Shero never thought he'd get chance to draft Nolan Patrick or Nico Hischier

Ray Shero was just as shocked as many fans were when he found out his team landed the first overall pick in June's draft.

Related: Devils win draft lottery; Flyers, Stars move into top 3

The New Jersey Devils general manager admitted afterwards that he enjoyed watching Nolan Patrick and Nico Hischier this season, but "never did I really think we'd be in a position to draft one of these guys," according to TSN's Mark Masters.

Shero will have the opportunity to choose one of the two phenoms after the Devils went from having the fifth-highest odds to the top spot Saturday night.

"(It's) surprising," he said. "You know what your odds are."

The Devils haven't made the playoffs since losing the Stanley Cup Final to the Los Angeles Kings in 2012, but Shero believes New Jersey's lottery luck will help the organization get back to its previous winning ways.

"A franchise like us, this is what we need," he said. "The Devils haven't won anything in a little while ... we have to take advantage."

New Jersey wasn't the only team to make an unexpected leap Saturday night. The Philadelphia Flyers made the most significant jump, going from having the 13th-highest odds of getting into the top three to securing the second overall selection.

Shero wore a tie to the lottery that Devils forward Adam Henrique apparently thought was red.

"Actually, it's orange, so maybe that helped Philly," Shero said with a smile when asked about his sartorial choice.

The Devils haven't picked first overall since moving to New Jersey. When they were known as the Colorado Rockies, the franchise selected defenseman Rob Ramage with the No. 1 pick in 1979, before moving east in 1982.