In case you missed it, the NHL's draft lottery was held earlier this week. The Florida Panthers, who finished with the third-worst record in the league this season, won the right to pick first overall.

Because the Panthers' ball was selected, Atlanta and Columbus each moved down a spot in the draft order. It was Atlanta, ironically, who jumped from third to first last year to take Ilya Kovalchuk.

Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh each received a year's supply of Turtle Wax just for playing and were ordered to pick up their balls and go home.

The Panthers will have two picks in the top 10 thanks to the trade that sent Pavel Bure to the Rangers. The Rangers sent out a press release after the lottery to remind all fans that they will make another trade with the Panthers in 10 years to get whoever Florida selected. They will then pay him an ungodly amount of cash and still not make the playoffs.

Here's the draft order:

1. Florida
2. Atlanta
3. Columbus
4. Tampa Bay
5. Pittsburgh
6. Nashville
7. Anaheim
8. Minnesota
9. Calgary
10. Florida (from NY Rangers)
11. Buffalo
12. Washington
13. Dallas
14. Edmonton

The remaining positions will be determined after the playoffs.

The draft will be held June 22 and 23 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

Drafting Rewards

The Thrashers could give the Panthers some tips about drafting quality players. The Thrashers top two draft picks in each of the past two seasons, forwards Dany Heatley and Ilya Kovalchuk, put together impressive rookie seasons in 2001-02. Heatley and Kovalchuk finished the season 1-2 among NHL rookies in scoring with 67 and 51 points, respectively.

They became the first rookie teammates to lead the league since Brian Leetch and Tony Granato of the New York Rangers in 1988-89.

Heatley recorded 26 goals and 41 assists in 82 games, while Kovalchuk, whose season ended early due to an injury, racked up 29 goals and 22 assists in 65 games.

Despite playing in fewer games than his fellow rookie teammate, our money is on Kovalchuk to capture the rookie of the year award.

Kristian Huselius of Florida finished third in rookie scoring with 45 points (23 goals) in 79 games. Erik Cole of Carolina was fourth.

Lights, Camera, Auction!

Oh, those crazy Minnesota Wild fans. They just can't seem to get enough of their team, even though it's, well…not very good.

The Wild is hosting an online auction of the team's sticks. While the auction does cut into the amount of memorabilia that the locker room attendants can take home with them after the season, at least they are going to a good cause. Proceeds from the event go to a local charity. So here's your chance to bid on your favorite Wild player's twig. Just think of how many goals still are nestled in those blades...

Be forewarned, however: the bidding is rather pricey. The Manny Fernandez goalie stick is going for more than $450. And the bidding doesn't end until April 29.

Personally, I'd choose the Richard Park game-used autographed model. That, my friends, is a collector's item if I ever saw one. Amazingly enough, the bidding for the Dickie Park stick is up to $117 (Bufordx10, you're a wise man). Click here to bid on the stick. If anyone wants to bid on it and give the stick to me, that would be cool, too. Come on, it's for charity!

home | about | search | archive | lcs classic © 1994 - 2010 LCS Hockey. Produced by wonderchimp technology company. All Rights Reserved. Made in U.S.A.