The San Jose Sharks were not very lucky in the NHL draft lottery on Wednesday.
The Sharks did not win either of the two draws that determined which teams would get the first and second overall picks in next month’s NHL Draft, finishing seventh, still their highest as an organization in more than 15 years.
This is the first time in their 30-year history that the Sharks will place the draft in seventh place overall.
The Buffalo Sabers, who finished with the worst record in the NHL this season, won the lottery. The Seattle Kraken and Anaheim Ducks, enemies of the Pacific Sharks squad for next season, landed in the second and third overall picks, respectively. Kraken’s expansion is guaranteed no worse than the fifth.
The Sharks, who finished seventh in the league with a score of 21-28-7, had a 6.7 percent chance of winning the lottery and another 6.9 percent chance of winning the second raffle in the second overall pick.
The most likely outcome of Wednesday’s lottery for the Sharks was to keep their selection in seventh place or fall to eighth if another team with a lower chance of winning jumped to first and second. They could also have dropped to ninth place overall if two teams beat them. The NHL has drawn one for the first overall pick and one for the second pick.
But the lottery went as expected for picks # 4-15 before Seattle jumped to Anaheim, which had the second-worst record in the league this season, for second place.
Regarded as the best available player in this year’s draft, Owen Power is a 6-foot-5, 214-pound defensive man who could jump into the NHL immediately next season. In his freshman year at Michigan, Power earned 16 points from 26 games and is now competing for Team Canada at the IIHF World Championship in Latvia.
Other top players include defender Simon Edvinson and forward William Ecklund, both from Sweden, WHL forward Dylan Guinter and Michigan center Matti Beners.
Defenders Luke Hughes, Brandt Clarke and Kent Johnson are also believed to be among the best available players this year and could be among the most available players to the Sharks in seventh place.
This season marked the first time under general manager Doug Wilson that the Sharks missed the playoffs in consecutive seasons.
Wilson, who began his tenure as Sharks captain in May 2003, has had only four top-ten picks in the past 18 years, beginning with forward Milan Michalek, who finished sixth in June 2003. Defenders Luke Hughes and Brandt are also believed to be Clarke, and the Kent Johnson Center is among the best players available this year.
Since 2005, the Sharks have been included in the top 10 three times, most recently in 2015 when they missed the playoffs, finished ninth in the lottery and selected forward Timo Meyer.
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