NHL Draft goes virtual

2020 has become a year of firsts in the sports world. There has never been a point in time where every major sports league or association possible has been running simultaneously. The idea of the “bubble” was introduced by the NBA and NHL. Now, most recently, the NHL Entry Draft took place virtually for the first time ever. This is also the first time the draft has been held in October. 

On Oct. 6, every NHL franchise, league staff, and draft prospects united from all over the world. Players waited in anticipation to officially achieve their boyhood dreams of becoming an NHL player. While the draft was forced to be held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the experience was unlike any other draft over the years. All 31 teams broadcasted from their team’s home dressing room while negotiating who they should select. 

Draft eligible players were given jerseys and hats from all 31 NHL teams in preparation of whichever team may pick them. Eighteen-year-old Alexis Lafrenière was drafted first overall by the New York Rangers. Quinton Byfield became the first Black player drafted No. 2 overall pick by the Los Angeles Kings, making him the highest drafted Black player in NHL history. 

The NHL ran into some technical issues while broadcasting the draft. There was a noticeable delay between the announcements and the players’ reactions. Some announcement delays ranged anywhere from 10 seconds to several minutes. This stream delay caused for awkward airtime, where some families shown waiting for the announcement had to be skipped because of time constraint. 

As a result of the delay on TV, players found out they had been drafted well before the announcement officially aired on their screens. When the camera finally panned on them, they were already celebrating with their family and had no idea that they were on TV. 

Camera and audio quality became an issue for some as well. Because there were feeds coming from all over the world, many of the cameras in players’ houses were blurry and their audio was choppy. When players were interviewed, their voices were muffled and unable to be heard.

Due to the fact that the draft was virtual, the entire event took longer than it was supposed to. The draft was supposed to end the next day at 3 p.m. EST., but did not end until the early evening. 

One key moment in the draft was when the San Jose Sharks were up to make their selection, the director of scouting, Doug Wilson Jr., used sign language to announce they had selected Ozzy Wiesblatt whose mother is deaf. 

The 2020-21 NHL season is expected to start in January of 2021, but because of the pandemic, there is no indication of where the next draft will be held.