New York Rangers: How to watch the entry draft lottery

If you are a fan of the New York Rangers, you are naturally a pessimist.  With the NHL draft lottery tonight, all Blueshirts fans are preparing themselves for another evening of disappointment.

At 8pm, the New York Rangers will finally know what  we have been speculating about for months.  How will the 2019 draft lottery play out?  What disaster will befall the Blueshirts?

Although the NHL hasn’t announced the format, if they follow past practices, the order of draft will be revealed in reverse order.  The order of selection will start with the team getting the 15th overall selection and then will count down to the top three.

The good news for Ranger fans is the most the Blueshirts can drop is  to ninth overall  and the odds of that happening are only 2.1 percent.  That would happen if three teams that finished with better records than the sixth place Rangers win the lottery.

As a reminder, here are the final standings and the odds:

  Team                          Top pick   Top three
1. Ottawa Senators     18.5 %    49.4 %
2. Los Angeles Kings   13.5 %    38.8 %
3. New Jersey Devils   11.5 %    33.9 %
4. Detroit Red Wings     9.5 %     28.8 %
5. Buffalo Sabres            8.5 %    26.1 %
6. New York Rangers    7.5 %     23.3%
7. Edmonton Oilers        6.5 %    20.4 %
8. Anaheim Ducks           6.0 %    19.0 %
9. Vancouver Canucks    5.0 %    16.0 %
10. Philadelphia Flyers   3.5 %    11.4 %
11. Minnesota Wild          3.0 %      9.9 %
12. Chicago Blackhawks 2.5 %      8.2 %
13. Florida Panthers        2.0 %      6.6 %
14. Arizona Coyotes        1.5 %       5.0 %
15. Montreal Canadiens 1.0 %       3.3 %

When they get down to picks 10 to 12, that’s when you should start paying attention and it could be bad news.  Depending on how far Vancouver, Anaheim and Edmonton move down in the draft will tell you if the teams with better records (and possibly the Rangers) are in the top three.

For example, if pick 12 goes to Vancouver, that means  that the teams below them in standings won the top three slots and the Rangers will pick ninth, Edmonton tenth and Anaheim 11th.

If pick 11 goes to Vancouver, that means that two teams below them are in the top three and the Rangers still have a chance at the holy grail.

If Vancouver drops to pick 10, that means that one team that finished 10th to 15th is guaranteed a top three pick and it will be the team that hasn’t been called  yet.  It also means that the Rangers are still in the hunt.

If a miracle happens and  if the Rangers haven’t been called yet when it is time to announce the sixth pick, if they give Buffalo, Detroit or New Jersey that sixth pick, the Rangers are in the top three. Hallelujah!

The worst case

That would be a ninth place draft pick and it means that against all odds, three teams that finished with better records than the Rangers won the lottery and got the top three picks.  If that happens, there is only one thing to do (besides cry).

First, go to YouTube and watch the entire Game Seven of the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals.   You should do this before searching the web for middle first round draft prospects, there will be plenty of time for that later.

If Montreal, Philadelphia, Chicago or Edmonton get the any of the top three picks, start circulating a petition asking for a Congressional investigation in to the NHL draft lottery.

Meh

If the Rangers end up with the sixth through eighth picks, you can start searching the web for background on draft-able players who are expected to go late in the top ten. Highlight the words “off the board pick” as that is the pick that the Rangers will probably make.  As they have a 76.4 percent shot at getting a pick in this range, this is where true Ranger fans believe they will finish (the hardcore pessimists predict ninth place).

At any rate, the Rangers will end up with a solid player who won’t be ready for the NHL for at least a year.  If you were thinking of getting a season ticket package for next season, hold off until 2020-21 at the earliest.

Miracle

It would be a miracle for the New York Rangers to get a top three pick although they have a 23.3 percent chance of  doing that.   Face, it the Rangers never win these things and they haven’t had one since Brad Park was selected second overall in 1966.   Still, that is almost a one in four chance of getting into the top three and if it happens, here’s what you should do.

If it is the third pick, you should immediately start studying up on and debating the merits of Kirby Dach, Dylan Cozens, Vasili Podkolzin and Bowen Byram.  This pick will be the toughest choice for the Rangers and will be fodder for much discussion. Dach and Cozens are centers while Byran is a offensive defenseman.  Would the Rangers go the route of drafting yet another Russian player  (Podkolzin) in the first round?

If it is the second pick, start looking at highlights of Kaapo Kakko.  With a glut of centers, a right wing sniper is exactly what the Rangers need.  He is a left handed shot who plays the off-wing.  Start salivating.  Inquire about the pricing for a half-season ticket for next season.

If it is the first pick, go out and buy some lottery tickets.  Popping some champagne is also permitted. Once done with that, take a look at highlights of Jack Hughes in action on YouTube.  There has been some thoughts that Kakko may go first over all instead of Hughes, but the hockey cognoscenti are almost unanimous in the belief that Hughes is the top pick and a game changer.

If the Rangers get the first pick, you can check out season ticket prices and start looking for Hughes jerseys on the web.  Don’t make any plans for Friday, June 21 unless you want to make the trek to Vancouver to be at the Entry Draft in person.

Fingers crossed.