Following a very different 2020 NHL Entry Draft that happened much later than expected, in October as opposed to in June, and one that saw players drafted from the comfort of their homes rather than packed into an arena with one another, we may see yet another series of changes to the 2021 draft.
Per Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, there are ongoing discussions that give merit to the idea of pushing the 2021 draft back to either December or January, which would allow time for proper scouting, rather than just reviewing tape.
In addition, Friedge divulged an interesting bit of information revolving around holding a pair of drafts, just a few days apart, where both players born in the appropriate date range jn '02-'03 are eligible to be selected, followed by a subsequent draft for '03-'04 players.
«I think there are teams out there that would be interested in seeing the draft moved back to December or January instead of this July,» Friedman said during Saturday's segment. «And I think there's also a couple of teams [discussing] the possibility of doing two drafts next June — a late '02 and an '03 draft on one day, and then maybe a few days later, an '03 and an '04 draft.
«I don't know what the decision is going to be, but these are some of the ideas that are coming back to the league.»
Another idea floating around, as Sportsnet's Chris Johnston reports, is to hold a tournament where draft-eligible players play a series of games to showcase their skills either in front of an audience of scouts or a televised event that would allow scouts and management to watch from home and get a look at the prospects before committing to drafting them to their respective organizations.
«They're looking for ideas for what you do with all these draft-eligible players, many of whom haven't played at all this season anywhere that NHL teams can see,» Sportsnet's Chris Johnston told viewers during Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday. «One thing that has been discussed is a tournament, a series of games, what have you, at some point in the spring, in which those players could play.
«Obviously you could invite scouts or have them watch from a safe distance through video, but it might be a way to get some eyeballs on these guys, because it's been a tough year on those teenagers, too.»
Though nothing has been decided as of yet, some pretty interesting ideas are floating around and being considered. I, for one, am definitely intrigued to see where this goes.
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