In the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers selected promising Middletown, N.J. product James van Riemsdyk with the second overall pick.
The Flyers finished the season as the worst team in the National Hockey League, as they collected only 56 points—the lowest amount of points in franchise history.
With a 22-48-12 record, the Flyers were in prime position to acquire a franchise player with the top draft choice, if they were to win the lottery.
Unlike other professional sport draft lotteries, the NHL works a little differently to assure that the worst team gets the top pick, or, at worst, the second pick.
The 30th team in the standings gets a 25% chance of obtaining the No. 1 pick; the Flyers finished 30th in the 2006-07 season.
However, winning an embarrassing 22 games wasn't enough to secure the top pick for the Flyers, as the Chicago Blackhawks had good luck on their side, and won the lottery to get the No. 1 overall selection, despite finishing the season in 26th place.
The Blackhawks gathered 71 points during the 2006-07 campaign, more points than the second-worst Phoenix Coyote ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Tom Dougherty
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July 26th, 2010 by Tom Dougherty Leave a reply »
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