The 2020 draft was unlike any other in the history of the National Hockey League, just like there are a lot of other “firsts” this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead of being held at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec on June 26–27 as originally planned, it was pushed back along with the rest of the season and carried out in a virtual format. This means that there was no stage, no bright lights, no “magic”, and definitely no handshakes. Instead, teams selected their rookies over video calls and players celebrated getting picked with small groups of family and friends, many of them in their living rooms at home. I personally have always watched the draft on the TV from my living room, but it was definitely not what any of these players were expecting when they imagined what their draft experience would be like. Nonetheless, after the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Dallas Stars and won the Stanley Cup on September 28th, it was time to get the 58th annual NHL Draft underway.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced each team before usually their general manager, sometimes their head coach or scouting director, and in rare cases even celebrities each made their draft pick. I’ve broken down some of the key players and covered the highlights of the first round of the draft, which was held on October 6.
But before I get into the nitty gritty, I’ll cover some of the basics of the draft for anyone who’s more unfamiliar with it. Just like all entry drafts in major league sports, the NHL draft is the dream of many young hockey players with bright futures ahead of them. It’s the ultimate goal to get drafted to a professional hockey team and participating in the draft is a way of showing you “made it”. All the great hockey players were once in those young men’s shoes, anxiously waiting for their name to be called and their lives to be changed forever.
The order selection is determined by a combination of a lottery, regular season standing, and playoff performance. Typically, the teams with poorer records will get to pick earlier, and the teams with better records get picks later on, some not even in the first round at all. Teams have the ability to trade up or down, allowing them to choose a player they really want before another team has the chance to scoop them up.
First to pick was the New York Rangers, and first to go was left wing Alexis Lafreniere. This did not come as a surprise to many experts, considering his 112 points (35 goals, 77 assists) in 52 games in 2019-20, a clear indication of his talent. 19-year-old Lafreniere was captain of the Rimouski Océanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and won many prestigious awards and trophies during his time with them. He is the third player from the QMJHL chosen at number one in the draft in the past eight years. However, renowned Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby was the last Rimouski player chosen first overall back in 2005, and many people have been comparing Lafreniere to him. It will be interesting to see if he lives up to his reputation in the coming season and is able to make an impact for the struggling Rangers.
There are three moments that stood out to me during the first round of the draft that I just have to mention, all revolving around the way each team made their pick. First was the way that the Ottawa Senators made their first pick of the draft, and they didn’t even make it themselves. Instead, Jeopardy! host and University of Ottawa graduate Alex Trebek announced their choice, German center Tim Stutzle, as the “Jeopardy!” theme music played in the background. Another notable pick was when the San Jose Sharks’ director of scouting Doug Wilson Jr. used American Sign Language to announce the 31st pick in the draft, 18-year-old forward Ozzy Wiesblatt. The significance? Wiesblatt’s mother, a single mom to five kids, is deaf. It was this small gesture that spoke volumes and truly made Wiesblatt’s draft day special for the whole family. Last but not least, the best franchise in the entire NHL (I may be slightly biased) asked a member of Chicago’s West Side and the home of the United Center where the Blackhawks play to announce the 17th pick of the draft. Jamyle Cannon, one of the inaugural grant recipients in the new One West Side initiative, welcomed Lukas Reichel to the greatest city in the world, Chicago, IL.
Speaking of Reichel, the Hawks were already acquainted with the German left winger, having faced-off against his team, Eisbären Berlin of the DEL, during an exhibition game in Berlin last fall. This means he’s playing in a men’s league as a teenager and is keeping up and making plays – pretty impressive if you ask me. He is still young at only 18 but full of potential and hopes to join the Hawks within the next year or so after spending more time practicing and honing his craft. He is a two-way forward, which means he can handle both the offensive and defensive parts of the game, something the Hawks desperately need right now. Needless to say, me along with all the other die-hard Hawks fans out there are eager to see Reichel prove himself on the ice when he’s ready.
The tentative start date for the upcoming NHL season is January 1, 2021, still nearly three months away, but you won’t hear me complaining. I’m just glad that we still get to have hockey, considering the uncertain world in which we live. Millions of eyes will be watching as these new recruits suit up for the first time and take to professional ice to show us what they’re made of. Fingers crossed that the new year will usher in positive change, and lots of Blackhawk wins.