Phase 1 of NHL Draft lottery to be held on Friday

While the NHL has entered Phase 2 of its return-to-play plan, the league also announced the date for Phase 1 of the draft lottery.

Phase 1 of the 2020 draft lottery will take place on Friday and be broadcast live on NBCSN and NHL Network at 8 p.m. ET, the league announced in a press release on Monday.

The probability of teams landing picks 1-7 is as follows:

1. Detroit Red Wings: 18.5 %
2. Ottawa Senators: 13.5 %
3. Ottawa Senators*: 11.5 %
4. Los Angeles Kings: 9.5 %
5. Anaheim Ducks: 8.5 %
6. New Jersey Devils: 7.5 %
7. Buffalo Sabres 6.5 %

Following the conclusion of the program, the general manager of the winning team and top-ranked prospect Alexis LaFreniere will comment.

LaFreniere, without a doubt, will be selected first overall in this year's draft. The 18-year-old currently is the captain for Rimouski-Oceanic of the QMJHL and tallied back-to-back 100-plus point seasons. In 52 games played this season, LaFreniere tallied 112 points (35 goals, 77 assists).

Other top prospects include Quinton Byfield (Sudbury Wolves, OHL), Tim Stutzle (Adler Mannheim, DEL) and Jamie Drysdale (Erie Otters, OHL). 

If the Red Wings land the first overall pick in this year's draft, it'll be their first overall selection since the 1986 draft when they picked Joe Murphy first overall. If it goes to the Senators, it'll be their first overall pick since 1996.