Five Days Until the 2020 NHL Draft: Let's Get Virtual

DETROIT - Like nearly everything else in 2020, next week's NHL Entry Draft will be unlike any other in league history. The annual event will be held virtually, with all 31 clubs conducting Draft operations remotely from their home markets. Detroit Red Wings Executive Vice President & General Manager Steve Yzerman discussed what to expect from the format - among other topics - in his pre-draft availability with reporters on Thursday afternoon.

Yzerman heads into his second NHL Draft at the helm of the Red Wings, with Round 1 set for 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Oct. 6. Rounds 2-7 will begin at 11:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 7. The Red Wings earned the No. 4 pick in the first round - their highest pick since 1990 - and currently have six of the top 65 picks in the draft.
[Get all your 2020 NHL Draft news and notes by visiting Red Wings Draft Central]
Yzerman will conduct the draft from a large conference room, with much of his management and scouting staff scattered, including across Canada and Europe. They'll be in regular communication via the electronic vices that we have all become so familiar with. There will be a lack of palpable buzz and excitement that the draft annually presents on location in an NHL city - particularly in the first round - but Yzerman and his team are prepared for the changes.
"This morning, we did our own bit of testing, walking through the technology we'll be using," said Yzerman. "The league is running through it with our IT people to make sure we're running it how they want it to run, and making sure it's operational. I'm very comfortable that it should work out really well.
"We've got a nice spaced-out conference room, and it will be a little quieter in there," Yzerman said. "It will be a little less hectic. Particularly in Round 1 when the building is full, the fans are chanting and there is a lot of buzz in the building. With a lot of people around, it can be very distracting. I kind of like this (virtual) format. You do not have the ability to quickly catch the eye of a general manager, but we've got multiple phone lines. You can get a lot done quickly."

Virtual correspondence is nothing new to Yzerman and his management team. The pandemic has led to regular remote meeting and scouting sessions. While it's not an ideal situation, it's one that's helped drive some efficiencies.
"I don't want to run our organization remotely forever. I think interaction, spending time together, going to games together when we're allowed to do that, is crucial," said Yzerman. "But it has become an efficient way to hold meetings. I could see us using these forums in the future. I still think we need to get out there, to be in arenas, to be watching the players at every level, live. I think we'll do some of our mid-season meetings, potentially, online. It saves everybody time and allows us to be more efficient."

2020 NHL Entry Draft News & Notes

• This will mark the first time the Draft has been held mid-week (days other than Friday, Saturday or Sunday) since the 1994 NHL Draft at the Hartford Civic Center which took place from Tuesday, June 28 to Wednesday, June 29, 1994.
• Holding a non-weekend Draft was a common occurrence in the early days of the event. The first 21 years of the NHL Draft from 1963 to 1983 saw prospects picked on days outside of the Friday to Sunday window.
• The Red Wings are set to select among the top 10 for the fourth straight year after going 25 years without a top-10 selection between Martin Lapointe in 1991 (No. 10) and Michael Rasmussen in 2017 (No. 9). Their No. 4 slot in 2020 is the highest they will pick since 1990 (Keith Primeau: No. 3).