New York Islanders, Utah HC Win Top Picks In 2025 NHL Draft Lottery
The lottery balls take flight during the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery at NHL Network Studio on May 07, ... More 2024 in Secaucus, New Jersey. (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images)
With a new, live format for the first time ever, the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery yielded some thrilling and unexpected results.
The New York Islanders, who held the 10th-best odds heading into the lottery, vaulted into the No. 1 spot. It's their first pick inside the top 10 since taking Michael Dal Colle at No. 5 in 2014, and their fifth No. 1 pick in franchise history.
In this millennium, the Islanders took John Tavares first overall in 2009, and goaltender Rick DiPietro at No. 1 in 2000. In their first two years of existence, they used their first-overall picks on Billy Harris in 1972 and Denis Potvin in 1973.
Perhaps the Islanders' representative at the draft lottery brought the team good luck. After the departure of president and GM Lou Lamoriello on Apr. 22, dynasty defenseman Ken Morrow stepped up, as the team's longtime director of pro scouting.
'The Hockey Gods smiled on us,' Morrow said after the lottery result was announced. 'I can't tell you how thrilled I am for Islanders fans, ownership and our entire organization.'
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman presides over the the drawing for the first overall pick awarded to ... More the New York Islanders in the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery at NHL Network Studio on May 5, 2025 in Secaucus, New Jersey. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)
The unveiling of the results proved suspenseful, as the league brought its lottery-ball machine to center stage for the first time. Rather than pre-drawing the lucky numbers and having deputy commissioner Bill Daly reveal the results on ordered cards, 14 numbered balls were placed in the machine. Four balls were drawn at 30-second intervals to determine the first winner, then a second drawing took place to determine the second winner.
As the number on each ball was revealed, a real-time chart showed which teams dropped out of contention, and which teams saw their odds increase.
Before the fourth and final ball was revealed for the first drawing, the four teams with the best remaining odds to win were the Islanders (10th), the Chicago Blackhawks (second), the Philadelphia Flyers (fourth) and the Pittsburgh Penguins (ninth). The San Jose Sharks (first), Seattle Kraken (sixth) and Buffalo Sabres (seventh) remained in the running, at lower odds.
The NHL's rules now prohibit a winning team from moving up more than 10 places, so here's how the odds looked heading into Monday's drawings:
That rule came into play in the second drawing, which was won by the Utah Hockey Club. They moved up from 14th to fourth.
Technically, Utah is a brand-new team, so this is just its second draft lottery. Last year, Utah's first-round picks were centers Tij Iginla at No. 6 and Cole Beaudoin at No. 12.
The 2024 lottery did not change the draft order at all — the first time that had happened since 2010. After finishing last in the league standings, the San Jose Sharks claimed the first-overall pick for the first time in their franchise's history, and used it to pick Canadian center Macklin Celebrini.
The Sharks improved by five points in 2024-25, but finished last again. This year's lottery results bump them down to the No. 2 pick.
Here is the full 2025 draft order of the non-playoff teams:
Celebrini was one of just six players from his draft class to play NHL games, and the only one to stay on the roster for the full 2024-25 season. He turns 19 in June, making him the youngest player to play more than four games in the NHL this year. Celebrini's 25 goals ranked him second among all rookies, and his 63 points tied him for second place. On Monday, he was announced as a Calder Trophy finalist for rookie of the year alongside Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson, 21, and Calgary Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf, 24.
For the 2025 draft, the presumptive top prospect is Canadian defenseman Matthew Schaefer. He's a smooth-skating defenseman with good puck skills who could be a good long-term fit with Noah Dobson on the Islanders' blue line. But there are some question marks attached to his name. Between a bout of mono and a broken clavicle suffered at the 2025 world junior championship, he was limited to just 17 games with the OHL's Erie Otters this season.
With the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery in the books, attention now turns to the draft itself. With the IIHF's world U18 championship just completed, the next gathering of top prospects will be the 2025 NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo from June 1-7. The draft itself will be held in a new, decentralized format on June 27-28. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will call the names of the drafted prospects at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles while teams set up their war rooms in their home markets.
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