The Calgary Flames will (probably) draft 16th overall at the 2023 NHL Draft

The Calgary Flames have missed the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs and, by virtue of that they’ll be participating in the annual draft lottery on May 8. Heading into the lottery, the Flames will have possession of the 16th overall pick. Based on the long lottery odds, that’s probably where they’ll stay.

The annual draft lottery has two draws, with the winning teams from each of those draws potentially selecting first and second overall respectively. We say “potentially” because under the lottery rules a team can only move up by a maximum of 10 spots, so the Flames mathematically have zero chance of drafting projected first overall pick Connor Bedard. (Or second overall pick Adam Fantilli, for that matter.)

By virtue of being the best non-playoff team, the Flames have 0.5% odds of winning the first draw. Because of the odds being weighed and changing based on two draws occurring, here are the odds that the Flames will select at various spots:

In our current aggregated consensus rankings of the 2023 NHL Draft’s first round, the 16th-ranked player is Oshawa Generals centre Callum Ritchie.

We’ll have a lot of coverage of the draft class as we inch closer to the 2023 NHL Draft. The draft lottery takes place on May 8 at 5 p.m. MT on Sportsnet. The 2023 NHL Draft takes place June 28 & 29 in Nashville.