NHL Makes Another Whoopsie, Nashville Predators Picking 15th in Draft

My oh my, the NHL never fails to outdo itself on screwing things up after the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery telecast was more awkward than it was exciting, with the final results revealing that the Nashville Predators have the 15th overall pick and the Chicago Blackhawks winning the draft lottery.

The telecast, which was aired on ESPN and ESPN+ with Kevin Weekes hosting, felt more like a hostage video than an exciting revelation of who will be drafting the best prospect since Connor McDavid, that being Connor Bedard.

Fans outside of the Chicago Blackhawks fanbase are in revolt right now that the NHL is rigged. As you would expect, it’s trending and not a great look for the NHL as it tries to grow the game and get more fans through its reuniting with ESPN.

The Anaheim Ducks entered the night with the best odds at 25.5 percent chance of getting Bedard, while the Columbus Blue Jackets came in at second-highest at 13.5 percent, followed by the Blackhawks at 11.5 percent.

Both the Blue Jackets and Ducks will still get some star studded prospects with their respective picks, with the consensus top two picks behind Bedard being standout University of Michigan center Adam Fantilli likely going No.2 and a toss-up of prospects after that for the Blue Jackets including center/winger Leo Carlsson, winger Matvei Michkov and center Will Smith of the Team USA development team.

But it was highly-anticipated more so than any other draft lottery of recent memory because Bedard is an out-of-this-world talent that doesn’t come along very often. He’s an instant franchise changing player, raising the stakes and making this appointment viewing for any hockey fan.

Recent changes to the format made it to where no team can jump up more than 10 spots, taking the Nashville Predators completely out of the mix. They were quickly announced in the telecast as the No.15 overall pick, with the Calgary Flames coming in right behind them at No.16 and the Pittsburgh Penguins the next spot up at No.14.

The biggest debacle of the night by far was Weekes announcing the first change in the pre-draft order by revealing that the Blue Jackets had slipped back to No.3 and that it was down to either the Ducks or the Blackhawks before going to commercial break.

The problem with that was, the card hadn’t been revealed yet by the NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. Yikes.

So, yeah here we are again watching the NHL step on its own toes in the national spotlight on ESPN. And it’s not really even on Weekes. The whole set up was bland and awkward, and that’s not on Weekes. He’s just the host doing what he can.

As for the Nashville Predators, all that winning they did with the young kids down the stretch dropped them back a few spots, but that’s perfectly fine. That was some exciting hockey to watch to salvage an emotionally draining season for the Predators with injuries and mass selling at the trade deadline.

If the Predators stay put at No.15, it will be only the second time they’ve picked that high in the first round since 2015. They took Yaroslav Askarov with the 11th overall pick in 2020, and before that their last pick higher than No.15 was in 2014 when they took Kevin Fiala, also with the 11th overall pick.

I’m sticking firmly with my belief that the Predators should push to trade up into the top-10 of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, which will be held in Nashville on June 28. The draft class is loaded behind Bedard as well, and you loaded up on all of those draft picks through trades for a reason. Cash in.

If the Predators stick at No.15, then defenseman might be the way to go. But if they can move up for a generational type talent at wing or center then you absolutely make that deal.

As for future NHL lottery telecasts, maybe we should just stick with a good ol’ fashioned press release next year?