COLUMBUS, OHIO – The Columbus Blue Jackets will have the second overall pick at the 2012 National Hockey League Entry Draft to be held June 22-23 at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The club’s draft position was determined by tonight’s NHL’s Draft Drawing. The first round of the 2012 Entry Draft will be held on Friday, June 22, with rounds two through seven held on Saturday, June 23.

The first 14 picks of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft are as follows: 1 – Edmonton Oilers; 2 – COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS; 3 – Montreal Canadiens; 4 – New York Islanders; 5 – Toronto Maple Leafs; 6 – Anaheim Ducks; 7 – Minnesota Wild; 8 – Carolina Hurricanes; 9 – Winnipeg Jets; 10 – Tampa Bay Lightning; 11 – Washington Capitals (from Colorado); 12 – Buffalo Sabres; 13 – Dallas Stars; 14 – Calgary Flames. The remaining draft positions will be determined at the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“Selecting second will give us the opportunity to pick from a number of very good players,” said Blue Jackets Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Scott Howson. “Together with the first round pick we acquired along with Jack Johnson just prior to the trade deadline, we are well-positioned and excited about the future. We are proceeding with a heightened sense of urgency and committed to our plan to bring our fans and the city of Columbus a winning team that ultimately achieves our goal of winning a Stanley Cup. This year’s draft is an important step in that process.”

In addition to selecting second overall, the Blue Jackets acquired a conditional first round pick along with defenseman Jack Johnson from Los Angeles in exchange for Jeff Carter on February 23. Columbus has until two picks prior to the Kings’ first round selection this year to inform the club if it will use the pick in the 2012 or 2013 Entry Draft.

The Draft Drawing is a weighted lottery system that determines the order of selection for the first 14 picks of the Entry Draft. Clubs that did not qualify for this season’s Stanley Cup Playoffs, or clubs that acquired the first-round picks of those non-playoff clubs, participated in the Draft Drawing. Participating clubs could not move up more than four positions or down more than one position in the draft order as a result of the Draft Drawing.

Under this system, the Blue Jackets had the fewest regular-season points and had the greatest chance (25%) of winning the Draft Drawing and could pick no lower than second at this year’s draft. The percentage chance of being selected in the 2012 Draft Drawing was as follows, based on team finish: COLUMBUS (25.0 pct.), Edmonton (18.8 pct.), Montreal (14.2 pct.), NY Islanders (10.7 pct.), Toronto (8.1 pct.), Anaheim (6.2 pct.), Minnesota (4.7 pct.), Carolina (3.6 pct.), Winnipeg (2.7 pct.), Tampa Bay (2.1 pct.), Washington from Colorado (1.5 pct.), Buffalo (1.1 pct.), Dallas (0.8 pct.) and Calgary (0.5 pct.).

NHL Central Scouting released its final player rankings for this year’s Entry Draft on Monday. The top five rated North American skaters are: right wing Nail Yakupov (Sarnia/OHL), defenseman Ryan Murray (Everett/WHL), center Mikhail Grigorenko (Quebec/QMJHL), defenseman Morgan Rielly (Moose Jaw/WHL) and center Alex Galchenyuk (Sarnia/OHL). The top-rated European skater is center Filip Forsberg (Leksand/Sweden), while the top-rated North American goaltender is Malcolm Subban (Belleville/OHL).

BLUE JACKETS DRAFT DRAWING HISTORY
2000 – Lost coin flip with fellow expansion club Minnesota (No. 3 pick) to earn No. 4 overall pick in 2000 Entry Draft.
2001 – Entered in No. 8 position and earned No. 8 pick. Atlanta (No. 3) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2002 – Entered in No. 2 position and earned No. 3 pick. Florida (No. 3) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.*
2003 – Entered in No. 3 position and earned No. 4 pick. Florida (No. 4) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2004 – Entered in No. 4 position and earned No. 4 pick. Washington (No. 3) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2005 – No Drawing due to cancellation of 2004-05 season (see below).
2006 – Entered in No. 6 position and earned No. 6 pick. St. Louis (No. 1) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2007 – Entered in No. 7 position and earned No. 7 pick. Chicago (No. 5) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2008 – Entered in No. 6 position and earned No. 6 pick. Tampa Bay (No. 1) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2009 – Not eligible for Drawing. NY Islanders (No. 1) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2010 – Entered in No. 4 position and earned No. 4 pick. Edmonton (No. 1) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.
2011 – Entered in No. 7 position and earned No. 8 pick. New Jersey (No. 8) won Drawing and No. 4 overall pick.
2012 – Entered in No. 1 position and earned No. 2 pick. Edmonton (No. 2) won Drawing and No. 1 overall pick.

(*pick acquired by Columbus, which selected Rick Nash No. 1 overall)

2005 – To determine the 2005 Entry Draft order after the 2004-05 season was cancelled due to the lockout, each team began the lottery with three balls and was assured of having at least one for the drawing. Teams lost one ball for every playoff appearance they made over the past three seasons and/or for the number of times they were awarded the first overall pick by winning the Draft lottery during the past four years. The Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres each had three balls in the lottery. Anaheim, Atlanta, Calgary, Carolina, Chicago, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Nashville and Phoenix all had two balls. The remaining 16 teams had one ball each. The Blue Jackets earned the No. 6 pick.

• READ: Columbus Blue Jackets 2012 NHL Draft Lottery Recap
  
  
• WATCH: Draft Lottery Interview with Blue Jackets General Manager, Scott Howson

--CBJ--