Inside the NHL draft lottery Blackhawks won for Connor Bedard
SECAUCUS, N.J. — The Chicago Blackhawks won the NHL draft lottery and the chance to select Connor Bedard long before Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly revealed it on national television.
The process to determine who got the No. 1 pick and Bedard, considered hockey’s top prospect since Connor McDavid, actually wrapped up about 80 minutes earlier in a small room at NHL Network studios. It also ended with the Anaheim Ducks getting the No. 2 pick.
The Associated Press was one of three media outlets represented among the roughly 20 people there to witness the potentially franchise-altering drawing. It was filmed for posterity and posted on the league’s website.
Here’s an inside look at how it all happened: