CBC's Hockey Night in Canada to broadcast NHL draft lottery

In the most anticipated pre-draft event since the Pittsburgh Penguins won the right to select Sidney Crosby No. 1 overall back in 2005, CBC's Hockey NIght in Canada will broadcast the NHL's draft lottery on Saturday.

The event will take place at 8 p.m. ET, with the winner to be revealed before Game 2 of the Eastern Conference quarter-final between the Penguins and New York Rangers (CBC, CBCSports.ca).

Of course, there are two prized prospects in this year's class. Erie Otters superstar Connor McDavid is expected to go first overall. NHL Central Scouting revealed its final draft rankings last Wednesday, with McDavid at the top of the list. 

Boston University standout and Hobey Baker winner Jack Eichel is ranked No .2.

The lottery consists of a weighted system used to determine the draft's first round for the 14 NHL clubs that's didn't qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The NHL announced changes to the draft lottery format in August, which included adjusting the odds of winning the right to the first overall pick. The 10 highest-finishing non-playoff teams will receive higher (better) odds of winning than they received in previous years, with the four lowest-finishing teams getting lower (worse) odds.

This is how the process works:

• Balls numbered 1 to 14 will be placed in a lottery machine.
• Machine randomly selects four balls.
• Resulting four-number series (without regard to selection order) is matched against a chart that shows all possible combinations and the teams to which each is assigned.
• The four-digit number combinations — 200 to the Buffalo Sabres, 135 to the Arizona Coyotes and so on — will be posted on the league's website Friday, and video of the drawing will be available after it is conducted.

Here are the odds for the 14 non-playoff teams:

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