Connor Bedard lottery: We just learned great news for Montreal Canadiens fans

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Elias Adaime
April 21, 2023 (12:56)

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The famous NHL lottery will take place on May 8th, and the hockey world will be focused on where Connor Bedard will be heading for the 2023-2024 season.

As we know, the Canadiens currently have an 8.5% chance of winning the lottery and getting their hands on Bedard, but despite this, the majority of experts claim that the Canadiens have virtually no chance of getting the winning ticket and having a generational player on their team.

However, as reported per Cimon Asselin, of the website Habsolumentfan.com, we shouldn't jump to conclusions too quickly. Since 2016, it has happened on a few occasions that some teams that finished beyond the fifth spot were favored by the lottery.

Here are some examples:

Last year, the New Jersey Devils were fifth before the lottery and eventually moved up to the second spot, selecting Slovakian defenseman Simon Nemec.

Three years earlier, the Rangers were also lucky, as they were ranked sixth before the lottery and eventually moved up to the second spot to select forward Kaapo Kakko. Not to mention that the Rangers also won the lottery in 2020 to draft a certain Alexis Lafrenière.

As for the first overall pick, it happened in 2017 when the Devils, once again, were ranked fifth, just like the Canadiens this year, and eventually drafted Nico Hischier first overall.

All of this is of course luck, but it should be mentioned that the chances of the Habs moving up to the second spot are almost the same as getting the first overall pick, and this year, Adam Fantilli is expected to become the second choice behind Connor Bedard.

Even though the Canadiens' strategy for now is to draft between the fifth and seventh spots, the chances of Kent Hughes being able to speak among the top two are still legitimate, and Canadiens fans will be hopeful until May 8th.

All of this is great news and very encouraging for Montreal Canadiens fans.