The results are in.
...and the Columbus Blue Jackets came up short, again.
Following the NHL Draft Lottery on Tuesday evening, it was revealed that the Blue Jackets will select fourth overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, which begins on June 28 in Las Vegas. The Blue Jackets came into the lottery with the fourth-worst regular season record (27-43-12).
The San Jose Sharks won the draft lottery with the Chicago Blackhawks coming in second and the Anaheim Ducks third.
Except for the lottery portion of the draft, picks are determined by reverse standings order. Therefore, the Blue Jackets will have the fourth pick in the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds.
A few other notes regarding Columbus' selections in the draft:
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They may have their second-round pick, depending on what the club decides to do. They owe the Philadelphia Flyers a second-rounder in 2024 or 2025, but it's up to the Blue Jackets to decide which year. Should the Blue Jackets decide to keep that pick this year, it would give them the 36th overall selection.
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Columbus will select twice in the third round: not only do they have their own pick (68th overall), but they also have the Los Angeles Kings selection (86th overall) as a result of the Vladislav Gavrikov and Joonas Korpisalo deal from the 2023 trade deadline.
- The Blue Jackets do not have their seventh-round selection, exchanging it with the Vegas Golden Knights last summer in exchange for forward Tyler Peddle.
The first overall pick is all but a lock; Boston University freshman Macklin Celebrini is atop every draft rating. After that, it's a bit of a crapshoot. It will be interesting to see where the Blue Jackets go from here with next month's draft quickly approaching.
