The NHL Draft Lottery 2011 came and went on Tuesday evening, and the Colorado Avalanche have the No. 2 overall pick. The Avalanche had an 18.8 percent chance of obtaining the No. 1 overall pick, but it was the New Jersey Devils who won the draft lottery, moving up from No. 8 to No. 4. It was the first time since 2007 that a team other than the one with the best chance of winning the lottery moved up four spots. That year, the Chicago Blackhawks moved from No. 5 to No. 1 and selected Patrick Kane.
As a result of the Devils moving up, picks moved down by one. The first round pick the St. Louis Blues sent to the Avalanche in the Erik Johnson deal is now the 11th overall selection. The Oilers will have the No. 1 overall pick for the second year in a row. In 2010 they selected Taylor Hall, who tallied 22 goals and 42 points in his rookie season before missing the last month of the season due to a knee injury.
The Avalanche had the No. 3 overall pick in 2009 and selected forward Matt Duchene. The second overall pick they hold in June represents the highest draft slot the Avalanche have ever controlled.
In the final NHL Central Scouting Bureau rankings, center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was ranked the top North American skater, while Swedish defenseman Adam Larsson was named the top European skater.
The NHL Draft takes place June 24-25.
Here is the complete NHL Draft Lottery results:
Edmonton Oilers
Colorado Avalanche
Florida Panthers
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
Ottawa Senators
Atlanta Thrashers
Columbus Blue Jackets
Boston Bruins
Minnesota Wild
Colorado Avalanche
Carolina Hurricanes
Calgary Flames
Dallas Stars