Virtual draft prep

It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyways: the 2020 Draft will be unlike any the NHL has ever had.
Similar to the NFL Draft, the NHL Draft will be entirely virtual. League video conference calls will originate from the NHL Network Studios in New Jersey, meaning commissioner Gary Bettman won't be hearing any boos live. He almost certainly would have if the draft was still being held at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec.

Canucks management and scouts will be in Vancouver for the draft, hoping to unearth a few diamonds in the rough. Vancouver's first pick in the draft comes in the 3rd round, 82nd overall, before 4th (113th), 5th (144th), 6th (175th) and 7th (191st) round picks round out the team's five selections.
Why are the Canucks without a 1st or 2nd round pick? Read this.
Five picks are the fewest the Canucks have had since the 2012 NHL Draft, and this is the first draft since 2010 that Vancouver is without a 1st round pick. According to Assistant General Manager John Weisbrod, the Canucks are exploring a lot of options to regain a few draft picks for next week.
"Certainly we'd like to get an opportunity to pick sooner and certainly those possibilities still exist," said Weisbrod. "We're in here all day, every day, and there's a lot going on, and we'll just keep plugging away and see how it pans out. There could be all kinds of change between now and then. We're working on it."
While Weisbrod and GM Jim Benning work out possible ways to recoup picks, Todd Harvey is leading the way behind the scenes to ensure the Canucks are ready whenever they make their first selection.
Harvey, a 45-year-old former NHLer who played 671 games with the Dallas Stars, New York Rangers, San Jose Sharks and Edmonton Oilers, has been an Amateur Scout with the Canucks for three seasons. Vancouver let go of Amateur Scouting Director Judd Brackett this past May, leaving a void in the scouting department. Weisbrod said Harvey is filling that role for this upcoming draft and has been doing an incredible job preparing the scouting team.
"We obviously didn't make any tangible changes in light of everything that was going on with the pandemic at the time that Judd left, but Jim made it clear very immediately that he thought Harv would do a good job leading the group," said Weisbrod. "He's been making sure that everybody has stayed organized and understood the scouting criteria and the mission for the different positions and different players. Harv is a really good person and he's really well liked and I feel like the chemistry and discussion in the group has been fantastic, even on Zoom. I feel like Todd's presence and leadership has had a big effect on that."
Harvey, who will join the Canucks brass in person in Vancouver this weekend, said this is by far the most responsibility he's ever had for an NHL Draft. From working as a crossover scout and seeing many potential Canucks draft picks play live, to figuring out the intricacies of large group Zoom calls and prospect interview calls, it's been an interesting 2020 for the product of Hamilton, Ontario.
"I'd say it's the longest draft in history," laughed Harvey. "Everybody is in the same boat, we obviously didn't get a lot of the views at the end of the year in playoffs, which are important views, and obviously we missed out on the 2020 IIHF Under-18 Men's World Championship in Plymouth, to get some final views on guys, but we're all in the same boat, so we've had to resort to some video, which has been good. We've used a lot of video to compare guys."
Video has served the Canucks well in their preparations, more so for goaltenders and defenceman than forwards, however. With cameras following the puck during play, forwards leave the screen more often and it can be a challenge to see how they react to things away from the puck. That has been a change, said Harvey, as has overall meeting dynamics for Vancouver's staff.
Typically management, coaches and scouting staff would gather every day for a week in the same room to create their top secret draft list. The in-person discussions can get heated, which is good, and Vancouver's recent draft success means their recipe has been working.
It's been a slightly different dynamic over Zoom.
"Not being in the same room and being able to have a meeting like we usually do, trying to work with the Zoom calls and having everybody on it, that's been a big change," said Harvey, who said that despite these challenges, the extra three months of bonus prep time for the draft has been hugely beneficial. "You can dig in on guys more. It's been good with the video, all the scouts can see everybody play, whereas usually the regional guys don't get to see guys outside their region, but with this they've had opportunities to see other players and compare them with players in their region. It's definitely not ideal, but everybody has been involved in the process and we're working towards putting together the best list we can."
Speaking of the draft list, how's it coming along?
"We're feeling pretty good," said Harvey. "We've been grinding here the last little while and putting the finishing touches on it and I think our guys have done a real good job progressing with the list. We're just tidying things up and getting it all ready and we're going to hopefully get some good players here."