2012 NHL Draft Lottery open thread

Where: TSN's Studios, Toronto, Ontario
When: 8 PM EDT
Media: TSN (Canada), NBC Sports Net (US)

How hyperbole would it be to suggest that the road to the 2012 NHL Entry Draft begins tonight with the NHL Draft lottery? I mean, seriously, the road to the event was paved (on paper) several months ago with Pittsburgh being selected to host the draft.

That's not even acknowledging or paying heed to the players - the actual guys who will be selected this June - and what they've accomplished in their time. That process started long ago.

The Draft Lottery does signify the start of the NHL off-season rebuilding efforts for clubs that didn't make the playoffs. The Draft itself lays groundwork for the promise of the future for all clubs in the league.

Tomorrowseason, as it's phrased on the Tampa Bay Lightning prospect web site Bolt Prospects, gets us through the long summer. The promise of the future, the hope for tomorrow, the next season.

Well, Tomorrowseason start's with this evening's draft lottery results.

Reference:

• SB Nation has a full rundown on the event - including odds for this years teams in the draft and some of the top prospects that are eligible for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft at CONSOL Energy Center.
• Curious about the lottery system and how it works? Want to stay in-house? Dani Toth did a post a few years ago to summarize the draft lottery's weighted system.
• While we're covering the system, lets cover the fact that the Draft Lottery system has its flaws. Read this piece at The Hockey Writers to be reminded of the caveat of the Draft Lottery system and rewarding failure.
• Curious about the prospects in the 2012 Entry draft (and beyond)? Head over to The Scouting Report for their ongoing coverage of all things developmental.
• The latest mockup of the first round of the NHL entry draft can be found at - tada! - MyNHLEntryDraft. There will surely be more as time goes by./