 2002 | Atlanta | Florida | Columbus (via trade) | Rick Nash |
| 2003 | Carolina | Florida | Pittsburgh (via trade) | Marc-Andre Fleury |
| 2004 | Pittsburgh | Washington | Washington | Alex Ovechkin |
| 2005 | N/A | Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh | Sidney Crosby |
| 2006 | St. Louis | St. Louis | St. Louis | Erik Johnson |
| 2007 | Philadelphia | Chicago | Chicago | Patrick Kane |
| 2008 | Tampa Bay | Tampa Bay | Tampa Bay | Steven Stamkos |
| 2009 | New York Islanders | New York Islanders | New York Islanders | John Tavares |
| 2010 | Edmonton | Edmonton | Edmonton | Taylor Hall |
| 2011 | Edmonton | New Jersey | Edmonton | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins |
| 2012 | Columbus | Edmonton | Edmonton | Nail Yakupov |
Starting in 2013, all 14 teams that did not qualify for the playoffs were entered into the contest for the first overall pick, using a weighted system based on their finish during the regular season.
Now all 14 teams could move up to first with decreasing likelihood. Under this approach no team suffered more than Buffalo, who finished last twice, yet never received top pick. In fact the top seeded team lost the first overall pick all three times.
| YEAR | Top Seed | Lottery Winner | First Pick | First Pick |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Florida | Colorado | Colorado | Nathan MacKinnon |
| 2014 | Buffalo | Florida | Florida | Aaron Ekblad |
| 2015 | Buffalo | Edmonton | Edmonton | Connor McDavid |
Starting with the 2016 Entry Draft, the top three picks will be up for grabs, meaning that up to three teams can move up in the draft order, making the entire process more random, while still giving a statistical advantage to the teams that finished with the least points in the regular season standings.
This was implemented to dissuade teams from purposely being terrible. Now the worst team in the League, the Toronto Maple Leafs, risk not drafting until the fourth overall position, however statistically improbable.
Click here to find out more about the rules and procedures for the 2016 NHL Draft Lottery.
