The Washington Capitals did not win the Connor Bedard sweepstakes BUT they also didn’t drop from eighth either. Thankfully they remained at eight but still that’s the first time in a minute the Caps have had a top 10 pick in the NHL Draft.
The Chicago Blackhawks got the number one pick for reasons I don’t understand. I’m sure I’m not the only one.
Anyways here are the final results:
- Chicago Blackhawks
- Anaheim Ducks
- Columbus Blue Jackets
- San Jose Sharks
- Montreal Canadiens
- Arizona Coyotes
- Philadelphia Flyers
- Washington Capitals
- Detroit Red Wings
- St. Louis Blues
- Vancouver Canucks
- Arizona Coyotes (from Ottawa Senators)
- Buffalo Sabres
- Pittsburgh Penguins
- Nashville Predators
- Calgary Flames
So no Connor Bedard. No Adam Fantilli. No top five pick. So who could the Capitals draft at number eight?
MyNHLDraft.com has the Capitals selecting Oliver Moore, a center. For the US National U18 Team this past season he had 31 goals and 44 assists for 75 points. He is attending college at the University of Minnesota this upcoming fall.
This is the first time in franchise history the Caps have selected at number eight. The 2023 NHL Draft will be held at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville from June 28-29.
The drawing used a probability system offering all participating teams a certain percentage of odds for receiving the first pick overall. 10 teams with the fewest points in the league this season could’ve won the draft drawing as the club selected may not have moved up more than 10 positions in the draft order.
The Caps own a pick in the top 10 for the first time since 2007 when they selected defenseman Karl Alzner fifth overall. Prior to 2007, the last two times the Caps picked in the top 10 resulted in Nicklas Backstrom at fourth overall in 2006 and Alex Ovechkin at number one in 2004.
The Capitals own five total picks in the 2023 NHL Draft. In addition to the eighth overall pick, Washington owns their second, fourth, fifth and seventh round picks. The order for the remaining picks outside of the top 16 teams will be determined by the results of the Stanley Cup playoffs.