Isles bumped down to the 5th spot in NHL Draft Lottery

Maybe Kevin Connolly would've brought the Islanders better luck.

With the New Jersey Devils winning the NHL draft lottery and moving from 8th spot to 4th, the 27th-place Islanders were bumped down a spot to the fifth selection overall. They will pick fifth for the second year in a row; last June they selected Swiss winger Nino Niederreiter of the WHL's Portland Winterhawks at No. 5.

The Devils won the lottery--surprisingly, given their 3.6% chance-- but a team can only move up a maximum of four spots, making the Oilers the winners two years running. Edmonton, who finished in 30th place this regular season, will have the top pick for the second consecutive draft; they selected Taylor Hall No. 1 overall last June.

The Colorado Avalanche will pick second and the Florida Panthers will pick third. Like the Islanders, who had a 10.7% chance of winning the lottery, the Ottawa Senators were also 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 on set in Toronto for the televised broadcast.

According to a team spokesperson, Snow was unable to attend because of contract details that needed to be finalized for recently re-signed head coach Jack Capuano. He appointed Gwydir in his place.

Although the lack of lottery luck was a disappointing book-end 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--Taylor 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.