No luck: Red Wings land No. 9 pick in NHL draft

Detroit – A disappointing regular season was followed by a disappointing draft lottery.

The Red Wings still can’t catch a break.

They were slotted seventh heading into the NHL Draft Lottery based on regular-season records but will wind up with the ninth overall pick in the Entry Draft on June 23-24 in Chicago after the ping pong balls were pulled in Toronto.

The Red Wings had former player and current front office executive Kris Draper representing the team on stage in the CBC studios in the made-for-TV event but that didn't produce any luck either.

There was a 6.7 percent chance of the Red Wings securing the No. 1 pick given the correct ping pong ball pulled  – and, obviously, did not.

Still, this will be the Red Wings’ first top-10 draft pick since 1991.

But New Jersey, which only had an 8.5 percent chance, moved all the way up to No. 1 in a huge upset, along with Philadelphia, who only had a 2.2 percent chance but wound up with the No. 2 pick.

Dallas (5.8 percent) moved all the way to third in an evening with major surprises.

It was a bad night for the Colorado Avalanche, who were slotted first and had a 17.9 percent of winning the lottery but will now pick fourth.

Truthfully, there may not be a major difference from the third overall pick to, maybe, the 20th player selected.

This is an overall underwhelming class of prospects, with only two forwards – Nolan Patrick and Nico Hischier – likely ready to step into the NHL next season.

The Red Wings are expected to lean toward selecting a defenseman or center, generally the best player available.

ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tkulfan