TORONTO -- The New Jersey Devils have the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft after winning the NHL Draft Lottery on Tuesday.
The New York Rangers won the No. 2 pick, and the Chicago Blackhawks won the No. 3 selection.
The Devils, who had an 11.5 percent chance of winning the lottery, will pick No. 1 for the second time in three years. They won the 2017 NHL Draft Lottery and selected center Nico Hischier with the No. 1 choice.
The 2019 NHL Draft will be held at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on June 21 and 22.
The Devils could use the pick to select center Jack Hughes of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program under-18 team in the United States Hockey League, or right wing Kaapo Kakko of TPS in Liiga, Finland's top division.
Chicago had the 12th-best chance to win the lottery; New York was sixth, and New Jersey was third.
The results left the Colorado Avalanche, who with the Ottawa Senators' pick had the best odds (18.5 percent) to win the lottery, with the No. 4 pick. The Los Angeles Kings (No. 5) also fell three spots, and the Detroit Red Wings (No. 6) and Buffalo Sabres (No. 7) each fell two spots from what their odds were.
"[Being selected No. 1] would be a dream come true, something I've thought about for a long time," Hughes said. "I want to be the first player chosen, be the best player in the draft. But I also feel it would be great for USA Hockey and the National Team Development Program."
Hughes (5-foot-10, 170 pounds), No. 1 on NHL Central Scouting's midterm list of North American skaters, leads the NTDP with 86 points (23 goals, 63 assists) in 41 games. The 17-year-old holds NTDP records for assists (139) and points (202) in 101 games over two seasons.
"Jack is an elite skater who plays the game at top speed both with and without the puck, he sees the ice tremendously well and finds open space to create scoring chances," said Dan Marr, director of NHL Central Scouting. "He has a complete package of skills that suggest he will be a franchise NHL player and game-changer."
Hughes is the brother of Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes, the No. 7 pick of the 2018 NHL Draft. Quinn, 19, made his NHL debut on March 28 and had three assists in five games for Vancouver after completing his second season at the University of Michigan.
"It's the NHL. I've said it before, I think they're all great spots and I'll be excited to go wherever I wind up, so there's no real preference for me," Hughes said before the results were announced.
Kakko (6-foot-2, 194), No. 1 on NHL Central Scouting's midterm list of International skaters, scored 22 goals in 45 games, a record for a first-time draft-eligible player in Liiga, passing Aleksander Barkov (21 goals in 53 games) for Tappara in 2012-13. Kakko's 0.84 points per game ranks fourth on the single-season list of under-18 players in Liiga, behind Mikael Granlund (2009-10, 0.93), Barkov (2012-13, 0.91) and Jari Torkki (1982-83, 0.88).
Kakko is expected to play for Finland in the 2019 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia, May 10-26. Hughes will play for the United States in the 2019 IIHF World Under-18 Championship in Sweden, April 18-28.
"Kakko has excellent offensive instincts, is dangerous around the net and also a good passer and playmaker," said Goran Stubb, NHL director of European Scouting. "He could be NHL-ready as early as next season after playing two seasons (51 games) in the men's league."
The 15 NHL teams that did not qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs participated in the lottery.
For the fourth straight year, the lottery assigned the top three picks in the first round. Three draws were held: the first determined the No. 1 pick, the second determined the No. 2 pick, and the third determined the No. 3 pick.
Picks 4-15 were assigned in reverse order of standings from this season.
2019 NHL DRAFT ORDER
1. New Jersey Devils
2. New York Rangers
3. Chicago Blackhawks
4. Colorado Avalanche (from the Ottawa Senators)
5. Los Angeles Kings
6. Detroit Red Wings
7. Buffalo Sabres
8. Edmonton Oilers
9. Anaheim Ducks
10. Vancouver Canucks
11. Philadelphia Flyers
12. Minnesota Wild
13. Florida Panthers
14. Arizona Coyotes
15. Montreal Canadiens
Picks 16-31 will be determined after the results of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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