FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JUNE 2, 2021
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS TO SELECT FIFTH OVERALL AT 2021 NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE DRAFT
COLUMBUS, OHIO --- The Columbus Blue Jackets will have the fifth overall pick at the 2021 National Hockey League Draft to be held virtually on July 23-24. The club’s draft position was determined by tonight’s NHL Draft Lottery. The Buffalo Sabres won the initial drawing and will have the first overall pick with the expansion Seattle Kraken winning the subsequent drawing and moving from third to second overall.
The final results of tonight’s draft lottery: 1 – Buffalo Sabres; 2 – Seattle Kraken; 3 – Anaheim Ducks; 4 – New Jersey Devils; 5 – COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS; 6 – Detroit Red Wings; 7 – San Jose Sharks; 8 – Los Angeles Kings; 9 – Vancouver Canucks; 10 – Ottawa Senators; 11 – Arizona Coyotes (Forfeited); 12 – Chicago Blackhawks; 13 – Calgary Flames; 14 – Philadelphia Flyers; 15 – Dallas Stars; 16 – New York Rangers. The remaining draft positions will be determined at the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Blue Jackets currently hold nine selections in the 2021 NHL Draft, including three first round picks. In addition to selecting fifth overall, the Blue Jackets own first-round picks of the Toronto Maple Leafs (acquired with a 2022 fourth-round pick for F Nick Foligno on Apr. 11, 2021) and Tampa Bay Lightning (acquired with a 2022 third-round selection in exchange for D David Savard on Apr. 10, 2021). Columbus holds its own picks in rounds three through seven, along with New Jersey’s fifth-round selection.
The NHL Draft Lottery is a weighted lottery system that determines the order of selection for the first 16 picks of the Draft. Clubs that did not qualify for this season’s Stanley Cup Playoffs participated in the lottery. In March 2021, the NHL announced changes to the Draft Lottery format. Beginning this year, the NHL Draft Lottery assigned the top two slots in the first round of the NHL Draft – a change from prior years, when the Draft Lottery was used to determine the top three selections. Two draws are held with the first drawing determining the club selecting first overall and the second drawing determining the team selecting second.
Under this system, the Blue Jackets had the 12th-most regular season points and an 8.5 pct. chance of winning the first lottery. The percentage chance of being selected in the 2021 NHL Draft Lottery was as follows: Buffalo (16.6 pct.), Anaheim (12.1 pct.), Seattle (10.3 pct.), New Jersey (10.3 pct.), COLUMBUS (8.5 pct.), Detroit (7.6 pct.), San Jose (6.7 pct.), Los Angeles (5.8 pct.), Vancouver (5.4 pct.), Ottawa (4.5 pct.), Arizona (3.1 pct.), Chicago (2.7 pct.), Calgary (2.2 pct.), Philadelphia (1.8 pct.), Dallas (1.4 pct.) and the NY Rangers (1.0 pct.).
BLUE JACKETS DRAFT LOTTERY HISTORY 2000 – Lost expansion team coin flip with Minnesota (No. 3 pick) to earn No. 4 overall pick in 2000 Entry Draft. 2001 – Entered in No. 8 position and earned No. 8 pick. Atlanta (No. 3) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick. 2002 – Entered in No. 2 position and earned No. 3 pick. Florida (No. 3) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.* 2003 – Entered in No. 3 position and earned No. 4 pick. Florida (No. 4) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick. 2004 – Entered in No. 4 position and earned No. 4 pick. Washington (No. 3) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick. 2005 – No Drawing due to cancellation of 2004-05 season. 2006 – Entered in No. 6 position and earned No. 6 pick. St. Louis (No. 1) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick. 2007 – Entered in No. 7 position and earned No. 7 pick. Chicago (No. 5) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick. 2008 – Entered in No. 6 position and earned No. 6 pick. Tampa Bay (No. 1) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick. 2009 – Not eligible for Drawing. NY Islanders (No. 1) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick. 2010 – Entered in No. 4 position and earned No. 4 pick. Edmonton (No. 1) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick. 2011 – Entered in No. 7 position and earned No. 8 pick. New Jersey (No. 8) won Drawing and No. 4 overall pick. 2012 – Entered in No. 1 position and earned No. 2 pick. Edmonton (No. 2) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick. 2013 – Entered in No. 14 position and earned No. 14 pick. Colorado (No. 2) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick. 2014 – Not eligible for Drawing. Florida (No. 2) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick. 2015 – Entered in No. 8 position and earned No. 8 pick. Edmonton (No. 3) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick. 2016 – Entered in No. 4 position and earned No. 3 pick. Toronto (No. 1) won First Drawing and No. 1 overall pick. 2017 – Not eligible for Drawing. New Jersey (No. 5) won First Drawing and No. 1 overall pick. 2018 – Not eligible for Drawing. Buffalo (No. 1) won First Drawing and No. 1 overall pick. 2019 – Not eligible for Drawing. New Jersey (No. 3) won First Drawing and No. 1 overall pick. 2020 – Not eligible for Drawing. New York Rangers won Second Phase and No. 1 overall pick. 2021 – Entered in No. 5 position and earned No. 5 pick. Buffalo (No. 1) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
(*pick acquired by Columbus, which selected Rick Nash No. 1 overall)
‐ CBJ ‐
Full and partial season tickets for the Blue Jackets’ 2021-22 campaign are currently available for purchase. Information on all ticketing options can be obtained by calling (800) NHL‐COLS or by visiting BlueJackets.com.
Contacts: Todd Sharrock, Vice President of Communications & Team Services – 614/246‐4157 or [email protected] Glenn Odebralski, Manager of Communications – 614/246‐0288 or [email protected]