Winnipeg Jets will select thirteenth in the 2013 NHL Draft; Colorado Avalanche win draft lottery

With the opening puck-drop of the 2013 NHL playoffs taking place just twenty-four hours from now, tonight was dedicated to the NHL's have-nots. Inside TSN's Toronto studios, five representatives of the NHL's worst teams came to congregate in hopes that their team's emblem would emerge on the golden ticket labelled "first overall" as pulled by Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly.

The Winnipeg Jets were one of the league's fourteen have-nots, finishing four points short of the franchise's first playoff berth since the spring of 2007 when they were routed handily by the New York Rangers in a four game sweep. At a 0.8% chance of winning tonight's draft lottery, the odds were heavily in favour of the Jets' drafting outside of the top ten for the first time since that '07 season when they traded away their first two draft picks for a brief jaunt from Keith Tkachuk.

It didn't take long for the Jets to learn their fate. Bill Daly calmly opened tonight's second envelope -- symbolizing this year's thirteenth pick -- and announced that it did in fact belong to Winnipeg.

The draft lottery continued with each team selecting in their projected slots, until we reached the final two envelopes. It was then that we learned the Colorado Avalanche had usurped the Florida Panthers, winning the 2013 NHL Draft lottery and ultimately, the Seth Jones sweepstakes.

Now that the draft lottery is behind us, we can focus on this springs quest for the cup, another journey which will take place without the Winnipeg Jets.

Below is a list of some of the top potential prospects coming into June's draft in Newark, NJ. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.