Canes to pick 12th in 2017 NHL Draft

Three teams were lucky Saturday in the NHL lottery draft, but the Carolina Hurricanes were not one of them.

The Hurricanes will have the 12th pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. The Canes were bumped back a spot from No. 11 when the Philadelphia Flyers won a place in the top three along with the New Jersey Devils and Dallas Stars.

The Devils, with an 8.5 percent chance of winning the No. 1 pick, beat the odds and will have the top selection. The Flyers won the No. 2 pick and the Stars won the draw for the third overall pick.

The format this year had lottery draws for each of the top three spots.

The Canes had two first-round picks in the draft a year ago, taking defenseman Jake Bean with the 13th overall pick and then forward Julien Gauthier with the No. 21 selection.

The Canes selected defenseman Ryan Murphy with the No. 12 pick in the 2011 draft.

The 2017 draft will be held June 23-24 at the United Center in Chicago.

This story was originally published April 29, 2017 at 8:36 PM with the headline "Canes to pick 12th in 2017 NHL Draft."