In draft lottery, Islanders get fifth pick

For the second straight year, the Islanders will pick fifth in the NHL draft.

In the lottery drawing in Toronto Tuesday, the Devils were picked first, but according to the rules they could not move up more than four spots, so the Edmonton Oilers, who finished 30th and last, get the first pick a second straight season. Last year they took Taylor Hall.

Last June the Islanders, who finished 27th this season, selected Swiss winger Nino Niederreiter at No. 5. Niederreiter started the season with the Islanders and scored a goal in nine games. He was sent to the WHL Portland Winterhawks where in 55 games he has scored 41 goals.

It was surprising that the Devils won the lottery, given their 3.6 percent chance.

The Colorado Avalanche will pick second and the Florida Panthers will pick third. Like the Islanders, who had a 10.7 percent chance of winning the lottery, the Ottawa Senators also were pushed down a spot, from fifth to sixth.

"For us, regardless of where we pick, we're going to get an excellent player," assistant to general manager Garth Snow Kerry Gwydir said while in Toronto for the televised broadcast. According to a team spokesperson, Snow was unable to attend because of contract details that needed to be completed for recently re-signed head coach Jack Capuano.

Although the lack of lottery luck was a disappointing bookend to a disappointing season, this year's draft is considered to be deeper in first-round talent, unlike previous years when there was a clear-cut favorite for the top pick -- Hall (2010), John Tavares (2009) and Steven Stamkos (2008).

The consensus top three players heading into this summer's draft are Red Deer Rebels center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the WHL, Swedish defenseman Adam Larsson and winger Gabriel Landeskog of the OHL's Kitchener Rangers.