The future of the 2020 NHL Draft still remains uncertain, but the league is playing with a couple of ideas.
One of those ideas, according to NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, is holding a virtual draft in June before possibly resuming the 2019-20 season. It’s unclear how the league would address certain complications like the draft order and conditional picks would be determined, according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, but the option still is under consideration.
At the moment, however, nothing has been decided upon.
Obviously would be a virtual draft in nature if held in June. Again, nothing decided, but the NHL’s Deputy Commissioner says it’s being discussed.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) April 21, 2020
The league indefinitely postponed the 2020 Draft on March 25, roughly two weeks after the NHL paused the season over COVID-19 concerns. The 2020 NHL Scouting Combine and the 2020 Bridgestone NHL Awards also were postponed.
A virtual draft isn’t a novel idea, though it certainly is a viable one. The WNBA proved this Thursday night, facing minimal technical issues and earning its highest viewership in 16 years. Whether the NFL has the same success with its 2020 Draft this weekend, however, remains to be seen, (though it sounds like Monday’s test run didn’t go as well as the league had hoped).
Nevertheless, we’d love to see the NHL follow suit.
