OHL Draft Lottery Primer
It’s not exactly where anyone hopes to be when they start the season in September, but the Ottawa 67’s are set to participate in the OHL Draft Lottery tonight, hoping to win the right to pick first overall in the OHL Priority Selection in April.
The four teams to miss the postseason will have an opportunity to win the lottery, with the odds scaled based on each team’s standing after 68 games. The odds for first overall are as follows:
Peterborough Petes (18-41-4-5) – 40%
Guelph Storm (21-38-5-4) – 30%
Sarnia Sting (22-33-6-7) – 20%
OTTAWA 67’S (24-34-4-6) – 10%
The lottery, which first began in 2021 after the COVID-19 cancelled season with a different format, is decided by a process that could be explained as this: 20 ping-pong balls are all put into a hopper. The 20th place team has eight, 19th has six, 18th has four, and 17th, the 67’s, has two ping-pong balls.
A league representative will draw one ball, and whichever team’s logo appears will be awarded the first overall selection in the draft. After the round, the remaining balls belonging to the winning team will be removed from the hopper, and the process will be repeated until all four picks have been decided.
How to watch
The OHL Priority Selection Lottery takes place on Wednesday, March 26 at 7:00 p.m. The Lottery will be streamed for free on OHL Live Freeview, as well as on YouTube, Facebook, and X.
Past lottery winners
2021 – Sudbury Wolves – Quentin Musty (F)
2022 – Saginaw Spirit – Michael Misa (F)
2023 – Erie Otters – Matthew Schaefer (D)
2024 – Windsor Spitfires – Ethan Belchetz (F)
