The Buffalo Sabres finally won something on the heels of a season in which they endured mostly losing.A franchise which became the NHL’s
first to finish 31st in the standings following this year’s addition of the
expansion Vegas Golden Knights came away a winner in the draft lottery held in
Toronto on Saturday night.After center Ryan O’Reilly acknowledged two weeks ago
that a losing culture crept into the Sabres’ locker room
Ryan O'Reilly Jersey , perhaps landing the No. 1 pick could provide motivation, general manager Jason Botterill told The Associated Press by
phone.”We talked about change, and everyone assumes that’s like bringing in new
players or bringing in new coaches, but it’s also changing things , how you go
about your training,” said Botterill, who took over in May after GM Tim Murray
and coach Dan Bylsma were fired.”Hopefully this gets them that much more
excited,” he added. ”We’re bringing in a No. 1 overall talent to this group. And
my guess it’s going to give our coaches a jump. And it’s certainly going to give
our players a little jump.”The Sabres will pick first for the third time in team
history, and first since selecting Pierre Turgeon at No. 1 in 1987. Buffalo also
lands the top pick after losing the lottery each of the previous two times the
team finished last and settled for the No. 2 selections in both 2014 and `15.”I
certainly know the disappointment from those couple of years, but what people
have to understand is we brought in excellent players in those years
Sam Reinhart Jersey ,” Botterill said, referring to Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart. ”But there always is that excitement and that attitude, the No. 1. And
I’m very happy for our group.”The Carolina Hurricanes made the biggest jump in
the draft order by moving from the 11th spot to 2nd. Montreal also shook up the
draft order by moving up one spot and will select third.The Hurricanes and
Canadiens moved ahead of Ottawa and Arizona. The Senators dropped from the
second slot to having the fourth pick, and Arizona dropped from third to
fifth.The Sabres finished 25-45-12 and ranked last in numerous offensive
categories. They extended their franchise-worst playoff drought to a seventh
straight season and went 11-25-5 at home to match the fewest victories in team
history.Buffalo became just the eighth last-place finishing team to retain the
first pick by winning the lottery since it was introduced by the NHL in
1995.This year’s draft will be held at Dallas on June 22-23.Swedish defenseman
Rasmus Dahlin is regarded as the top-rated prospect and is listed first among
European skaters in the final NHL Central Scouting Bureau’s final rankings.
Russian forward Andrei Svechnikov is the top-ranked North American prospect
after playing for Barrie of the Ontario Hockey League.The top-rated U.S.-born
prospect is Boston University forward Brady Tkachuk, the son of former NHL star
Keith Tkachuk.Botterill said it was premature to say who the Sabres would
consider selecting, though Hurricanes president Don Waddell guessed it will
likely be Dahlin.That’s fine for Waddell, who was more concerned about the
Hurricanes moving back in the order.”When it got to be No. 11 and our name
didn’t come up there, it was like: `Wow, do you believe just what happened?”’
Waddell said. ”At 11, I think everybody’s comfortable that they’re going to get
a good player but probably not a player that was going to jump on your team
right now.”The Hurricanes are in a state of flux under new team owner Tom
Dundon.Carolina is searching for a general manager after Ron Francis was
reassigned to another front-office position last season. Last week
Womens Zemgus Girgensons Jersey , coach Bill Peters announced his resignation and was then hired by the Calgary Flames on Monday.Carolina’s move
up mirrored the draft lottery results from a year ago when Philadelphia made the
largest jump in the lottery’s history by going from the 13th slot to picking
second.Dahlin has the chance of becoming just the second Swedish-born player to
be taken first after the Quebec Nordiques chose Mats Sundin with the No. 1 pick
in 1989.Scouting bureau director Dan Marr regards Dahlin as ”the clear-cut No.
1, pro-ready prospect.” He has represented Sweden at the past two World Junior
Hockey tournaments, including a silver medal finish at this year’s tournament
held at Buffalo. And Dahlin also had an assist in two games at the Pyeongchang
Olympics in February.The next step for the prospects will be attending the
pre-draft combine in Buffalo from May 27 to June 2.The lottery settled one more
selection with Philadelphia landing the 14th pick to complete a trade in which
the Flyers sent Brayden Schenn to St. Louis in June. The Blues had the option to
retain this year’s first-round pick but only if it landed among the top 10
spots.The remaining 16 draft positions will be determined based on playoff
results.—AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this story from
Washington.— BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) Ottawa Senators captain Erik Karlsson won’t play
Wednesday night against the Buffalo Sabres, and coach Guy Boucher says he’s not
expecting the defenseman to join the team for its final two games.The Senators
let Karlsson determine his playing schedule so he could be close to his wife
after their baby was stillborn two weeks ago. Karlsson played the past four
games after missing three of four.Though he’s not anticipating Karlsson to play,
Boucher says he’s holding onto the possibility of the two-time Norris Trophy
winner rejoining the team before Ottawa closes its season Saturday at
Boston.Ottawa has been eliminated from playoff contention and plays Friday at
Pittsburgh.Karlsson’s future in Ottawa is uncertain. Though he has one year left
on his contract, the Senators are unsure if they can re-sign Karlsson to a
long-term extension. They attempted to trade him this year.Boucher also
announced goalie Mike Condon will miss the remainder of the season after
suffering a concussion in practice Tuesday.—
