2023 NHL Draft odds: Blackhawks all but sure to select Connor Bedard first overall June 28, Adam Fantilli heavy favorite to be second pick to Ducks

One can make an argument that Monday was the most important day for the Chicago Blackhawks franchise since at least 2015, when the Hawks won their third and last Stanley Cup of the Patrick Kane Jonathan Toews dynasty. Both are gone now, but Chicago won the NHL Draft lottery Monday and now has the chance to select generational prospect Connor Bedard No. 1 overall on June 28 in Nashville. That Bedard is the pick is such a lock that you can't bet on it, so the draft effectively starts at No. 2 with the Anaheim Ducks and Michigan forward Adam Fantilli, who is the -450 favorite at DraftKings to be chosen second.

Chicago finished with the third-fewest points in the NHL during the regular season and thus the third-best chance (11.5%) of winning the lottery. The 17-year-old Canadian center Bedard is considered by many to be the best prospect to enter the league since Connor McDavid was the No. 1 overall pick by Edmonton in 2015.

The only other time the Blackhawks picked first was when they took Kane in 2007, which kickstarted the team out of its previous doldrums. Bedard is considered the best prospect to ever come out of Western Canada. The last player from the Western Hockey League selected No. 1 was forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, taken by Edmonton in 2011. Bedard's great-great uncle James Bedard played 22 games over two seasons with the Blackhawks from 1949-51. A defenseman, he had no points in five games in 1949-50 and two points (one goal) in 17 games in 1950-51.

Anaheim had the best odds at 18.5% of winning the lottery after finishingat the bottom of the NHL standings but will pick second. The Ducks have never selected first overall, but picked Bobby Ryan (2005) and Oleg Tverdovsky (1994) second overall. In ' 05, the Ducks took Ryan after losing out to Pittsburgh in the lottery and watching the Penguins take Sidney Crosby. Bedard also has been compared to Crosby.

Fantilli is considered the consensus No. 2 prospect after he won the Hobey Baker Award, college hockey's equivalent of the Heisman Trophy, as a freshman for the Wolverines. He became only the third freshman in NCAA history to win the award, joining Jack Eichel and Paul Kariya. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Fantilli also was won the Tim Taylor National Rookie of the Year Award and was First-Team All-American, among other honors. He led the nation in points per game, goals per game and assists per game in the regular season. Fantilli has been compared to the likes of Dylan Larkin, Jack Hughes and Kyle Connor.

"I can't recall a player that's come into the NCAA and performed to the degree that he has and come away with making it to the Frozen Four, winning the league championship, being the Hobey Baker Award winner," Central Scouting vice president Dan Marr said. "I can't recall a player that's been that focused. It's like he was on a mission this season. It's just so impressive. He deserves to be where he's ranked for us [No. 2 among North American skaters behind Bedard] and he deserves to go as high as he can in the draft. You don't see players come along and put on that type of season very often."

Swedish center Leo Carlsson is the +650 second favorite to be picked second and -120 leader to go third to Columbus. The 6-foot-3 Carlson is ranked as the No. 1 international skater and had 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists) in 44 games with Orebro of the Swedish Hockey League. The 18-year-old also had six points in seven games to help Sweden finish fourth at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship.

The first round of the draft will be held on June 28 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, with Rounds 2-7 on June 29.

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