Wildcats hoping for 1st overall selection in Draft Lottery
The 2023 QMJHL Entry Draft Lottery presented by Fenplast will be held on Wednesday, April 26, at 6:30pm ET/7:30pm AT and will air live on RDS.
For the occasion, RDS will air a special edition of its Hockey 360 television show.
The lottery will determine the order in which the first five franchises will be selecting at the 2023 QMJHL Entry Draft that will take place live from Sherbrooke’s Palais des Sports Léopold-Drolet on Saturday, June 10.
The draw will be supervised by an independent third party. The odds of winning the lottery are based on each team’s rank in the overall standings at the conclusion of the 2022-23 regular season. Moncton have Val-d’Or’s 1st round pick — the Foreurs finished in 17th position :
- 18th position | 9 balls – 43%
- Moncton Wildcats | 6 balls – 28%
- 16th position | 3 balls – 14%
- 15th position | 2 balls – 10%
- 14th position | 1 ball – 5%
It is important to take note that once a team has been drawn, its balls are removed from the selection process. This same operation will be repeated following each draw.
If the 18th seeded team is not drawn either first or second, it will automatically be awarded the third overall selection. Moreover, the team holding 17th place selection (Moncton Wildcats) will not be picking later than fourth overall.
The Wildcats obtained Val’d’Or’s 2023 1st Round pick back in January of 2021 as part of the Jordan Spence trade.
“It’s an exciting day for the Moncton Wildcats and our fans,” says General Manager of Hockey Operations Ritchie Thibeau.
“At the end of the regular season we were fortunate that our pick was in the 17th spot to give us the 2nd best odds. Now we’re at the mercy of the lottery machine to see if we can improve to the first overall pick.”
Thibeau adds, “All I’ve been doing is finding good luck charms to carry with me.”
