SALT LAKE CITY — For a state that doesn't have a lottery, Utah finally got a chance to cheer on lady luck with help from our new NHL team.
The National Hockey League held its annual draft lottery Tuesday, with Utah hoping the bouncing balls worked some magic and gave the Beehive State the top pick in next month's draft.
However, even with the sixth-best odds at 7.5 percent to secure the No. 1 selection, Utah failed to move up the ladder, nor did it move down, as the team held steady in the position in began the evening.
“You get excited because now you know exactly where you’re picking," Utah general manager Bill Armstrong said. “Now it’s just targeting our guys, figuring out the players at 6.”
"There's some good talent there. There's some good defensive talent, there's some good offensive players that are there," he added. "I like this year's draft, and I know our scouts are excited about where we're picking and the opportunity to pick some of that talent."
With an 18.5% chance of winning the lottery, the best of the lot, the San Jose Sharks held on to the top spot and will hear the team's name called first on draft night.
