As National Hockey League (NHL) teams such as the Detroit Red Wings and the Ottawa Senators fell by a few places in the draft lottery held on Friday night, the Los Angeles Kings were lucky .
Indeed, the California team got their hands on the second choice in total. Kings general manager Rob Blake hopes this fluke will help his team bounce back faster.
“I hope it will speed up our reconstruction as we will get a caliber player who can adjust to the NHL,” said former circuit defender Bettman during a video conference.
“We knew it would be between one and seven,” continued the CEO. There are three players at the top, then a group of four to eight which is very similar. Even if they evolve in different positions, they were also ranked well. It is very important for us to take a leap upwards to dip into this top 3. ”
Blake has also left the mystery concerning the player his club to choose. He even hinted that he could be a defender, while all the draft experts expect the two players chosen after Alexis Lafrenière forwards Quinton Byfield and Tim Stuetzle.
“There are a lot of attackers at the top of the rankings, but there is always room for discussion,” said Blake. I’m really proud of Mark’s work [Yannetti, le directeur du recrutement amateur] and its staff. They are able to reach a consensus through their opinions, advanced analyzes and all the information they have, so that in the end, they are able to say which is the best option for our organization. ”
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