It is a tap-in tally to bet the Toronto Maple Leafs will select Gavin McKenna with the first pick at the NHL draft when it begins on Friday in Buffalo.
Uncertain is who is chosen next, and even who makes the second selection.
The free-for-all will not end there during a couple of intriguing days in the two-day event.
As of now, the San Jose Sharks own the second overall selection, and would surprise nobody by selecting winger Ivar Stenberg.
From there, the draft includes a two-way center in Caleb Malhotra, and a slew of defensemen (Chase Reid, Alberts Smits, Carson Carels, Keaton Verhoeff and Daxon Rudolph) to round out most of the top-10.
In the mix among all of those names is a wild card in center Viggo Bjorck, who may be on the smaller side but has eye-catching skill that many of the teams outside the top two covet.
But how the draft shakes out in terms of which young men receive new sweaters upon graduating to the next step of their career is only part of the intrigue.
It will be fascinating how much wheeling and dealing comes to fruition among the clubs with excessive draft capital. Already, 12 of the 32 first-round selections have been traded, some of them more than once.
Case in point, the St. Louis Blues missed the playoffs by four points, so a case could be made they should be adding to make a push.
On Wednesday, the Blues dealt Jordan Kyrou to the Washington Capitals and added a fourth — yes FOURTH — first-round pick to their stable. In owning picks No. 11, 15, 16 and 29, the Blues could use those to add players who would have an immediate impact while they re-tool.
St. Louis is not alone in holding plenty of valuable cards. The Sharks also own the ninth and 27th picks. San Jose plans to take a substantial leap forward next season with a team built around plenty of young talent, notably Macklin Celebrini. It will take a mint to pry away that second overall pick, but the Sharks would be wise to parlay those other first-rounders for a legitimate player to fill a gaping hole or two in their roster.
Then you have the host Buffalo Sabres. This past season’s Atlantic Division regular-season champs took a hit by losing forward Alex Tuch in a sign-and-trade swap with the Washington Capitals (which gave them a 2027 third rounder) and also dealt away skilled defenseman Bowen Byram to the Chicago Blackhawks. Thanks to the latter deal, which is something of a head-scratcher from Chicago’s perspective with that team’s need for a scoring forward to play alongside Connor Bedard, the Sabres added the fourth overall pick, while also holding the 20th.
It will be a huge surprise if the Sabres do not use that currency to add a player who will help them now fuel their Stanley Cup hopes.
There certainly are plenty of players on the trade market, such as Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin, Winnipeg Jets star goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, Anaheim Ducks stagnated power forward Mason McTavish and Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies.
So, feel free to await the words “I’ve got a trade to announce” from Gary Bettman throughout the draft, and not just to be a drinking game.
Plenty of fireworks and fanfare will follow.
