The first round of the 2020 NHL Draft will be held at 7 PM Tuesday and it will have a different look than in past seasons.
The draft will be held remotely for the first time in 15 years due to a coronavirus that has claimed over 210k lives in the United States and recently infected Connor McDavid – the NHL’s biggest superstar in Canada.
Ahead of the draft, the Capitals posted a photo of their new setup in the team’s locker room at MedStar Capitals Iceplex.
Washington Capitals draft room
A first look at what will be the 2020 Capitals #NHLDraft Room at MedStar Capitals Iceplex
More details from @VogsCaps below on what will be a unique year for club personnel in his #CapsDraft primer https://t.co/tF93I843RL pic.twitter.com/pAaf1nrMmg
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 6, 2020
According to Mike Vogel, the team has been busy converting the players’ locker room into a temporary war room. Only a handful of Capitals management will be inside conducting the draft including assistant GM Ross Mahoney, GM Brian MacLellan, head amateur scout Steve Bowman, and several others. The Capitals will call in their picks to NHL Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey.
“Normally, we just get all of the scouts around the table,” Ross Mahoney said. “And then [this year] it’s only going to be myself and Steve Bowman as far as the amateur [scouts] go, so that’s a little bit different. We’ll have the [other scouts] probably on a zoom call where we can talk to them if need be. So that’ll be different because usually, you’ve got the guys right beside you, the area guys and you can very easily go talk to them before picks about maybe who might be there when you’re picking, some little bits of strategizing. And so yeah, it’ll be different that way for sure, not to have everybody there in the vicinity.”
A bunch of other teams also posted images of their draft war rooms during the day as well.
Carolina Hurricanes
📍 #Canes Draft HQ pic.twitter.com/eylYP8f3Td
— Michael Smith (@MSmithCanes) October 6, 2020
Chicago Blackhawks
Columbus Blue Jackets
Home Base 📍 pic.twitter.com/5CDLjgCUMt
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) October 6, 2020
Edmonton Oilers
Ken Holland & the #Oilers management team getting ready for tonight's opening round!#NHLDraft | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/T7PoVxKmME
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 6, 2020
Montreal Canadiens
🔜#NHLDraft | @RONAinc pic.twitter.com/TdhffsTLED
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 6, 2020
San Jose Sharks
St. Louis Blues
Toronto Maple Leafs
Winnipeg Jets
The Capitals will select 24th in the first round (here are some of the prospects they could draft). Rounds 2-7 will be conducted at 11:30 AM, Wednesday morning.
Headline photo courtesy of @Capitals
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