Blackhawks win the Bedard draft lottery; Flyers stay 7th

Connor Bedard

The odds were too long. In Philly, we can’t have nice things. The Flyers have forever angered the hockey gods since the Broad Street Bullies days.

Whatever the reason, the Flyers had no luck in the Connor Bedard draft lottery Monday night. But the Chicago Blackhawks had all the luck.

Going into the lottery, the Flyers only had a 6.5 percent chance of landing the Vancouver native. They came up empty, remaining in the seventh spot they earned from their regular-season play. The Flyers had a 44.4 percent chance of staying in seventh. The didn’t move up or down.

The Flyers had a 6.7 percent chance of moving up to the No. 2 spot, according to Tankathon.com. The Flyers also could have dropped to eighth (36.5 percent chance) or ninth (5.6 percent chance).

When the Flyers were announced as the seventh pick, all hope was gone to land Bedard or even expected No. 2 pick Adam Fantilli, of the University of Michigan.

The Blackhawks won the NHL Draft lottery giving them the right to select the next great player in Bedard. Chicago was slotted at No. 3, with an 11.5 percent chance of winning the lottery. The team with the best odds, Anaheim at 18.5 percent, dropped to No. 2.

Landing a player like Bedard instantly changes the fortunes of a franchise. Every Blackhawks employee will feel the excitement. Players doing their offseason training might push a little harder knowing they will be teammates with a potential superstar.

On-ice, the team is better. Off-ice, Bedard jerseys will fly off store shelves. Online sales will explode.

Ticket sales will boom. Season-ticket packages will be eagerly purchased.

Bedard, 17, is 5-foot-10, 185 pounds. He’s not going to overpower opponents. Bedard is known for a wicked wrist shot, skating ability and smart, intuitive play.

He was the No. 1-ranked prospect by just about everybody who does such rankings — easily the most talented player to hit the draft since Connor McDavid in 2015.

The NHL Draft is June 28-29 in Nashville.

Here is the draft order:

1. Chicago Blackhawks
2. Anaheim Ducks
3. Columbus Blue Jackets
4. San Jose Sharks
5. Montreal Canadiens
6. Arizona Coyotes
7. Flyers
8. Washington Capitals
9. Detroit Red Wings
10. St. Louis Blues
11. Vancouver Canucks
12. Arizona Coyotes (from Ottawa)
13. Buffalo Sabres
14. Pittsburgh Penguins
15. Nashville Predators
16. Calgary Flames