2021 NHL Mock Draft: Who's going where in the top 15 after the NHL Draft Lottery?

The suspense wasn't quite the same this year. As the lottery balls bounced around on Tuesday evening to determine which teams would select at what spots when the 2021 NHL Entry Draft takes place over the July 23 weekend, the thickness of anticipation wasn't quite as choking.

Of course, a large part of that is the talent up for grabs. Long has this class been deemed a tad underwhelming. Will there be good players to come out of it? Absolutely. A star or two? Most likely. A superstar? That much we do not know. Another uncertainty is who will go first overall when the selections finally begin. Something we really haven't had to deal with since 2017 when Nico Hischier took the stage first.

But just because the franchise player isn't readily apparent, standing front and centre for all to see, doesn't mean he's not buried somewhere in this crop. In 2017, the three best players went in picks three through five. In 2014, Leon Draisaitl slipped to third. The jury is still out on 2012, but Filip Forsberg leads the class in points and he went 11th.