The new decentralized format for the 2025 NHL Draft didn't quite go as planned on Friday night. And that's putting it mildly.
This year, they opted for several new angles, including NHL executives and scouts staying at home, while letting special guests announce their selections for them at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Presumably, it was a move designed to save money, and whether it accomplished that or not, there are a lot of reasons Friday night's first-round format presentation should never be repeated.
Like, ever.
Credit where credit is due. The venue and the set looked beautiful on TV with an amazing backdrop.
Now here comes the, um, constructive criticism.
Awkward, uninteresting video conference calls
The NHL relied on team executives and a nervous, excited 18-year-old kid to effectively carry half the broadcast, to be broadcasters or hosts, able to carry on a compelling conversation thatās worthy of being televised.
Fans may have wondered in the past what is said in a player's first meeting with his team. After half a dozen picks, the answer was clear: there is nothing interesting being said. It was like a boy meeting his girlfriend's dad for the first time. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.
Sometimes the conversation got so awkward, the reporter would ask the special guest what they thought, which was good news for The Goo Goo Dolls, who were called in from the bullpen during the Buffalo Sabres chat.
Check One, Check, Check. Hey, Can You Guys Hear Me?
I'm not sure what setup they were using to facilitate the video conference calls, but there was one technical glitch after another. Even when the feed was working and everyone could hear each other, there was an echo throughout.
The audio didn't work at all for some teams, including the Senators. When the camera cut to the Senators' feed with no audio, Senators owner Michael Andlauer didn't appear very happy. Hopefully, the glitch doesnāt cost him a draft pick.
You've Been Blocked
The other big technical glitch was fixed when they finally moved the camera. For the first few selections, the player was standing where he completely blocked our view of the NHL executives on the big screen.
Not-So-Special Guests
We live in a celebrity culture, so it's easy to understand why the league thought this might spice things up. For three reasons, it did not.
First of all, many of them couldn't be there and did a Zoom call to make the pick. Not a huge deal, if it's still done well, like the late Alex Trebek in 2020.
Secondly, many of the guests were less famous than the NHL general managers or owners they were representing.
Finally, very few of the special guests put any thought or preparation into it, certainly very few did anything that would be considered an upgrade on what the GM could have done from his home city.
Some of them slaughtered pronunciationsālike Tony Finau with his mention of the "Monk-toon" Wildcats. Charles Barkley is always entertaining, but he seemed to think he was Zooming into Gary Bettman's podcast or something, to the point where Bettman had to remind him it's time to make the pick.
Some of them did okay. Adam Sandler Zoomed in with his Happy Gilmore routine, which was sort of fun. Raunchy comedian Nikki Glaser told a funny joke about Brett Hull and his beer-fueled "We Went Blues" chant at the 2019 Cup celebration.
But most viewers might have preferred an extra 60 seconds of draft analysis from the panel.
At the very least, the league needs to do a better job of vetting who the special guests are and what they're planning. If it's not interesting in some way, just let the GMs make a straightforward pick.
Garyās Walk-a-thon
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman got a great workout. For every pick, we had to watch him make the 80-foot expedition to the center-stage microphone just to bring on the special guest, even though he could have done so from the podium and second microphone to the left of the stage. Once the pick was made, everyone could make the walk to centre stage then. We're waiting on the player to arrive from the stands anyway.
I'm not here to bury innovation or new ideas simply because they're different. These just didn't work.
The Sens arenāt scheduled to have a first-round pick next year, so fans may not care that much, but hereās hoping we get back to the standard draft format in 2026.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News/Ottawa
Banner image credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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