The 2025 NHL Draft will be held in late June 2025. The Fourth Period's Dave Pagnotta reported on Oct. 9 that the event is expected to be held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, although the league has yet to confirm the location and dates.

At a date to be determined in April 2025, the league will hold its annual draft lottery consisting of two draws to determine the order of the 16 teams that failed to qualify for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The 32nd overall team can drop no further than third overall in the order while a team can only move up no further than 10 spots depending on the lottery's results. No single team can win the lottery more than twice within five years.

NHL Central Scouting released its preliminary players to watch list on Oct. 23, singling out Boston College's James Hagens as a projected top pick in the 2025 draft. A swift-skating two-way center with a high hockey IQ, the 18-year-old Hagens is among his club's leading scorers. He's also among the NCAA's scoring leaders.

A third of the way through this season's NHL schedule, several teams near the bottom of the overall standings could find themselves lottery candidates by season's end. Some, like the Chicago Blackhawks and Montreal Canadiens, are recent draft lottery winners.

Several of these teams badly need that first-overall pick more than others. Here's a look at five of them and why we consider them more deserving.

We've excluded the Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, and Ottawa Senators from our list. These three clubs are stocked with young talent but have failed to break out as playoff contenders after several seasons. They need more than a first-overall pick to end their long playoff droughts. We also exclude the San Jose Sharks as they won the 2024 lottery.

Do you agree or disagree with our selections? Let us know why in the app comments section.

Anaheim Ducks

Believe it or not, the Anaheim Ducks have never had the first-overall pick. Their first big star, Paul Kariya, was chosen fourth overall in the 1993 NHL Draft. Superstars Ryan Getzlaf went 19th overall and Corey Perry 28th in the 2003 draft.

The Ducks are currently rebuilding around promising youngsters like Leo Carlsson (second overall, 2023), Pavel Mintyukov (10th overall, 2022), Mason McTavish (third overall, 2021) and Trevor Zegras (ninth overall, 2019). Their solid drafting in recent years has given them the third-best draft pipeline as ranked by The Athletic on Aug. 29.

Despite that success at the draft table, the rebuilding Ducks have made only marginal improvement in recent years. They could benefit from bringing in a few skilled veterans but landing the top prospect in this year's draft could give them a potential franchise player.

Winning the draft lottery could also give their fans something to get excited about after seven years outside the playoff picture. It could also provide them with a potential replacement for Zegras, who's been sidelined by injuries since last season and struggling to meet expectations as a complete player.

Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago won the NHL Draft Lottery in 2023, selecting center Connor Bedard first overall. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy as Rookie of the Year, leading his club and all NHL rookies with 61 points despite missing 14 games with a fractured jaw.

They were expected to show signs of improvement this season. However, they're still near the bottom of the overall standings. Bedard has struggled at times in his sophomore season as teams are focused on neutralizing him. He voiced his frustration on Nov. 22 over his difficulty in putting up points compared to last season.

Bedard could be feeling the burden of being Chicago's franchise player. Management continues working on surrounding him with veterans on short-term deals to help him carry that load.

Chicago's prospect pipeline was ranked No. 1 by The Athletic on Aug. 29. However, Bedard might benefit from another promising youngster as a linemate who can play and grow alongside him. They could give Chicago a one-two punch of promising talent to build on as they had with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews almost 20 years ago.

Columbus Blue Jackets

The last time the Columbus Blue Jackets had the first-overall pick was in 2002 when they selected Rick Nash. The power forward spent nine of his 15 NHL seasons with the Jackets, and remains their franchise leader with 289 goals and 258 assists for 547 points.

According to The Athletic's Aug. 29 prospect pipeline rankings, the Blue Jackets have the third best partly because of 2024 first-round pick Cayden Lindstrom and 2023 first-rounder David Jiříček. Lindstrom underwent minor back surgery in November while Jiříček was traded to the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 30.

Lindstrom is expected to fully recover but there could be lingering concern about his back. The departure of Jiříček leaves their prospect pool a little shallower. Meanwhile, promising center Adam Fantilli is enduring a sophomore slump with 14 points in 33 games while 2021 first-rounder Kent Johnson has the makings of a reliable second-line forward.

The Jackets lack a prospect that could be considered a can't-miss superstar who could carry them to championship glory. Besides, considering all this club has been through over the last two years with the Mike Babcock coaching fiasco, management change, and the death of Johnny Gaudreau, they could use some good news.

Montreal Canadiens

Less than a year after reaching the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, the Montreal Canadiens finished last in the overall standings in 2021-22. They won the 2022 draft lottery, selecting winger Juraj Slafkovský first overall.

Now in the third full season of their rebuild, the Canadiens hoped to be in the picture for a playoff spot. Instead, they're near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings and in danger of falling out of the postseason chase altogether. Winning the lottery this season could land them another top young prospect who could push them over the top.

Their prospect pipeline was ranked sixth by The Athletic with such notables as Slafkovský, budding star defenseman Lane Hutson, and promising Russian winger Ivan Demidov. Slafkovský has the tools to be an effective playmaker but he's not looking like a dominant game-changing scoring star that this illustrious franchise has been lacking for decades.

The Canadiens have two young stars in Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. They could use a smart, fast two-way center for their second line. Michael Hage, chosen 21st overall in last year's draft, could be that center but better safe than sorry.

Nashville Predators

The Nashville Predators made three big splashes in the 2024 NHL free-agent market, signing forwards Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei. On Nov. 5, general manager Barry Trotz indicated those moves were meant to ensure the Predators remained competitive while buying time for his club's prospects to mature.

Trotz also said he wanted to retool his roster rather than engage in a full rebuild. Nevertheless, the Predators need a budding young star to build around when veterans like Stamkos, Marchessault, Skjei, goaltender Juuse Saros, captain Roman Josi, and forwards Filip Forsberg and Ryan O'Reilly eventually depart several years from now.

Having all that experienced talent around would provide a top prospect with plenty of tutors to learn from. They would also shelter that promising youngster so he wouldn't have to bear the burden of carrying a franchise too early in his career, allowing him to develop at his own pace.

Trotz has high hopes for his prospects but The Athletic ranked his pipeline 17th and lacks a promising youngster with superstar potential. This could be a golden opportunity to land one. The Predators have also never had the first overall pick, the highest being David Legwand (second overall) in their inaugural draft in 1998.

Stats and standings (as of Dec. 20, 2024) via NHL.com. Draft info via HockeyDB.com.