Will Hawks hit draft lotto jackpot Monday?

Last in a series

The biggest day of the year is here for the Blackhawks.

And the Anaheim Ducks. And the Columbus Blue Jackets, San Jose Sharks, Montreal Canadiens, Arizona Coyotes and every other team who could win Monday's NHL draft lottery.

The grand prize will be Connor Bedard, the 17-year-old phenom who will transform a franchise the way Patrick Kane, Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby did for the Hawks, Oilers and Penguins.

The Hawks, who finished 30th in the NHL with 59 points, only have an 11.5% chance of landing the No. 1 pick. Anaheim (25.5%) and Columbus (13.5%) have the best odds.

Teams can move up a maximum of 10 spots, meaning eight other squads could vault to the top.

What some fans may not realize is the Hawks have a far better chance selecting fourth or fifth than ending up in the top three. (Their odds of finishing fourth are 39.7%; odds of fifth are 29.8%).

If the Hawks do end up at No. 3, 4 or 5, it could present GM Kyle Davidson with an interesting dilemma. Most pundits believe the top four picks will be:

• Bedard, who racked up a ridiculous 71 goals and 72 assists for the Regina Pats in the WHL (juniors).

• Adam Fantilli, who might be the most NHL-ready player for the 2023-24 campaign. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound center piled up 65 points in 36 games for Michigan as a freshman.

• Leo Carlsson, the top player coming out of Europe.

• Matvei Michkov, a Russian phenom who is wicked fast and has incredible playmaking skills.

There is a strong belief that Michkov will end up being the second-best player in this draft, but he won't be available for three years due to his KHL contract. Combine that with the political risks of drafting someone from Russia and it could make some teams pass on Michkov.

Davidson at first danced around a question this subject, but in the end his final answer amounted to: We will take the best player available when we're up.

"We're looking for the best players. We can't pass up on talent," said Davidson, who later added: "I don't necessarily think that being available to us tomorrow is a (prerequisite) for us to draft you or not. This is not something we're going to fix overnight (and) it's not something we're going to fix in Nashville at the draft. ...

"We had a great draft class last year. We'll see how they develop, but early returns are positive. ... Hopefully at some point - when the collective comes together - we've got ourselves a pretty special team."

There is some debate as to who would go No. 5, but the growing consensus is it will be Will Smith, a 6-foot center out of Lexington, Massachusetts who has opened plenty of eyes while playing in the U.S.A. National Development Program.

The lottery is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN. It will be held at the NHL Network's Secaucus, New Jersey studio.

Davidson will speak to the media at the United Center afterward.

Who will hit jackpot?

<b>Odds of winning Monday's NHL draft lottery:</b>Team Pct.

Anaheim 25.5

Columbus 13.5

BLACKHAWKS 11.5

San Jose 9.5

Montreal 8.5

Arizona 7.5

Philadelphia 6.5

Washington 6.0

Detroit 5.0

St. Louis 3.5

Vancouver 3.0

Note: The lottery determines the first two picks. A team can move up a maximum of 10 spots.

<b>If Hawks don't win, odds for where they will end up:</b>Second pick 11.2%

Third pick 7.8%

Fourth pick 39.7%

Fifth pick 29.8%

Source: tankathon.com