Buffalo, NY (WGR 550) – The 2025 NHL Draft Lottery is set for Monday night, and the Buffalo Sabres, once again, have a chance at winning the No. 1 overall pick.
While the Sabres' chances at winning the first overall pick are small (6.5%), it’s still a chance.
There will be two drawings on Monday, one for the first overall pick and the other for the No. 2 pick. Both draws will be televised, for a change, rather than done before the telecast.
Teams can move up 10 spots if they win one of the two draws in the draft lottery. That means only teams slotted in Picks 1-through-11 can move up to win the first overall pick.
Draft Lottery participants:
1.) San Jose Sharks - 18.5%
2.) Chicago Blackhawks - 13.5%
3.) Nashville Predators - 11.5%
4.) Philadelphia Flyers - 9.5%
5.) Boston Bruins - 8.5%
6.) Seattle Kraken - 7.5%
7.) Buffalo Sabres - 6.5%
8.) Anaheim Ducks - 6.0%
9.) Pittsburgh Penguins - 5.0%
10.) New York Islanders - 3.5%
11.) New York Rangers - 3.0%
12.) Detroit Red Wings - 2.5%
13.) Columbus Blue Jackets - 2.0%
14.) Utah Hockey Club - 1.5%
15.) Vancouver Canucks - 0.5%
16.) Calgary Flames - 0.5%
If the Sabres stay at pick No. 7, it’ll only be the third time they’ve selected in that draft slot. Back in 2019, Buffalo took forward Dylan Cozens out of the Western Hockey League, while in 1996, the Sabres selected forward Erik Rasmussen out of the University of Minnesota.
Rankings of players in this year's draft class are all over the place, but here are five that could go very high:
- Matthew Schaefer - Defense - Erie Otters (OHL)
- Michael Misa - Forward - Saginaw Spirit (OHL)
- Anton Frondell - Forward - Djurgårdens IF (HockeyAllsvenskan)
- Porter Martone - Forward - Brampton Steelheads (OHL)
- James Hagens - Forward - Boston College (NCAA)
The Draft Lottery begins at 7 p.m. on ESPN. Zach Jones and Derek Kramer will provide live coverage of the NHL Draft Lottery on WGR.