The Washington Capitals certainly rode their luck over the past two decades since winning the 2004 draft lottery and getting Alex Ovechkin with the resulting first-round draft pick. The 39-year-old surpassed Wayne Gretzky’s 31-year NHL goalscoring record on Sunday, exactly 21 years after his draft day:
Ovechkin’s status as one of the game’s greats was cemented when he scored his 895th goal against the New York Islanders in front of a sell-out crowd. Gretzky was also on hand to shake his hand and congratulate him on the achievement.
The Washington Capitals likely are counting their lucky stars that they won the draft lottery way back in 2004. At the time, the team was struggling after failing to reach the playoffs. Ovechkin went on to lead the team to its only Stanley Cup in 2018.
draw to decide the order of the picks is based on a lottery system
The draw to decide the order of the picks is based on a lottery system where each team has ping pong balls with their names on them placed in a lottery machine. The worse a team’s record the previous season, the more combinations they get.
An accounting firm ensures total transparency for the draw. The first drawing of balls decides the first pick, which is always highly desirable for teams looking for a change in fortunes.
