Samuel Poulin reacts to getting selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
The NHL’s Board of Governors approved new entry level draft changes that begin to go into effect this year and will have a sweeping impact across the league
Imagine for a second that instead of finishing third in the 2003 NHL Draft lottery, the Penguins won the lottery outright. No need to trade for the first pick, and Marc-Andre Fleury is still the choice. With the second-worst record in the league that season, it wouldn’t have been too hard…
And then in 2004, with the worst record in the league, the Penguins could have won a second consecutive lottery for the chance to draft Washington’s Alex Ovechkin or run it back and draft Evgeni Malkin.