It wasn't the worst case scenario, but in terms of an "anything can happen" evening, things couldn't have gone much worse for the Ottawa Senators.

Sitting with the second best odds at nabbing the first overall pick in the NHL Draft lottery, the suspense was ended far earlier than the fans had hoped when the Senators were the last team revealed before the San Jose-Vegas game, which meant that they would be the fourth team to select, a drop of two places in the draft order from where they finished a dreadful season.

And to add insult to injury, one of the teams to knock them down a peg was Montreal, who moved up to the number 3 slot, and the Buffalo Sabres used their top odds to keep the status quo and hold onto the #1 selection. That means that two of the top 3 picks, including what promises to be an elite if not generational defenseman, will also be plying their trade in the Atlantic Division going forward. Carolina will draft 2nd.

Well, at least Pierre Dorion will have his mind made up for him, as the draft looks like Rasmus Dahlin at #1, and then a trio of forwards pegged to go 2-3-4. Ottawa stands to get the one left on the board from the group consisting of Andrei Svechnikov, Filip Zadina and Brady Tkachuk, all of whom have excellent potential but aren't Dahlin.

Svechnikov was ranked as the #1 North American skater in Central Scouting's final rankings, followed by Tkachuk and Zadina, who swapped spots from the mid-season ranking.

There is still the outside chance, although a very slim one, that Dorion comes to the realization that next year might be worse than the one just past, and delivers that pick to Colorado to fulfil their obligation to the Avs for the Matt Duchene deal.

But, having not had a top 5 pick since Jason Spezza, perhaps a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush so to speak, and Dorion said that they would likely be keeping the pick and there is a good chance that the player they select will play in the NHL next season.

That will remain to be seen.

Join the Discussion: » 26 Comments » Post New Comment

» Goodbye, and good luck!

» Can Colin White fill the #2C role as early as next year?

» Boucher staying put, at least for now

» Boucher Day

» First look to the future - the eve of the draft lottery