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Canadiens net No. 5 pick in NHL draft lottery, Blackhawks get first pick for Connor Bedard

FILE - Canada's Connor Bedard, left, skates past Austria's Lukas Horl, right, and Luca Auer during the second period of a world junior hockey championships game Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The NHL draft lottery is drawn, determining which team gets the chance to select Connor Bedard with the No. 1 pick. The Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks have the highest odds of landing the most anticipated top pick since Connor McDavid in 2015. (Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press via AP, File) FILE - Canada's Connor Bedard, left, skates past Austria's Lukas Horl, right, and Luca Auer during the second period of a world junior hockey championships game Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The NHL draft lottery is drawn, determining which team gets the chance to select Connor Bedard with the No. 1 pick. The Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks have the highest odds of landing the most anticipated top pick since Connor McDavid in 2015. (Darren Calabrese/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
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MONTREAL -

The Montreal Canadiens won't get a shot at prized prospect Connor Bedard, but they'll still be able to add a top young talent after securing the No. 5 pick in Monday's NHL draft lottery.

Montreal, which had an 8.5 per cent chance of landing the top pick, will have the highest selection of any Canadian team in this year's draft, to be held June 28 and 29 in Nashville.

The Vancouver Canucks (11th) and the Calgary Flames (16th) round out the Canadian teams who will select in the top 16. The Ottawa Senators will send their 12th-overall pick to the Arizona Coyotes after trading their first-round pick to Arizona for defenceman Jakob Chychrun at the NHL trade deadline in March.

The Chicago Blackhawks won the lottery and will select first overall. The Anaheim Ducks will pick second and the Columbus Blue Jackets will choose third.

Bedard, a 17-year-old centre from Lynn Valley, B.C., is projected to go No. 1 overall as the most anticipated draft pick since Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid was eligible for selection in 2015.

Bedard produced 143 points (71 goals, 72 assists) in 57 games for the Western Hockey League's Regina Pats this season, the league's highest single-season total since 1996.

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