Florida Panthers Jump over Sabres, Win 2014 NHL Draft Lottery

On Tuesday night, the 2014 NHL Draft Lottery was conducted. Though the Sabres had the least amount of points in the league, 52, and had a 25% chance of winning the lotto, the Panthers, who had an 18.8% chance, had their ping pong ball selected first. This comes a year after Colorado beat out Florida for the number one pick last year, though the Cats finished in last place.

The top 5 players on the NHL’s Central Scouting final rankings are Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, Sam Reinhardt, Leon Draisaitl, and Michael Dal Colle. Ekblad, who is 6’4”, is the perfect fit for Florida, which desperately needs a franchise defenseman to build around since Erik Gudbranson hasn’t exactly panned out yet.