Buffalo Sabres NHL Draft Lottery Simulation 6.0
Alright, Buffalo Sabres fans. It’s been a while since we did a draft lottery simulation, and with just two games left in the regular season for the Buffalo Sabres, I think it’s time we do another.
Entering today’s simulation, the Edmonton Oilers have the best chance at the first-overall pick, with a 20 percent chance.
The Buffalo Sabres have a measly, but not insignificant, five percent shot at the top pick.
Other teams in the mix include Toronto, Columbus, Calgary, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Arizona and Montreal – all of whom have a better chance than the Buffalo Sabres. Ottawa, Colorado, New Jersey, Carolina and Boston all have a shot at it as well.
This is the first simulation where we’ve seen Boston with a shot.
With that being said, I think it’s time to run some simulations!
As usual, I’m using NHLLotterySimulator.com for these.
And the first simulation goes like this……
Well, I’ll be. My first simulation of the day and despite having just a five percent chance at it, the Buffalo Sabres win the NHL draft lottery!
This just goes to show that it is, in fact, possible, even if it may not seem likely that Buffalo could win. A chance, even if it’s as small as Boston’s, is still a chance.
Time to reset and go again.
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This time, it’s the Arizona Coyotes who pick up the first pick, despite their only having a 6.5 percent chance at winning the draft lottery.
With this, the Buffalo Sabres drop all the way to the ninth overall selection.
The third time around? Calgary gets first, with Buffalo once again at ninth.
I go ahead and run the simulator seven more times, and Buffalo doesn’t once appear in the top three. They pick ninth almost every time, with two 10th-overall selections.
It takes 13 more simulations before the Buffalo Sabres show up in the top three again, and when that does come, they once again wind up with the first-overall pick, with Montreal and Toronto following in second and third.
Six more simulations and the Buffalo Sabres get the second-overall pick, behind the Canucks and ahead of the Coyotes.
The next pick, the Sabres get second-overall again, with Columbus and Arizona sandwiching them.
Seven sims later, Buffalo gets that coveted top pick again.
In the end, I can run this simulator 100 times, a thousand times, ten thousand times if I really want to (and if I had the time) but it… doesn’t matter. All it takes is one run of the draft lottery to really determine who gets the first chance at the 2016 NHL Draft.
And we’re now less than a month away from that draft lottery!
We’ll certainly run another simulation once the NHL’s regular season ends to see where the Buffalo Sabres end up, but we’ll find out for sure who gets the first-overall pick when the NHL draft lottery goes on April 30.
Next: Johnson Leads Weekly Stars
Where will the Buffalo Sabres end up picking? Stay tuned to find out.