After several weeks of anticipation, the New York Rangers have won the right to pick first overall and select Alexis Lafreniere in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft.
BREAKING: The #NYR have won the #NHLDraftLottery. They will pick first overall. @FP_Coverage
— Full Press NHL (@FullPressNHL) August 10, 2020
The NHL couldn’t have written it any better (or maybe they did) as to how this all came about. The initial lottery held back in June determined who would select 2-8 with the first overall pick to be determined by one more lottery between the eight teams eliminated in the qualifying round.
The Rangers, who were swept out of the Qualifying Round came into the play-in round as the 11th seed. They selected Kaapo Kakko second overall in last year’s draft in addition to signing Hart Trophy candidate, Artemi Panarin in free agency.
NHL Draft Order
- New York Rangers
2. Los Angeles Kings
3. Ottawa Senators
4. Detroit Red Wings
5. Ottawa Senators
6. Anaheim Ducks
7. New Jersey Devils
8. Buffalo Sabres
The presumptive top overall pick, Alexis Lafreniere, tallied 35 goals and 77 assists last season with Rimouski Océanic of the QMJHL and was the MVP of the World Junior Tournament. He will now join a group that consists of the aforementioned Panarin, Kaako, in addition to players such as Mike Zibanejad and Ryan Strome.
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