The third mock Hockey Buzz mock draft driven by the readers and a few special guests is all but set. Thanks to all who have agreed to participate. A few teams remain open, but I have a few entreaties out to fill those spots. Russ Cohen will be taking one team, still to be determined, but as you will see below, we are almost ready to roll. 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
[email protected] to confirm you are in and will definitely be drafting. I would prefer not to chase everyone at the last minute, especially if we have a condensed time to complete the draft.
This approach was driven by what I wrote last year with those who participated then having similar interest this season, “I thought having 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 two decisions to be made were::
1) Do we allow trades? Decision is due to the difficulties we had last year, which slowed down the blog, we will not have trading. For each pick, included should be: a) Selection and reasoning/scouting report, and, b) Alternatives considered(both players and trades). I welcome teams discussing deals with each other and proposing a trade if one exists for the other team owners and comments to weigh in with their opinion. This may not be the ideal but hopefully encourages trade discussions to spice up the draft.
2) When should we start?I am proposing that we begin this Monday. The draft is now October 6 and 7, starting right after finals end. Round 1 is 7pm on the 6th with rounds 2-7, Wednesday, October 7, starting at 12pm and free agency kicking off at 12noon on the 9th. This then allows us three weeks or so to finish the 31 picks, while also factoring in the Jewish holidays, see below. Based on my off-dates, we would make two picks per day, enabling us to finish just before the draft. Please let me know your view.
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 [email protected] their pick and their rationale for that selection. If discussing a trade, as noted above, 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 - Jan Levine
2. Los Angeles Kings - determining between a few possible candidates
3. Ottawa Senators (via San Jose Sharks) - spatso, Walter Clare
4. Detroit Red Wings - fed91stammer, Derek Fischer
5. Ottawa Senators - spatso, Walter Clare
6. Anaheim Ducks - optimus-reim, Luke Herrington
7. New Jersey Devils - redmonsters, Kevin Barrett
8. Buffalo Sabres - KilkennyDan, Dan Sovocol, drafting form Portugal
9. Minnesota Wild - dudestar, Nicholas Plazio
10. Winnipeg Jets - Ross77, Darren Ross
11. Nashville Predators - slimtj, TJ Reilly
12. Florida Panthers - jimbo, Jimmy Reilly
13. Carolina Hurricanes (via Toronto Maple Leafs) - Bingo, Chris Cote
14. Edmonton Oilers - maximumbone, Silas Bengtsson
15. Toronto Maple Leafs (via Pittsburgh Penguins) - Michael Augello, Leafs blogger
16. Montreal Canadiens - Vivian Lapeirre, bi-lingual, meaning pick may be in English & French
17. Chicago Blackhawks - Theo Fox, Chicago blogger on site
18. New Jersey Devils (from Arizona) - redmonsters, Kevin Barrett
19. Calgary Flames - deddie, Dan Ethier
20. New Jersey Devils (from Vancouver via Tampa Bay) - redmonsters, Kevin Barrett
21. Columbus Blue Jackets - Thomas Townsend, Columbus blogger on the site
22. New York Rangers (from Carolina) - Jan
23. Philadelphia Flyers - Flyersfan328, Phil Brunner
24. Colorado Avalanche - climbdenali12, Ryan Armstrong
25. Washington Capitals - winerydog
26. St. Louis Blues
27. Anaheim Ducks (from Boston) - optimus-reim, Luke Herrington
28-31. Pick order TBD, Dallas, Vegas, Ottawa (acquired from Islanders in JG Pageau deal - spatso), San Jose (acquired from Tampa Bay in Barclay Goodrow deal - Jeremy Barber, user id: barberjw)
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.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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