Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The National Hockey League held its annual Draft Lottery on Monday to determine the official draft order for the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft on Friday, June 27.
Heading into the lottery, the Buffalo Sabres held the seventh-best odds at winning the first overall pick at 6.5%. However, after the New York Islanders were the winning draw for the No. 1 pick at just 3.5%, they bumped the Sabres to the eighth overall selection in the first round.
Then with the drawing for the second overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, it was the Utah Hockey Club earning the lucky draw, moving up 10 slots from 14th overall to the No. 4 pick.
Draft lottery rules only allow for teams to move up 10 draft positions if they win one of the two draws among the bottom 16 teams in the league that failed to qualify for the playoffs.
With Utah moving up the board, that pushed the Sabres back in the draft order once more, putting Buffalo in place to pick with the ninth overall selection in the 2025 NHL Draft.
This will mark the third time in franchise history the Sabres will draft with the ninth pick.
The most recent selection made at No. 9 came back in 2022 when Buffalo selected forward Matthew Savoie out of the Western Hockey League. He was the first of three first-round picks held by the Sabres in that draft year.
The only other selection made with the ninth overall pick came back in 1982 when Buffalo took forward Paul Cyr also out of the Western Hockey League. Cyr ended up being the second of three selections made in the first round by the Sabres that draft.
Among some of the notable players to recently go off the draft board with the ninth pick in the NHL Draft include Dylan Guenther (Utah), Marco Rossi (Minnesota Wild), Trevor Zegras (Anaheim Ducks), Mikhail Sergachev (Montreal Canadiens) and Timo Meier (San Jose Sharks).
This year's NHL Draft Lottery was a bit different from how the league conducted it in the past. Instead of NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly reading off cards for where teams will select in the draft, the league held the lottery draw live on television for both picks.
As for the Islanders, they will pick No. 1 overall for the first time since 2009 when they selected center John Tavares out of the Ontario Hockey League. The Islanders have ended up with the first overall pick now five times in franchise history, using their other selections on goaltender Rick DiPietro (2000), defenseman Denis Potvin (1973) and forward Billy Harris (1972).
As for the rest of the draft order, the San Jose Sharks, who finished in last place and held the best odds of winning the first overall pick in the draft lottery, drop only one spot in the order and will pick second overall.
The Chicago Blackhawks also only drop one spot in the draft order following the draft lottery, securing the No. 3 pick.
Here is the complete draft order for the top-16 picks following Monday's NHL Draft Lottery:
1.) New York Islanders
2.) San Jose Sharks
3.) Chicago Blackhawks
4.) Utah Hockey Club
5.) Nashville Predators
6.) Philadelphia Flyers
7.) Boston Bruins
8.) Seattle Kraken
9.) Buffalo Sabres
10.) Anaheim Ducks
11.) Pittsburgh Penguins
12.) New York Rangers
13.) Detroit Red Wings
14.) Columbus Blue Jackets
15.) Vancouver Canucks
16.) Montreal Canadiens (via the Calgary Flames)
Round 1 of the 2025 NHL Draft will be held on Friday, June 27, with Rounds 2-7 taking place on Saturday, June 28 from Los Angeles.