The Calgary Flames take their chances at the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery (6pm MT, SN)
By Ryan Pike
6 months agoBe sure to check out Betway for the latest NHL betting odds!
The Calgary Flames are set to draft at 16th overall at the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville at the end of June. But they have a chance – a very small one – of moving up to 6th overall via the NHL’s draft lottery, which occurs on Monday night at the NHL Network studios in scenic Seacaucus, New Jersey!
The broadcast of the lottery begins at 6 p.m. MT on Sportsnet!
How it works
The lottery drawing itself involves the league pulling four numbered ping-pong balls out of a bingo tumbler containing 14 balls (to start with), with different combinations of numbers being allocated to different teams – this is where the percentage chances for teams come from.
Ping pong balls are drawn, the league checks the combinations of numbers to determine the winner, and whoever wins the draws will have their draw position adjusted. Teams can move up no more than 10 spots, so the furthest that Anaheim (the last-place team from 2022-23) can fall is to 3rd overall.
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Tell me the odds
The Flames begin the drawing process at 16th overall. Here are the odds for the teams in the lottery draws, via the league.
| Draft Lottery Participants | Odds |
| Anaheim Ducks | 18.5% |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 13.5% |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 11.5% |
| San Jose Sharks | 9.5% |
| Montreal Canadiens | 8.5% |
| Arizona Coyotes | 7.5% |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 6.5% |
| Washington Capitals | 6.0% |
| Detroit Red Wings | 5.0% |
| St. Louis Blues | 3.5% |
| Vancouver Canucks | 3.0% |
| Ottawa Senators*** | 2.5% |
| Buffalo Sabres** | 2.0% |
| Pittsburgh Penguins** | 1.5% |
| Nashville Predators** | 0.5% |
| Calgary Flames** | 0.5% |
** – These teams can’t claim first overall, as they can only move up 10 spots if they won the lottery.
*** – Ottawa can’t claim first overall, but their pick goes to Arizona as part of the Jacob Chychrun trade… unless they win the lottery and draft within the top five.
Five number combinations (out of 1,000) result in a Flames lottery win:
- 1 – 4 – 6 – 14
- 1 – 4 – 11 – 12
- 1 – 7 – 13 – 14
- 6 – 7 – 9 – 14
- 8 – 9 – 10 – 13
Who could the Flames draft?
Assuming the Flames don’t win the lottery – and history suggests that’s a big long-shot for them – they’ll draft 16th. Cribbed from Steven Ellis’ rankings over at Daily Faceoff, here’s a snapshot of the players ranked between 12th and 20th.
| Rank | Player | Team |
| 12 | Colby Barlow (LW) | Owen Sound (OHL) |
| 13 | Riley Heidt (C) | Prince George (WHL) |
| 14 | Samuel Honzek (C) | Vancouver (WHL) |
| 15 | Gabe Perreault (RW) | U.S. National Development (USHL) |
| 16 | Eduard Sale (RW) | Brno (Czechia) |
| 17 | Andrew Cristall (LW) | Kelowna (WHL) |
| 18 | Dmitri Simashev (D) | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (KHL) |
| 19 | Nate Danielson (C) | Brandon (WHL) |
| 20 | Matthew Wood (LW) | Connecticut (NCAA) |
We’ll see how the ping pong balls land on Monday night! The 2023 NHL Draft goes June 28 & 29 in Nashville.
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