The Hockey Buzz mock draft driven by the readers and hopefully a few special guests is back for a third season. This approach is driven by what I wrote in year 1 with those who participated then having similar interest this season, “I thought a mock draft with some of the commenters taking a team and making a pick. But not only making a pick but providing the rationale for the pick. If that selector wants to propose a trade as opposed to making a pick, then they have that right. But the key has to be what works for that team and not just the Rangers."
The past two seasons, we did a mock draft pick by pick to lead us up to the actual draft. This season, the interest level appears to be there again to have the same, especially with the Blueshirts having the first overall pick. The logistics should be similar to what we did previously, but running them below to verify that info.
Below is the info from last year. Please let me know any tweaks or suggestions you might have to build on the past. The draft is a little under a month away, so we have a bit of time to get this up and running and react to any changes to the team or the draft.
For those who agree to participate, please make sure I have your real name to go with your Hockey Buzz ID. In addition, please PM me or email me to jan.levine@gmail.com to confirm you are in and will definitely be drafted. I would prefer not to chase everyone at the last minute, especially if we have a condensed time to complete the draft. In addition selfishly, I would like to have the Rangers but willing to cover whichever team to help us have a robust draft.
The two decisions to be made are:: 1) do we allow trades? We did in the past, but that did create some issues, especially when it came to overturned deals 2) when should we start? The draft is now October 6 and 7, starting right after finals end. The Jewish Holidays for me prior to the draft start Friday night Sept 18 through Sunday night Sept. 20., Sunday night Sept 27 to Monday night Sept 28 and then Friday, October 2 through Sunday night Oct 4. This means we need to start with sufficient time to complete before the draft factoring in the holidays, which is why running three picks a day makes the most sense.
Last year, we started on June 6 and finished on draft day, June 21. We started two years ago. also on June 6 and the draft was June 22. I would prefer to give us a bit of leeway to enable an easier process to complete, factoring in the holidays, but open to what you guys want.
Overall Rules and Process
As mentioned previously, there is a little kicker. After the pick or trade is made, a poll will be posted to rate the selection or deal. If the majority of people like the pick or trade, that selection stands and it moves on to the next team’s picks. If not, the majority rules and that’s what happens with that team and pick. I have the last right of refusal to keep everything on the up and up and avoid ballot box stuffing. My request to you is that you take this seriously and not make a mockery of the mock draft, because that would be an insult to the others who are participating and makes the whole process a sham. But by playing this out, we get to have healthy debate and conversation to remain engaged up and possibly beyond the draft. If teams make deals and they occur before a team’s selection is due, that deal will play a part as to when each person’s selection occurs.Here how this will work: each evening (for now, one pick per day, but we will go to two when we get to second half of the mock draft and possibly even before that, so that we complete on time) the team’s selector will email me at jan.levine@gmail.com their pick and their rationale for that selection. If making a trade, the same applies, and all the selectors have been listed below along with their screen name if from this site or their twitter handle if external to help facilitate making trades. I will post that pick and rationale on the site and create a voting poll. For now, I was thinking solely just a yes or no vote for the poll, but if people want me to list other options for the selection at that pick number in cases of a no vote, I am happy to do so, to help make it more robust.
2020 NHL DRAFT FIRST-ROUND ORDER AND GMs 1. New York Rangers 2. Los Angeles Kings 3. Ottawa Senators (via San Jose Sharks) 4. Detroit Red Wings 5. Ottawa Senators 6. Anaheim Ducks 7. New Jersey Devils 8. Buffalo Sabres 9. Minnesota Wild 10. Winnipeg Jets 11. Nashville Predators 12. Florida Panthers 13. Carolina Hurricanes (via Toronto Maple Leafs) 14. Edmonton Oilers 15. Toronto Maple Leafs (via Pittsburgh Penguins) 16. Montreal Canadiens 17. Chicago Blackhawks 18. New Jersey Devils (from Arizona) 19. Calgary Flames 20. New Jersey Devils (from Vancouver via Tampa Bay) 21. Columbus Blue Jackets 22. New York Rangers (from Carolina) 23. Philadelphia Flyers 24. Colorado Avalanche 25. Washington Capitals 26. St. Louis Blues 27. Anaheim Ducks (from Boston) 28-31. TBD, Dallas, Vegas, New York Islanders, Tampa Bay
Looking forward to running this again. We had a ton of fun last season. That should be the same again this year with New York having the first and 22nd picks in the first round.