2025 NHL Draft Lottery Preview

The 2025 NHL Draft Lottery is set to take place on Monday, May 5, at NHL Network's Secaucus, N.J., studio and will be broadcast live on ESPN, Sportsnet, and TVA Sports. The lottery will determine the order of the first 16 selections in the first round and only the teams who did not qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, or acquired the first-round drafting position from a non-playoff team, are eligible have a chance at winning the lottery, with only 11 of the 16 teams having a chance to win the first overall selection, as clubs can only move up a maximum of 10 spots.

WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR?

In the 2023-24 campaign, the Sharks finished with a record of 19-54-9 and eighth in the Pacific Division. San Jose earned the right to choose first overall for the first time in franchise history after winning the lottery with the best overall odds (18.5%) and proceeded to draft the 2024 Hobey Baker winner, Macklin Celebrini from Boston University. He became the youngest player to win the Hobey Baker Award after posting 64 points (32 goals, 32 assists) in 38 games, helping Boston University reach the Frozen Four, and the youngest player in Boston University’s history to be drafted. Celebrini quickly catapulted into the NHL and put together one of the most impressive rookie campaigns in franchise history. He finished the regular season with a team-leading 63 points (25 goals, 38 assists), setting San Jose rookie records in points and assists. Celebrini became the fastest Sharks rookie to reach the 20-point, 30-point, 40-point, and 50-point marks in addition to being the first ever to reach 60 points. He became the fifth rookie in franchise history to record a hat trick on Apr. 9 at Minnesota and finished the contest with a five-point game (three goals, two assists), the most by an NHL rookie this season and most by a San Jose rookie in a contest. Celebrini finished the regular season ranked second in goals, assists, and tied for second in points among NHL rookie skaters.

Additionally, San Jose made a second selection in the first round using Pittsburgh’s original selection and acquired Buffalo’s first-round pick in exchange for the 14^th and 42^nd overall selections to select defenseman Sam Dickinson 11^th overall. In his third season with the London Knights (2022-25), Dickinson won the Max Kaminsky Trophy as OHL Defenseman of the Year on Apr. 24. He set the Knights scoring record by a blueliner with 91 points (29 goals, 62 assists) in 55 regular-season games, setting career highs across all scoring categories while leading the league with a plus-64 rating. He finished the regular season second among OHL blueliners in points and goals, and third in assists. He was also named Sharks Prospect of the Year presented by Kaiser Permanente.

LOOKING AHEAD TO MAY 5
This season, San Jose enters with the same chance at winning the first draw (18.5%) and have a 25.5% chance of selecting first overall for the second straight year as they did in 2024 after finishing with a 20-50-12 record.

Below are the odds of winning the first draw in the lottery:

After the first draw, odds for the remaining teams will increase on a proportionate basis for the second draw, based on the outcome of the first draw.

THE SCENARIOS
San Jose is eligible to select anywhere from first to third overall, depending on the results of each of the lottery draws. Here is a breakdown of possible outcomes on May 5.

First overall: San Jose will be awarded the first overall selection by winning the first lottery draw (18.5-percent odds) or if the first draw is won by Detroit (2.5-percent), Columbus (2-percent), Utah (1.5-percent), Vancouver (0.5-percent) or Calgary (0.5-percent).

Second overall: San Jose will be awarded the second overall selection if another eligible team is picked for the first draw, then the Sharks win the second draw or if another eligible team wins the first draw, then the second is won by Columbus, Utah, Vancouver or Calgary.

Third overall: San Jose will be awarded the third overall selection if the two draws are won by other eligible teams for those respective slots.