June 2 (UPI) -- The Buffalo Sabres earned the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft after winning the 2021 NHL Draft Lottery on Wednesday.
The Seattle Kraken, the league's latest expansion team, won the second-overall pick, and the Anaheim Ducks captured the No. 3 selection.
The Sabres, who finished with a league-worst 15-34-7 record this season, had the best lottery odds at 16.6%. It is the first time the club with the best odds won the top pick since 2018, when Buffalo captured the No. 1 selection and took defenseman Rasmus Dahlin.
"It's a great moment for our franchise," Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said during the broadcast of the event. "It's obviously been a tough year for a lot of different reasons, and we're here. We're very excited.
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"We're proud to have this selection, and it's a step in the right direction. We need to get better in every area in every way."
The Kraken had the third-best odds (10.3%) in the lottery, the same odds the Vegas Golden Knights had as an expansion club in the 2017 draft. Vegas picked sixth overall that year.
Anaheim, which had the second-best lottery odds (12.1%), will choose third. The rest of the top 10: New Jersey Devils (10.3%); Columbus Blue Jackets (8.5%); Detroit Red Wings (7.6%); San Jose Sharks (6.7%); Los Angeles Kings (5.8%); Vancouver Canucks (5.4%) and Ottawa Senators (4.5%).
The Arizona Coyotes participated in the lottery, but the team was ineligible to win it. The Coyotes were forced to forfeit their first-round pick due to violations of the NHL Combine Testing Policy during the 2019-20 campaign. Arizona previously surrendered a second-round pick in the 2020 draft.
The 2021 NHL Draft will be held virtually July 23-24.
Below is the current order for this year's draft. Picks 16-31 will be determined by the results of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
2021 NHL Draft order:
1. Buffalo Sabres
2. Seattle Kraken
3. Anaheim Ducks
4. New Jersey Devils
5. Columbus Blue Jackets
6. Detroit Red Wings
7. San Jose Sharks
8. Los Angeles Kings
9. Vancouver Canucks
10. Ottawa Senators
11. Chicago Blackhawks
12. Calgary Flames
13. Philadelphia Flyers
14. Dallas Stars
15. New York Rangers
