So long, Sphere. And say goodbye to the NHL鈥檚 centralized draft 鈥� for now, at least.
The league is planning to shift from its current setup, in which team executives and scouts are all gathered on the floor of a venue to make their selections, to doing so remotely from their headquarters next year.
Though plans are not complete, the expectation is the league will still hold some type of draft celebration in one of its markets for television purposes and to draw fans, and featuring its top prospects, much like the NFL draft is conducted.
Several team executives shared the pros and cons of making the switch during the two-day, seven-round draft held in Las Vegas this weekend.
鈥淔rom a club standpoint, it鈥檚 excellent, because you can talk freely 鈥� and there鈥檚 a lot more room to spread out,鈥� Columbus Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell said in favor of holding the draft remotely.
鈥淭he negatives are, there鈥檚 always a lot more trades made in person,鈥� he added.
Waddell鈥檚 biggest concern in going remotely is having fewer prospects 鈥� especially those projected to go in the later rounds 鈥� in attendance.
鈥淲e drafted a kid in the sixth round, and he鈥檚 here with his parents. And they鈥檙e excited,鈥� Waddell said of selecting defenseman Luke Ashton, who is from North Vancouver, British Columbia. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e only going to get drafted once. And that鈥檚 probably the most disappointing thing for me, is the kids will lose out on that opportunity.鈥�
Toronto GM Brad Treliving said there鈥檚 nothing like having the entire NHL community together under one roof. Treliving, however, voted in favor of going remote because of scheduling constraints with the start of the free agency period almost immediately following the draft.
鈥淓verything being jammed up,鈥� Treliving said. 鈥淚 love the draft. I鈥檇 love to do it every year. It鈥檚 just scheduling more than anything else.鈥�
Treliving and his staff as well as the Washington Capitals are among teams staying in Las Vegas so not to lose time traveling home with free agency signing opening on Monday.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said there are no expectation of the league changing its decision for next year, after teams favored the decision to go to a remote draft.
Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon said the Golden Knights were one of the few teams to vote in keeping the status quo.
鈥淚 went to 27 NHL drafts in a row before I ever worked at an NHL draft,鈥� McCrimmon said. 鈥淎nd I just loved going to the draft. I was always fascinated by everything about it.鈥�
The shift in going to a remote draft represents a split between teams鈥� hockey departments, who favor the status quo, and the business side focusing on saving on travel and hotel expenses.
Vancouver Canucks president Jim Rutherford is taking a wait-and-see approach.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 have an opinion until we try the other way,鈥� Rutherford said. 鈥淎nd once we try that for a year, I think everybody will be able to make a good decision as how we go forward.鈥�
Global game
Kevin He, who was selected 109th by Winnipeg, became just the second Chinese-born player chosen in the draft, following Andong Song, who went 172nd to the New York Islanders in 2015. Both are from Beijing.
Harrison Brunicke, who is from Johannesburg and grew up in western Canada, was the second South African-born player drafted, going 44th to Pittsburgh. He joins goalie Olie Kolzig, who was also born in Johannesburg, and went No. 19 to Washington in 1989.
Three players from Latvia were drafted, matching a draft record for the eastern European nation. Eriks Mateiko went 90th to Washington, followed by Mikus Vecvanags (No. 134 to Montreal) and Darels Uljanskis (No. 214 to Anaheim).
Michkov update
Flyers general manager Daniel Briere said progress is being made on forward Matvei Michkov finally arriving in Philadelphia, but ruled out the Russian being in attendance for the team鈥檚 development camp next week. Briere added there鈥檚 also been progress on signing the 2023 first-round draft pick to a contract.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of logistics that have to go in. Immigration, visa, and all that stuff,鈥� Briere said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have a timeline as far as when we expect him in Philadelphia, but it鈥檚 looking good. It鈥檚 moving in the right direction.鈥�
Michkov was cleared to join the Flyers after being released by his club in Russia鈥檚 Kontinental Hockey League.
Columbus coaching search
With the draft over and the Blue Jackets not anticipating to be too active once the free agency period opens on Monday, Waddell can begin focusing on hiring a coach in Columbus.
鈥淚 officially haven鈥檛 interviewed anybody yet. I鈥檝e talked to some people,鈥� said Waddell, who took over the Blue Jackets in late May, and fired Pascal Vincent in mid-June.
There鈥檚 no rush, Waddell said, noting Columbus is the NHL鈥檚 only team without a coach. Waddell previously said he planned on having a list of 12 candidates, before narrowing it to four before starting the interview process.
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Freelance writer W.G. Ramirez contributed to this report.
John Wawrow, The Associated Press
