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Flyers to pick seventh; Oilers win NHL draft lottery

Goalie Steve Mason said it would have been a "present" if the Flyers won the draft lottery Saturday night in Toronto and earned the right to select a center viewed as a generational player, Connor McDavid, with the first overall pick.

The Flyers' Jake Voracek , who had 81 points this season, was selected No. 7 by Columbus in 2007. That's where the Flyers will be picking this year. YONG KIM / Staff Photographer
The Flyers' Jake Voracek , who had 81 points this season, was selected No. 7 by Columbus in 2007. That's where the Flyers will be picking this year. YONG KIM / Staff PhotographerRead moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

Goalie Steve Mason said it would have been a "present" if the Flyers won the draft lottery Saturday night in Toronto and earned the right to select a center viewed as a generational player, Connor McDavid, with the first overall pick.

Well, when the Ping-Pong balls were done falling, the gift was given to Edmonton.

The Oilers won the lottery and will undoubtedly choose the player scouts call "The Next Crosby" on June 26 in Sunrise, Fla.

The Flyers did not move up or down in the lottery, and they will pick No. 7 overall.

Flyers general manager Ron Hextall said he was disappointed in the results, but happy that his team didn't slip to eighth - and that McDavid will go to a team in the other conference.

It will be the fourth time in six years that Edmonton, which had the third-best chance (11.5 percent) at getting the top pick, has selected No. 1 overall.

The Flyers had the seventh-worst record and a 6.5 percent chance of winning the lottery. They will get a top-notch player in what is regarded as a deep draft, especially for forwards.

Some of the top prospects who could be available at No. 7 include center Mitch Marner (5-foot-11, 160 pounds), right winger Mikko Rantanen (6-4, 209), left winger Lawson Crouse (6-4, 211), center Pavel Zacha (6-3, 210), and left winger/center Kyle Connor (6-1, 170). Also, defensemen Ivan Provorov (6-0, 193), Zachary Werenski (6-2, 206), Noah Hanifin (6-2, 201), and Oliver Kylington (6-0, 180).

Hextall said the No. 7 pick this year is "absolutely" better than in most drafts.

If a defenseman and forward are available and are close in ability, Hextall said, he would lean toward the latter. The Flyers have four top-notch defensive prospects.

"There's a lot of [quality] forwards this year," said Hextall, who has started making a list of coaching candidates to replace Craig Berube. "There's certainly a good chance we'll take a forward."

He said there was a "good number" of first-rounders who could play right away in the NHL.

In NHL history, the best players selected at No. 7 were probably Bill Barber (Flyers, 1972), Bernie Federko (St. Louis, 1976), Jason Arnott (Edmonton, 1993), and Shane Doan (Winnipeg, 1995).

Flyers winger Jake Voracek was picked seventh overall by Columbus in 2007.

The Flyers have had the seventh overall pick three times in franchise history - Barber, Ken Linseman in 1978, and Ryan Sittler in 1992.

Linseman had an impressive 14-year NHL career, while Sittler - whose father, Darryl, is a Hall of Famer - was a bust who had an injury-plagued minor-league career and never reached the NHL.

McDavid, whose Erie team is still in the playoffs, has 44 goals and 120 points in 47 games in the Ontario Hockey League this season.

"It is amazing that such a big part of your life is in the fate of some Ping-Pong balls," he told TSN before the draft lottery.

Buffalo, which had the best chance (20 percent) at winning the lottery, will pick second and is expected to choose Boston University center Jack Eichel.

The Flyers have had the No. 1 overall pick just once since joining the league in 1967. They selected hard-nosed center Mel Bridgman with the top pick in 1975, and he played in 14 NHL seasons (six-plus with the Flyers) and had 701 points in 977 games.