Carolina Hurricanes Given 12th Overall Pick, Faces Even Tougher Metro Division
The Carolina Hurricanes fall one spot in the draft order in the 2017 1st round, moving from 11th to 12th overall in the draft.
Sometimes its all about luck, and the New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, and Dallas Stars had a whole bunch of it on lottery night. Even though they weren’t expecting much, the Hurricanes got unlucky. They were bypassed by the Flyers, pushing their pick back from 11th overall to 12th overall.
In what is an unprecedented event in the NHL, none of the three worst teams are in line to make the top three selections. Colorado slides to 4th overall after being historically bad. Vancouver moves to 5th overall. Due to the Vegas Golden Knights joining the league and being guaranteed nothing lower than sixth overall, the Arizona Coyotes got shafted. They finished 3rd worst, but will be picking 7th overall.
For the Carolina Hurricanes, it is a bummer to move back a spot. Especially considering they were in the hunt to get scoring wingers Eeli Tolvanen and Elias Pettersson. Now, sitting at 12th overall, those odds are looking unlikely. It looks like Ron Francis and company will be picking differently.
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It does open up trade possibilities though. The craziness this lottery provided means many teams will be looking to move up or back. Carolina is likely one of those teams who could move up. With 10 picks in the draft, they have the ability to jump into the top 10. It remains to be seen if that happens.
Another option is using the 12th overall pick as currency in a player acquisition. With this particular selection in a spot where the board becomes muddied a bit, Carolina may elect to use their selection as part of a trade for a forward. Maybe Colorado wants another crack at a top 15 pick?
Perhaps the biggest development from this lottery is that the Metropolitan Division just got seriously better. Of the top 5 teams in the league, three were Metro sides. The Rangers remain good. Philly and the Islanders were bubble playoff teams. New Jersey is rebuilding very quickly. And Carolina looks to have a talented, young team next year.
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So now, throw in the two best players in the draft, Nolan Patrick and Nico Hischier, into this division and the rich just keep getting richer. New Jersey instantly gets their franchise center in Patrick and begin to turn their rebuild around. The Flyers get an ultra talented center with Hischier and they were a playoff team much of the year. If I am Carolina, I am worried about keeping up with this division. It’s an arms race and the Canes need to keep up.