Seattle Kraken drop two spots in NHL draft lottery

The Seattle Kraken had the sixth-best odds in the NHL draft lottery, but dropped two spots to hold the eighth overall pick for the second straight year.

With the 10th-best odds, the New York Islanders (3.5%) won the first overall pick in the 2025 NHL draft on Monday. The San Jose Sharks are set to draft second and the Chicago Blackhawks have the third pick.

“The hockey gods smiled on us,” Islanders director of pro scouting Ken Morrow told studio analyst Kevin Weekes. Morrow filled in as Lou Lamoriello was fired last month and the Islanders are without a general manager at the moment.

The draft lottery set the order for the first 16 picks on June 27. All of the teams that did not qualify for the 2025 postseason, or acquired the first-round pick of a nonplayoff team, were eligible to participate, but a team could only move up 10 positions.

That came into play Monday when Utah Hockey Club won the second draw, but could only move up to fourth. San Jose claimed the second spot. That bumped the Kraken down further.

The Kraken had a 7.5% chance at the top spot. The last-place Sharks (25.5%) had the best overall odds of taking the No. 1 selection, followed by Chicago (13.5%) and Nashville (11.5%).

The Kraken (35-41-6) tied the Boston Bruins for the fifth-worst point total among 32 teams, but held the tiebreaker, which was regulation wins. Per nhl.com their best odds (42%) were for the seventh overall pick, followed by the sixth (34.1%).

There were four balls numbered 1 to 14 and 1,001 possible four-number combinations. Each team received an allotment of randomly assigned four-number combinations. One combination, 11-12-13-14, was designated as a redraw. Instead of announcing the results as usual, the league televised the drawing live at the NHL Network’s studio in Secaucus, N.J.

Unlike the past two summers, there isn’t a runaway top overall pick. Defenseman Matthew Schaefer is the top-ranked North American skater in NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings and the consensus favorite to go first, even though his 2024-25 Ontario Hockey League season was cut short by mononucleosis and a broken clavicle.

Close behind is center Michael Misa, who was a 62-goal scorer and the captain of the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit. Caleb Desnoyers, a center for the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, is a potential top-three selection.

Last year, the Sharks, who finished last in the regular season, won the first draw and retained the first pick. The second-worst Blackhawks won a second redraw and maintained the second pick. In the end, no team moved up. The projected order based on regular-season finish was unchanged for the first time since 2010.

San Jose wasted no time in selecting center Macklin Celebrini with the top overall pick. The 18-year-old went on to tie for second among NHL rookies with 63 points (25 goals) in 70 games.

With the No. 8 pick the Kraken selected center Berkly Catton, the captain of the Western Hockey League’s Spokane Chiefs who has 35 points (eight goals) in just 15 postseason games. The Chiefs completed a sweep of the Portland Winterhawks on Thursday to become the WHL’s Western Conference champions. They will take on Eastern Conference champion Medicine Hat Tigers in Game 1 of the WHL championship on Friday. The winner earns a spot in the Memorial Cup.

The year before, the Kraken took Eduard Sale 20th overall. In 2022, Shane Wright (4th) was their first-round selection and, in 2021, it was Matty Beniers (2nd). The Kraken have only drafted forwards in the first round so far. Beniers and Wright were on the NHL roster this season and Catton could be there this fall.

There will be a new Kraken general manager in place this year. Jason Botterill was elevated from assistant GM on April 22, while former GM Ron Francis moved to president of hockey operations.

They’re still on the hunt for a new coach. The Kraken fired Dan Bylsma on April 21 after just one season behind the bench.

Botterill takes over in time for the shift to a decentralized draft. The event will take place at L.A. Live’s Peacock Theater, where top prospects will be on -site but not team representatives. They will participate virtually.

The Kraken possess seven 2025 selections, though Botterill promised an active summer and they’re valuable trade capital.

On the second day of the draft, when Rounds 2-7 take place, the club has two picks in the second and fourth rounds, respectively, one in the fifth round and one in the seventh. Their third- and sixth-round picks went to the New York Rangers as part of a December trade for forward Kaapo Kakko.