We had a behind-the-scenes look at the NHL draft lottery. Here's how it went down.
The two losses, on a night the Bruins could have secured the No. 1 pick for the first time since 1997, now will have the Black & Gold positioned to go No. 7 for the first time since 2000, when they swung and missed on Lars Jonsson, a Swedish defenseman. Jonsson never suited up for the Bruins, his NHL career totaling only the half-dozen games he logged for the Flyers in 2006-07.
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In the broader picture, the lottery, broadcast live for the first time, delivered as the league desired: with suspense and drama.
The Islanders, who had but a 3.5 percent chance of winning the draft, clinched it on the night's opening draw, moving up from the No. 10 spot. Utah then followed by winning the second draw of the Ping-Pong balls, moving up from its No. 14 position.
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'Some excitement, right?' said a beaming Steve Mayer, the league's executive vice president and chief content officer. 'And with a payoff, too.'
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For the league, that payoff came in the form of the two dark horses, the Isles and the second-year UHC each moving up 10 spots in the draft order. To that point, it could not have been better scripted as a TV event aimed at drawing in more viewers and getting them to buy into the ride.
'And let's be clear,' said a smiling Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner, speaking to a couple of reporters after the lottery, 'we didn't script anything … and we've never scripted anything.'
In an age when there's a potential conspiracy out there to find roost in any pro sports league's practices, good luck to anyone attempting to claim a fix around the NHL's complex draft process.
Fourteen balls, numbered 1-14, swirled around a machine in an air-blown scramble and four of the balls were ejected in 30-second intervals. There were 1,001 possible four-digit combinations, with each of the league's 16 non-playoff clubs assigned varying shares of those combinations.
The Bruins had 85 of the 1,001 combinations, thus entering with an 8.5 percent chance of winning.
At Mayer's suggestion, the league for the first time this year showed how the odds changed for each team as each of the four balls were drawn. In the first draw, the Bruins were out of the mix after the first three balls were drawn – numbers 7, 11, and 12. None of their four combos included No. 11.
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NHL executive VP and chief content officer Steve Mayer (center) directed league officials, including commissioner Gary Bettman (second from left) and deputy commissioner Bill Daly (far right) at the 2025 NHL draft lottery in New Jersey.
Kevin Paul Dupont
Then came the fourth ball.
'The moment of truth!,' said ESPN's John Buccigross, the draft lottery's host, as the balls swirled around prior to the last one. 'And..here…it…comes.'
'It's number 13,' said Bettman, standing aside the lottery machine, roughly the size of a large coffee urn.
'Holy schnikees,' exhorted Buccigros, who was aware, like the viewing audience, that lucky 13 clinched it for the Isles.
But it was left to Billy Daly, the league's deputy commissioner, to make it official. While Daly awaited the accountant's final confirmation, Buccigross added, 'Out of nowhere … from about center ice …'
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'The winner,' Daly finally chimed in … 'belongs to the New York Islanders."
'Do you believe in miracles … Kenny Morrow?!' Buccigross immediately said, cameras then turning to an exuberant Morrow, who represented the winning Islanders. 'And that look [of joy] from Kenny says it all!'
A member of the USA 'Miracle' team that won the 1980 Olympic gold medal at Lake Placid, Morrow also won four Cups, from 1980 to 1983, as an Islanders blueliner. On this night, he represented the Islanders, who only recently fired Lou Lamoriello as their general manager.
'Incredible … I guess it's lucky No. 13 now, right?' said an enthused Morrow, speaking to NHL Network via Zoom. 'The hockey gods smiled on us. I can't tell you how thrilled I am for our Islanders fans, our ownership, for the entire Islander organization.'
It's the fifth time, dating back to 1972, that the Islanders have owned the No. 1 pick. They chose Billy Harris at No. 1 in '72, followed a year later with Hall of Fame blueliner Denis Potvin. They picked Boston University goalie Rick DiPietro No. 1 in 2000 and franchise forward John Tavares (now with Toronto) in 2009.
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In part because the show was broadcast live for a first time, the NHL staged upward of 10 full rehearsals across the weekend and Monday, though Bettman himself participated solely in the Monday rehearsals.
Approximately a half-hour prior to air time, a Globe reporter asked Bettman if the live TV element concerned him.
'Youuuuuu betcha,' he said with an anxious smile, drawing laughs from those around Bettman, including his lieutenant, Mayer.
But overall, it was a night that went off without an error, ultimately with that 'payoff', as noted by Mayer.
A payoff with potential big dividends for Elmont, NY, and for Salt Lake City, Utah. Not necessarily so much for the Hub of Hockey.
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at
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