Keep your eyes focused on Draft Day Steals and Fails to read the latest edition of our NHL Draft series.
Losing a draft lottery is supposed to be disastrous for a team at the bottom of the NHL standings. But losing the 2017 NHL draft lottery could have been the best thing to happen to the Colorado Avalanche and the Vancouver Canucks.
There's no better draft day steal than losing the lottery and still getting the best prospect.
2017 NHL Draft Lottery Calamity
Remember, in 2017 Colorado bottomed out in the standings with 48 points after Patrick Roy left them high-and-dry weeks before the start of the season. Vancouver wasn't nearly as bad, but their 69 points in the standings were still the second-worst in the league.
Now, I know the anti-tankers out there will say failing to the bottom shouldn't be rewarded. But that's ultimately the point of the draft; bad teams get help with a top prospect.
- You've long known my take on tanking in the NHL, it isn't a problem.
The 2017 draft was down to Nico Hischer or Nolan Patrick for the first overall pick. They were the prizes that the Avs and 'Nucks were battling to draft. These two kids would, ideally, turn those franchises around.
Nolan Patrick given top spot on the NHL's final ranking of 2017 draft-eligible players, ahead of Nico Hischier and Casey Mittelstadt.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) April 11, 2017
But the draft lottery went about as poorly as possible for both Colorado and Vancouver.
New Jersey moved up from fifth to draft first overall (8.5%), Philadelphia made a massive leap going from 13th to draft second (2.4%) and Dallas moved up seven spots for the third overall picks (6.4%). In betting terms that's +1076 for New Jersey, +4067 for Philly and +1463 for Dallas.
2017 NHL Draft's Happy Accident
So calamity, catastrophe, crisis? Right?
I'm sure that's what Colorado and Vancouver's management were thinking at the time. But man did that unfortunate lottery end up working in their favor? It's what Bob Ross would call a happy accident.
Drafting fourth and fifth overall, Colorado took Cale Makar and Vancouver drafted Elias Pettersson. And with all due respect to Nico Hischier, who's a fine player, Makar and Pettersson are the two best players from that draft.
| Overall Pick | Player | Points Per Game |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nico Hischier (New Jersey Devils) | 0.75 |
| 2 | Nolan Patrick (Philadelphia Flyers)* | 0.35 |
| 3 | Miro Heiskanen (Dallas Stars) | 0.60 |
| 4 | Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche) | 1.08 |
| 5 | Elias Pettersson (Vancouver Canucks) | 1.04 |
*Patrick (25) retired earlier this year after battling with injuries
Cale Makar has been a revolutionary player on the blue line scoring goals at a better rate than most forwards. His transitional skills are the best the league has seen since Bobby Orr, and he's already won just about everything there is to win. He's a Stanley Cup champion, a Conn Smythe winner, a Norris Trophy winner and a finalist, and he's won the Calder in his first year. All before he turned 25.
- Makar has the second-best odds to win the 2024 Norris Trophy
Pettersson hasn't been as transformative to the game as Cale Makar, but he's an elite center that's taking over the game. Like Makar, he's won the Calder Trophy but unlike the Avs defenseman, he's yet to lay his hands on the Stanley Cup.
That might change this year. Led by Pettersson, the Canucks are at the top of the NHL and have their sights set on winning a championship.
It's clear to me that, losing the 2017 draft lottery couldn't have turned out better for either side. I bet, now, they couldn't be happier to have lost in 2017.
