Edmonton Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini had a huge smile on his face as the NHL deputy commissioner opened the envelope and announced that for the third straight year in a row, the Oilers have won the top pick in the NHL Draft.
The Oilers won the 2012 NHL Draft Lottery on Tuesday night, passing the Columbus Blue Jackets for the right to select top prospect Nail Yakupov at the NHL Draft in Pittsburgh this June.
Columbus entered the lottery with a 48.2 percent chance of solidifying the top pick in the 2012 NHL Draft, while only the worst five teams in the league had a chance at the No. 1 overall pick the Oilers had an 18.8 percent chance at the pick, the Montreal Canadiens had a 14.2 percent chance, the New York Islanders had a 10.7 percent chance and the Toronto Maple Leafs had an 8.1 percent chance.
Beyond the top two spots, the rest of the draft order remains the same.
14 teams were part of the lottery but only the top five had a chance at the No. 1 overall pick as teams can only have the chance to move up four spots. In 2011, the New Jersey Devils won the lottery and moved up from the No. 8 spot to the No. 4 spot. They drafted defenseman Adam Larsson with that pick.
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