Members of the Golden Knights hockey operations staff have hunkered down at Rock Creek Cattle Company in Deer Lodge, Montana to finalize their preparation for the 2020 NHL Draft, which will be held virtually this year.
The Golden Knights, who own the 29th overall pick in Tuesday’s first round and four picks (two thirds, one sixth, one seventh) in Wednesday’s proceedings, are participating in the NHL Draft for the fourth time in franchise history as they look to add to their prospect pool during the offseason.
General Manager Kelly McCrimmon said the team is prepared and excited for the draft and is ready to use this year’s unique format to their advantage.
“There are going to be some aspects to drafting this way that are going to be easier,” McCrimmon said. “You can have open conversations in your war room, you can watch video on players as your pick nears to get one last look at that player. It’s going to be interesting.”
Those factors will be enjoyed by all 31 teams during the draft, but the Golden Knights have a setup at Rock Creek Cattle Company unlike any other organization in the league. Members of the staff will benefit from their surroundings as they have private meeting space for preparation and access to top-notch golf, fly fishing, and more for changes of scenery as they discuss the future of the franchise.
McCrimmon said the team is approaching the draft with the same philosophy they have for the previous three. Prospects already in the team’s system won’t be taken into account as they select players from this year’s crop as the team aims to select the best player available at any position each time they make a selection.
“We’ve tried to keep our process as similar to what it would be ordinarily as possible,” McCrimmon said.
He noted that with the abrupt ends of play in college hockey, junior hockey and European leagues, scouts had fewer opportunities to watch players that are draft-eligible this season. Cancellations of playoffs and the IIHF Under-18 World Championships prevented the Golden Knights staff from seeing young players compete with their seasons on the line, but McCrimmon said he’s comfortable with the exposure his staff has had to the 2020 draft class.
“We did a ton of work on Zoom calls and Microsoft Teams calls where we did all of our year-end meetings which traditionally, we would have held in-person in May,” McCrimmon said.
The NHL Draft Combine, generally held in the weeks leading up to the draft, did not happen this year. At the combine, teams see where players are at in their fitness and have opportunities to interview them ahead of the draft. Though the fitness testing did not occur, McCrimmon said he was satisfied with the virtual interviews he and his staff held with members of the draft class.
The first round of the 2020 NHL Draft kicks off at 4 p.m. PT Tuesday on NBCSN with Rounds 2-7 set to begin at 8:30 a.m. PT Wednesday on NHL Network. Stay up to date on everything surrounding the Golden Knights with special draft coverage on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Twitch and FOX Sports Radio Las Vegas 98.9/1340.
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