Wild fall in the lottery, will pick 12th in NHL Draft
The Minnesota Wild will pick 12th in the NHL Draft following the results of the NHL draft lottery on Tuesday night.
Coming into the lottery, Minnesota held the 11th-best odds to land the top pick and a 9.8 percent chance at a top-three selection. There would be no such luck for the Wild, who dropped a spot to set the table for a double dose of the bad with a division rival moving up.
Adding insult to injury, the Chicago Blackhawks, who had worse odds than the Wild, moved up nine spots to land the third overall pick.
However, Colorado, who had the best odds of landing the top pick, fell to fourth.
The following players are the 10th, 11th and 12th-best prospects in the NHL Draft, according to Sporting News. It's important to note that just like in any draft, players will rise and fall by the time the draft rolls around on June 21.
No. 10 Kirby Dach, C, Saskatoon (WHL)
- Big kid at 6-foot-4 and 198 pounds who came into his own this year in the WHL with 73 points (25 goals) in 62 games.
- He's a versatile player who can play the power play and penalty kill.
No. 11 Cole Caufield, RW, U.S. NTDP
- Don't let his 5-foot-7 frame fool you. This kid can score the puck like none other as he had 83 goals in 83 games this season.
- Sporting News says Caufield might be the draft's best pure goal scorer.
No. 12 Pavel Dorofeyev, LW, Metallurg Magnitogorsk (KHL)
- Dorofeyev has a big shot under for a guy how's 6-feet-tall and just 168 pounds.
- He's playing in the KHL, so there's no guarantee he'll sign but his talent is for real.
Jack Hughes is the consensus the No. 1 pick in the NHL Draft and it's highly likely that New Jersey Devils, who won the lottery, will take the Orlando, Florida native.
#mnwild will pick 12th overall at the 2019 #NHLDraft. pic.twitter.com/VIISJvdvQw
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) April 10, 2019
This will be the first time the Wild has picked inside the draft lottery since 2012 when they selected Matt Dumba with the eighth overall pick.
