Devils win draft lottery, move up to select 4th overall, Oilers to select 1st overall for 2nd straight year

The New Jersey Devils 2011 offseason of redemption got off on the right foot by winning the NHL Draft Lottery, but they will not choose 1st overall due to NHL rules. By finishing with the 8th worst record in the NHL, the Devils can only move up 4 spots at the maximum, so they will choose 4th overall in the 2011 Entry Draft in St. Paul, Minnesota in late June. Lou Lamoriello announced the Devils will not surrender the pick as part of the Kovalchuk penalty meaning that they will have to surrender a 1st round pick in either 2012 through 2014 Entry Drafts.

The Edmonton Oilers will select #1 overall for the second straight year. Last year they took Taylor Hall with the pick. There is not clear cut favorite for the number one pick this year though many believe it will be either Red Deer Rebels forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Western Hockey League in Canada or Swedish Elite League defenseman Adam Larssen. Swedish forward Gabriel Landeskog who plays for the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League in Canada could also be thrown into the mix.

The Devils last highest pick was in 1991, when they chose Scott Niedermayer 3rd overall. Many believe the Devils should draft a puck moving defenseman or a play making forward. Lou Lamoriello has been known to trade up or down in round 1 of the draft and it would not surprise me if he trades up or down this year. If he wants Larssen due to the Devils track record of drafting Swedish players in round 1, he could move up, but if they want a guy like Ryan Murphy, they could trade down a few spots if his stock does not rise or fall. Currently, Murphy is ranked at # 7 or 8. Nugent-Hopkins is the best play making forward, but he is likely to be the 31 overall pick. Sean Couturier of Drumondville of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is the other logical choice for the Devils even though his stock is falling, but it is expected to level out. He is expected to go top 5.

4th overall is not bad for the Devils, and I think this pick will be a good marketing tool along with Parise and Kovalchuk sometime in the near future. It was reported that the Devils are doing very well in 2011-2012 season ticket sales, so that is a positive sign for the franchise as they sold and have reserved almost 1200 season ticket packages. This despite missing the playoffs, but looks like Kovalchuk is definitely putting fans into the seats and their late season almost miracle run.