NHL Teams Vote to decentralize the Draft

[Brawndo]

 

Edited October 25, 2023 by Brawndo

[dudacek]

Saw this earlier this week.

Hope it doesn't happen. The NHL draft is so much better than the NFL draft —more personal for the participants, a great place to people watch

[SDS]

Makes sense. Other than taking a picture with the GM, is there presence really needed at the draft?

[Brawndo]

 

[Marvin]

8 minutes ago, Brawndo said:

 

They are aware that decentralising the draft is what led to Taro Tsujimito's draft, right?

[GASabresIUFAN]

Just now, dudacek said:

Saw this earlier this week.

Hope it doesn't happen. The NHL draft is so much better than the NFL draft —more personal for the participants, a great place to people watch

I agree.  I love the energy of the event with the teams there.  Given modern communications, you don’t need to have 30 people at each team’s table but jeep the event generally as is.

1 minute ago, SDS said:

Makes sense. Other than taking a picture with the GM, is there presence really needed at the draft?

Yes, I think having the GM’s together at the draft site can foster easier trade discussions.

[SDS]

1 minute ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

I agree.  I love the energy of the event with the teams there.  Given modern communications, you don’t need to have 30 people at each team’s table but jeep the event generally as is.

Yes, I think having the GM’s together at the draft site can foster easier trade discussions.

How so? Isn’t 99% of what they do on the phone?

[GASabresIUFAN]

5 minutes ago, SDS said:

How so? Isn’t 99% of what they do on the phone?

There are a ton of face to face meetings in hotels that plant the seeds of many deals, even if they are completed by phone later.

[sabresparaavida]

12 minutes ago, Marvin said:

They are aware that decentralising the draft is what led to Taro Tsujimito's draft, right?

Technology has come a long way since then, won’t have to individually call each team to update them on the picks which will make the process reasonable instead of grueling.

[matter2003]

I don't really care one way or the other.  Whatever makes more sense for the teams. Nobody is actually watching the draft anyway.

Edited October 18, 2023 by matter2003

[French Collection]

I like it the way it is.

I could stand less of a crowd on stage but I like the overall vibe.

[Brawndo]

 

[shrader]

Would decentralizing hurt the ability to have that personalized jersey ready to go for the player?  Some teams are already bad at that, but the jerseys are one thing that is so specific to hockey and the draft.  I don't want to see that change.  Otherwise, I guess I don't really care all that much about the tables full of front office guys all out there on the floor.

[LGR4GM]

3 hours ago, Brawndo said:

 

Yea, but what he is bitching about makes for great fun as a fan. We hear some of these conversations because reporters are around or the teams film them. It makes for a more entertaining event. 

Personally, I don't care much either way. If I were hockey, I would have team reps come to the draft while there is a command center back in their home area. You don't need 12 guys around a table though. 

[...]

I think this coincides with the very general discussion over the efficacy of trade shows. The primary topic here is whether the in-person interaction is worth the time and expense of participating in a trade show. It seems those who support the in-person paradigm strongly support it while those who question its worthiness less strongly support their position. This can even extend into workplace attendance.

Personally, I think in-person gatherings have value as entertainment for the fans but also in developing and maintaining industry/league relationships where that activity, when conducted in-person, is known to be more beneficial than other methods.

I suspect that those who might support decentralization might also not like the shoot-out as a way of settling a tied game.

[irregularly irregular]

Seems to be nothing more than an attempt to reduce the number of people in the room that are booing Bettman every time he steps up to the podium.

[SDS]

45 minutes ago, irregularly irregular said:

Seems to be nothing more than an attempt to reduce the number of people in the room that are booing Bettman every time he steps up to the podium.

You think NHL GM’s and their staff are booing Gary Bettman?

[LGR4GM]

1 hour ago, ... said:

I think this coincides with the very general discussion over the efficacy of trade shows. The primary topic here is whether the in-person interaction is worth the time and expense of participating in a trade show. It seems those who support the in-person paradigm strongly support it while those who question its worthiness less strongly support their position. This can even extend into workplace attendance.

Personally, I think in-person gatherings have value as entertainment for the fans but also in developing and maintaining industry/league relationships where that activity, when conducted in-person, is known to be more beneficial than other methods.

I suspect that those who might support decentralization might also not like the shoot-out as a way of settling a tied game.

I think not meeting in person eliminates all this small side conversations that build relationships 

[Malazan]

4 hours ago, shrader said:

Would decentralizing hurt the ability to have that personalized jersey ready to go for the player?  Some teams are already bad at that, but the jerseys are one thing that is so specific to hockey and the draft.  I don't want to see that change.  Otherwise, I guess I don't really care all that much about the tables full of front office guys all out there on the floor.

I believe each GM hand sews them personally on the draft floor so that probably wouldn't happen anymore. 

[SDS]

If the teams agree to this, I can’t imagine why anyone would care.

[irregularly irregular]

3 hours ago, SDS said:

You think NHL GM’s and their staff are booing Gary Bettman?

Yeah, it's a stretch. If we could hook them up to a lie detector, I'd bet almost all of them wish they could boo him and every one of them thinks they could do a better job of running the league. 

[shrader]

43 minutes ago, Malazan said:

I believe each GM hand sews them personally on the draft floor so that probably wouldn't happen anymore. 

Seriously though, some teams do it better than others. So each team has a different process. 

[LabattBlue]

Fantastic idea!!!

[WNY Sabres]

Keep draft as is, BUT, limit number of people at each team table and limit number of people that come on stage for picture with their team's draft pick - such a waste of time!

[...]

5 hours ago, SDS said:

If the teams agree to this, I can’t imagine why anyone would care.

I think all of the little kids and teens coming up through the ranks whose dream is to one day hear their name called by an NHL club's GM then walk up on stage and don a sweater that already has their name on it afterward thanking their mom and dad and all of the coaches they had who helped to get him that far will care. They may care a lot.

From then on we have nothing but apathetic players who are really only there because of the money and that they don't want to become a banker, video game programmer, barista or an electrician. This same generation will fully expect one day while they're in the league the owners will next vote to forgo the traditional post-Stanley Cup winning circle around the ice in favor of having a virtual one presented to them by an AI Bettman on the video board who'll then go on for ten minutes thanking all of the sponsors of the season that just ended.

They'll become unmotivated chain smokers of black market tobacco with no interest in signing pictures and sweaters for the kids who look up to them. Indeed, they'll hold their little fans in contempt, muttering to them to "get bent" or "you're better off searching for God, kid, this life will chew you up" or "nothing is real, kid, nothing matters..."  

Ray Bradbury approves of decentralizing the draft.

Edited October 19, 2023 by ...
Dystopian hockey is the future.