Conroy Sizes Up Flames' 9.5 Per Cent Shot in Nhl Draft Lottery

The nhl draft lottery arrives on May 5, and the Calgary Flames enter with a 9.5 per cent chance to win it. Their range runs from first overall to sixth overall, so the outcome will decide where they land in a draft that can reshape the top of the roster.

Craig Conroy Eyes the Top Six

Craig Conroy said Calgary is going to get a player somewhere in that top tier, and he sounded eager about the names at the top of the board. “I’m very excited about the top six players, because I know it’s going to be one of those,” he said at his end-of-season availability.

He also put the team’s target plainly. “Everybody wants the first overall pick, everybody in that draft lottery wants it,” Conroy said. “Just like we want to make the playoffs, we want to win every night, we want to win the draft lottery. That’s the way we are, the way we were built.”

Calgary’s Odds and Range

The Flames own the NHL’s fourth-best odds, which gives them a real but limited path to the top selection. If they do not jump, the lowest they can fall is sixth overall, keeping them inside the top six regardless of how the lottery breaks.

That slotting leaves Calgary with a clean draft board: one through six. Conroy framed it the same way, saying, “We’re going to get a very good player, one to six.”

May 5 Sets the Order

The lottery will officially take place on May 5, after the regular season ended and the Flames’ fan base had already been living with their odds since the season closed. For Calgary, the night does not just set a name on a card; it sets the range that will determine which prospect is available when the team goes on the clock.

That is the practical finish line here. A first-overall jump changes the draft board at the top, while a drop to sixth still keeps the Flames inside the same premium group Conroy singled out, with no path lower than that.