(Reuters) - The Edmonton Oilers won the National Hockey League's draft lottery on Saturday, giving them the opportunity to select 18-year-old phenomenon Connor McDavid with the first overall pick in June's draft.
The Oilers had a 11.5 percent chance, the third best odds among the 14 non-playoff teams in the draw, at winning the weighted lottery after finishing with the third worst record in the 2014-15 regular season.
McDavid, a Canadian center with the Ontario Hockey League's Erie Otters, has been on the scouting radar for a couple of years now and regularly draws comparisons to Sidney Crosby, the twice NHL MVP who was the subject of major hype in his 2005 draft year.
McDavid is the consensus top pick after finishing third in OHL scoring this year with 44 goals and 120 points, despite missing 21 of the scheduled 68 games. He also led Canada to a World Junior Hockey Championship in January.
The Buffalo Sabres ended up with the second pick in the draft and are expected to take the consensus No. 2 pick, U.S.-born Boston University center Jack Eichel.
The draft will be held on June 26 and 27 at the BB&T (NYSE:BBT) Center in Sunrise, Florida, which is home to the Florida Panthers.