Will the Hurricanes improve their draft position tonight? They currently stand with the 14th pick, but they have a slight chance to improve that position to as high as 10th. Even if they win the lottery, teams can only move up a maximum of 4 spots from their current position. Here is a brief synopsis of the rules, taken from over at James Mirtle's site.
The first 14 picks of the 2008 Entry Draft are determined by the NHL’s annual Draft Drawing, a weighted lottery system that is used to determine the order of selection. The 14 teams that do not qualify for the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs, or clubs that acquired those clubs’ 2008 first-round draft picks, participate in the drawing. The Club selected in the drawing may not move up more than four positions in the draft order, thus only the five Clubs with the fewest regular-season points have the opportunity to select first overall. No Club can move down more than one position as a result of the Draft Drawing.
The show will be broadcast live on Versus tonight at 8. I'm not sure how important this will be for the Hurricanes. They might even end up trading down in this year's draft so they can try to scoop up Jared Staal, the youngest of the Staal brothers. Unlike his brothers before him, Jared is not as highly rated and is projected to be selected anywhere from late in the 1st round, to early in the 2nd, or maybe even later.
Although his last name is Staal, and that might be enough to make several teams consider taking him earlier than wherever he is projected.