By TOM JONES, Times Staff Writer
Published July 22, 2005
A pingpong ball tucked away in the NHL's New York offices could determine a future league dynasty. Today, that ball will pop up in a lottery machine and announce the No. 1 pick in the draft, scheduled for July 30 in Ottawa.
That ball represents which team gets to pick junior superstar Sidney Crosby, considered a franchise player and one of the best prospects in draft history.
What makes this lottery special is that every team, including the defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning, has a chance to earn the pick. In addition, the lottery will be used to determine the order of the next 29 picks.
The NHL will announce its lottery results at 4 p.m. ESPN News is scheduled to carry portions of the event. The league will set up the drama by announcing the first round in descending order, the 30th pick to No. 1.
The lucky team that gets Crosby.
The NHL will use a "snake" draft this season. The first round will go in ascending order with pick 1-30. Teams will pick in descending order in the second round (i.e. the 30th pick in the first round will get the first pick in the second round, etc.). They will follow that pattern through the seven-round draft.
Because there was no 2004-05 season, the league is using a slightly weighted lottery system. Here's how it works:
Each team begins with three balls. For every playoff appearance in the past three years, or No. 1 overall pick over the past four years, a team loses one ball. But each team will still be guaranteed to have one ball in the lottery. That means the Lightning went from three balls to one because of playoff appearances in the past two played seasons.
Here are how many chances each team has in today's lottery:
THREE BALLS: Buffalo, Columbus, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh.
TWO BALLS: Anaheim, Atlanta, Calgary, Carolina, Chicago, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Nashville, Phoenix.
ONE BALL: Boston, Colorado, Dallas, Detroit, Florida, Montreal, New Jersey, New York Islanders, Ottawa, Philadelphia, St. Louis, San Jose, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington.
