Photo Credit: NHL.com [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/b5988c84-672f-4459-9e18-5f467c4c7233.png] Photo Credit: NHL.com The 2025 NHL Draft Lottery will be held on Monday, May 5 at 4 pm PST. There will be two lotteries held, one for the first overall selection and one for the second. 2025 Anaheim Ducks Draft Lottery Preview [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/latest-news/2025-anaheim-ducks-draft-lottery-preview] The Anaheim Ducks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks] enter Monday with a 6% chance to win the lottery and select first overall for the first time in franchise history. Unlike most years, the 2025 Draft does not have a true consensus top prospect. As of now, most experts’ lists have either defenseman Matthew Schaefer or forward Michael Misa as this year’s prize at the very top of the draft. Of the 11 teams eligible to win the top pick in the draft, the Ducks are the most deserving of the lottery balls bouncing their way on Monday. TOO BAD FOR TOO LONG The Ottawa Senators [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators] took a major step in their journey toward contention in 2024-25 by qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In doing so, it rendered the Ducks' current seven-year playoff drought as the third-longest in the NHL. Only the Detroit Red Wings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/detroit-red-wings] (eight years) and the Buffalo Sabres [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/buffalo-sabres] (14 years) have longer sustained playoff droughts. The Red Wings are ineligible for first overall after finishing 21st in league standings, leaving just the Sabres as the only team in contention with a longer playoff drought than the Ducks. NEVER BEEN DONE Of the 11 eligible teams in 2025, the Ducks, Nashville Predators [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators], and Seattle Kraken [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/seattle-kraken] are the only teams to have never made a first overall selection in the history of their franchises. Of those three teams, the Ducks and Kraken are the only ones to have never had a first overall pick even suit up for them. CRUEL LOTTERY LUCK Under the new NHL Draft Lottery odds calculator, the team that finishes at the bottom of the NHL standings each year has roughly a 25% chance of winning and selecting first overall. Jun 28, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Macklin Celebrini is selected with the 1st overall pick in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft by the San Jose Sharks at The Sphere. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/c7fbe6e7-9ab9-4f51-a764-9b1c468c005b.jpeg] Jun 28, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Macklin Celebrini is selected with the 1st overall pick in the first round of the 2024 NHL Draft by the San Jose Sharks at The Sphere. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images Despite those odds, the team that finished at the bottom of the standings has won the subsequent lottery three out of the last four years. The Buffalo Sabres had the highest odds (25.7%) of winning the 2021 Draft Lottery and the right to select first overall. They did (Owen Power). The Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] had the highest odds (25.5%) of winning the 2022 Draft Lottery and the right to select first overall. They did (Juraj Slafkovsky). The Anaheim Ducks had the highest odds (25.5%) of winning the 2023 Draft Lottery and the right to select first overall. They didn’t (Connor Bedard). The San Jose Sharks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/san-jose-sharks] had the highest odds (25.5%) of winning the 2024 Draft Lottery and the right to select first overall. They did (Macklin Celebrini). The Ducks were the only team in the last four years to finish a season at the bottom of the standings and not win the subsequent lottery, a lottery whose prize was the most highly-touted prospect in recent years, receiving the label of “generational.” ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID In the salary cap era of the NHL (2005-present), there have been three draft-eligible prospects to have earned the label of “generational” heading into their respective drafts: Sidney Crosby (2005), Connor McDavid (2015), and Connor Bedard (2023). In two of those three drafts, the Ducks had to select second behind one of those said-to-be generational talents. In 2005, every team had the opportunity to win the lottery, as that draft followed the 2004-05 lockout season. Four teams had a 6.25% chance of drafting first overall (New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins, ten teams had a 4.17% chance (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Atlanta Thrashers, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, and Phoenix Coyotes), and the remaining 16 teams had a 2.08% chance. The Pittsburgh Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins] won the 2005 lottery and selected Sidney Crosby, who would captain them to three Stanley Cups and is widely considered to be on the “Mount Rushmore” of NHL players in history. The Ducks selected Bobby Ryan second overall, who played 866 career NHL games, including 378 for the Ducks, where he scored 289 points (147-142=289). In 2023, the Ducks had the very best odds to win the draft lottery after the worst season in franchise history and were the NHL’s worst defensive team (4.09 goals allowed per game) in 27 years. The Chicago Blackhawks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks] won the lottery and the rights to select Connor Bedard. Despite the Blackhawks' two seasons finishing 31st in the NHL standings with Bedard on the roster, Bedard has seen personal success so far in his young career, with 128 points (45-83=128) in 150 games while adding the 2024 Calder Trophy to his cabinet. The Ducks selected Leo Carlsson second overall in 2023, who has been electrifying in stretches during his two seasons in Anaheim, but the production hasn’t followed. He’s totaled 74 points (32-42=74) in 131 games. Jun 28, 2023; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson congratulates first overall pick Connor Bedard during the 2023 NHL Draft at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/1dc5c5ba-1980-4c76-9338-122258abbd11.jpeg] Jun 28, 2023; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Chicago Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson congratulates first overall pick Connor Bedard during the 2023 NHL Draft at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images In conclusion, if there were a team who deserves to win the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery and the right to choose between Matthew Schaefer or Michael Misa (or someone else), it would be the Anaheim Ducks, as they 1. Have the second-longest playoff drought among eligible teams 2. Have never won a draft lottery 3. Have been the only team of the last four years with the best odds to win not to do so 4. Have had to watch generational talents drafted right in front of them twice in 20 years. The defense rests. Report: The Ducks Ongoing Search for Next Head Coach [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/latest-news/report-the-ducks-ongoing-search-for-next-head-coach] Dostál, Gudas Will Not Play for Czechia at 2025 Worlds [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/latest-news/dostl-gudas-will-not-play-for-czechia-at-2025-worlds]
