The Ducks’ miserable season ended a month ago, but they absorbed another painful loss Monday when they didn’t win the NHL draft lottery in a year that features the potential franchise-changing talents of forward Connor Bedard.
Despite having a 25.5% chance of getting the No. 1 pick — the best odds among the 16 teams that missed the playoffs this season — the Ducks fell to No. 2 behind the Chicago Blackhawks. The announcement was made during a broadcast aired from the NHL Network studios in Secaucus, N.J.
Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said his thoughts as he waited for the announcement of the first two picks were simple. “Turn the card. Let’s kill the suspense and get at it,” he said.
“I’m excited. It looks like Connor Bedard is going to go No. 1 but now we get to pick a player we want,” as opposed to dropping to No. 3 and waiting for the No. 2 team to make its selection, he added.
Verbeek also said the available talent pool is very good. “These players are going to be outstanding players,” he said. “Now it’s up to us to develop them properly and give them the best tools to succeed down the road.”
Dropping to No. 2 likely will delay the Ducks’ coaching search until after the draft, which will be held June 28-29 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. Choosing Bedard would have been easy. Weighing the merits of the next few forwards — and Verbeek said up front is where the Ducks most need depth — will take time he might otherwise have used to interview coaching candidates.
“Probably would have had more time if we’d won the lottery but now we’ve got some more work to do,” Verbeek said. “I’m optimistic we can get there before the draft but I’m not holding my breath to it.”
New rules stipulating that no team could move up more than 10 spots in the lottery had enhanced the odds that the Ducks (23-47-23 last season) would win the right to select Bedard, whose scoring exploits for Regina of the junior-level Western Hockey League and for Team Canada at the world junior championships contributed to him being proclaimed an unquestioned No. 1 in scouts’ rankings. However, Chicago defied the odds to get the top pick in the weighted draw.
The Ducks have never won the NHL’s draft lottery and have never had the No. 1 overall pick. They were the runners-up in 2005 for Sidney Crosby, instead getting the No. 2 pick and using that to draft Bobby Ryan.
The suspense grew Monday night as NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly held up cards with the logo of each team as its draft spot was announced. The final three were Columbus, the Ducks, and the Blackhawks. Columbus was announced as having drawn the third pick, leaving ESPN to post views of Verbeek and his Chicago counterpart, Kyle Davidson, anxiously awaiting the outcome.
Daly then held up a card with No. 1 on it and flipped it over to reveal the Blackhawks’ logo. For bookkeeping’s sake, he then held up the card that had No. 2 on it and flipped it over — to reveal an upside-down Ducks logo. He quickly realized his mistake and turned it right-side up, a task Verbeek now has without benefit of that No. 1 pick.
Bedard, who will be 18 in July, is from North Vancouver, Canada. Touted for stardom from a young age, he has excelled in the spotlight: he had 10 goals and 20 points in seven WHL playoff games and, before that, led all players in scoring at the 2023 world junior championships with nine goals and 23 points in seven games. He was voted the tournament’s top forward and most valuable player as he helped Canada win a second straight title.
The NHL’s Central Scouting Services ranked Leo Carlsson, a center for Orebro of the Swedish League, No. 1 among international skaters. Adam Fantilli of the University of Michigan was ranked second behind Bedard among North American skaters, followed by center William Smith of the U.S. National Development Team program.
Adding Bedard would have accelerated a much-needed rebuild by the Ducks, who have stockpiled a considerable amount of young talent the past few seasons but haven’t been able to shed old, bloated contracts and move many of those kids into prominent roles. The Ducks have missed the playoffs each of the last five seasons and have struggled mightily on defense, allowing a league-worst 338 goals this season. Afterward, coach Dallas Eakins was not retained by Verbeek.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
