Ah, Fall. The leaves are changing colours, the days are getting shorter and the smell of pumpkin spice is in the air.
Normally those familiar signs point to the return of the hockey season, but as we all know, there is nothing normal about 2020.
With the Stanley Cup finally awarded last week, the eyes of the hockey world now turn to the NHL Draft, more than three months after it was originally scheduled. The teams will finally get a chance to build for the future even though the start date of the next regular season is still unknown.
Before the picks are made, here is everything you need to know about the most unique draft in NHL history.
When, where, why?
The 2020 NHL Draft was originally scheduled for June 26-27 in Montreal but like everything else, it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, it is being held virtually with the first round on Oct. 6 and the second through seventh rounds the next day.
Sportsnet will be broadcasting the entire event with coverage of Round 1 beginning at 7 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. PT on Oct. 6 and coverage of the other rounds beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET / 8:30 a.m. PT on Oct. 7.
Watch Round 1 of the NHL Draft on Sportsnet and SN NOW beginning at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on Tuesday, Oct. 6. Then catch Rounds 2-7 on SN1 and SN NOW starting at from 11:30 a.m. ET/8:30 a.m. PT on Wednesday, Oct. 7.
Who picks when?
The NHL made some changes to the draft lottery this year after the pandemic forced the regular season to be paused before it was completed.
In June, the first lottery was held where the seven teams who were not invited to return to play, as well as eight other placeholder teams, were given a chance to win one of the first three picks in the draft. The odds for all 15 spots remained the same as they would have been had the season been completed as scheduled, with the placeholder teams representing the eight losers from the playoff qualifying round that had yet to be played.
As a result of this first lottery, a placeholder team won the right to select first overall, the Los Angeles Kings moved up from fourth to pick No. 2 and the San Jose Sharks’ pick (owned by the Ottawa Senators) moved up from fifth to No. 3.
Since a placeholder team won one of the top three spots in the draft, a second lottery was held in August after the qualifying round to determine which team would take that place. The eight qualifying round losers were all given an equal 12.5 per cent chance to win and as a result, the New York Rangers will pick first overall. The other seven qualifying round losers were then slotted into the draft order from picks nine to 15 based on points percentage.
The full draft order became clearer as more teams were eliminated from the playoffs. Now that the Tampa Bay Lightning have won the Stanley Cup, this is how the first round currently looks.
Team
Notes
1
New York Rangers
2
Los Angeles Kings
3
Ottawa Senators
Acquired from Sharks in trade for Erik Karlsson.
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
Acquired from Maple Leafs in trade for Patrick Marleau.
14
Edmonton Oilers
15
Toronto Maple Leafs
Acquired from Penguins in trade for Kasperi Kapanen.
16
Montreal Canadiens
17
Chicago Blackhawks
18
New Jersey Devils
Acquired from Coyotes in trade for Taylor Hall.
19
Calgary Flames
20
New Jersey Devils
Acquired from Lightning in trade for Blake Coleman; Lightning acquired pick from Canucks in trade for J.T Miller.
21
Columbus Blue Jackets
22
New York Rangers
Acquired from Hurricanes in trade for Brady Skjei.
23
Philadelphia Flyers
24
Colorado Avalanche
25
Washington Capitals
26
St. Louis Blues
27
Anaheim Ducks
Acquired from Bruins in trade for Ondrej Kase.
28
Ottawa Senators
Acquired from Islanders in trade for Jean-Grabriel Pageau.
29
Vegas Golden Knights
30
Dallas Stars
31
San Jose Sharks
Acquired from Lightning in trade for Barclay Goodrow.
Canadian teams outlook
When looking specifically at what fans of Canadian teams can expect at the draft, it’s best to split things geographically.
The four Western Conference teams are all in win-now mode and as a result, they have a limited number of selections after making various trades. Of that group, the Calgary Flames lead the way with *six or seven, while the Winnipeg Jets trail with four.
The three teams in the Eastern Conference, however, are all loaded with a combined 34 picks between them. The Senators, deep into a rebuild, lead all teams with 12 picks while the Canadiens and Maple Leafs each have 11.
Below is a breakdown of the draft picks each Canadian team holds.
* Edmonton can choose to trade either its own 2020 or 2021 third rounder to Calgary as part of the James Neal-Milan Lucic deal. If Edmonton trades its 2020 pick (No. 76) to Calgary, Calgary will then trade that pick to Chicago as a condition on the trade that sent Erik Gustafsson to the Flames and keep its own pick, No. 81. If Edmonton chooses to keep pick No. 76 and instead trades its 2021 pick to Calgary, the Flames will then send pick No. 81 to Chicago to complete the Gustafsson deal.
Who’s going No. 1?
There is often debate over which player will go first overall but not in 2020. Winger Alexis Lafreniere of the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic has been the top prospect in this class for many years now and his 2019-20 season didn’t do anything to hurt his case.
Lafreniere, who turns 19 on Oct. 11, is a left-shot power winger who will bring size and top-line skill to the Rangers immediately. He won his second consecutive CHL Player of the Year award last season after scoring 35 goals and 112 points in only 52 games. Sidney Crosby is the only other player to win that award twice.
“Believe all the hype from the past three years,” Sportsnet’s CHL insider Sam Cosentino wrote in his final draft rankings. “His creativity and competitiveness will make teammates and coaches take notice right away.”
Other players to watch
Overall, the 2020 draft is very deep up front and it’s very possible 12 or 13 forwards go in the first 15 picks. The top of the draft also features two elite puck-moving defencemen and one of the most intriguing goalie prospects of the past few years.
Quinton Byfield, C, Sudbury Wolves (OHL) Byfield has lit up the OHL since being the first pick in the 2018 draft, scoring 61 points in his rookie campaign and adding another 82 points in only 45 games in 2019-20. A giant at six-foot-four, Byfield projects to be a franchise centre who uses his strength and natural scoring ability to pile up points.
Tim Stutzle, LW, Mannheim (DEL) Stutzle is the latest German-born player to arrive on the scene, following in the footsteps of Hart Trophy winner Leon Draisaitl. Stutzle’s strength is his skating, which includes both high-end speed and crafty deception. He had a limited role on a top team in 2019-20, but still managed 34 points in 41 games.
The L.A. Kings are expected to take one of Byfield or Stutzle with pick No. 2 and the Senators, with pick No. 3, are expected to take the other.
Lucas Raymond, LW, Frolunda (SHL) Raymond is the type of player that highlight shows will love because whenever he has the puck, magic happens. His quick hands allow him to create scoring chances for himself or his teammates and he has the potential to be a difference-maker every night.
Marco Rossi, C, Ottawa 67’s (OHL) Rossi is coming off a season where he was named OHL MVP after scoring 120 points in just 56 games. A complete two-way centre who models his game after Brayden Point, Rossi is one of the few players in this draft class who could make the jump to the NHL next season.
Cole Perfetti, LW, Saginaw Spirit (OHL) Perfetti only stands at five-foot-10, but his elite hockey IQ allows him to play bigger than his body. His peers say he’s a high-character player who could be the leader on a winning-team for many years.
Jake Sanderson, D, USNTDP Sanderson is the model of what a modern elite defenceman looks like, combining size and strength with a strong offensive instinct. No player has risen more on Cosentino’s draft rankings than Sanderson, who didn’t even appear in the top 31 last October but finished at No. 4 in the final rankings.
Jamie Drysdale, D, Erie Otters (OHL) Drysdale is an offensive defenceman in every sense of the word and can make plays from anywhere. The physical side of his game needs a little seasoning, but his first-pass breakouts and offensive-zone management are already elite.
Yaroslav Askarov, G, SKA St. Petersburg (KHL) Askarov is off to a hot start in the 2020-21 KHL season, already earning Goalie of the Week honours after stopping 76 of 78 shots in his first three games, two of them wins and one of them a shutout. There’s always a risk drafting a goalie in the first round but Askarov is drawing a lot of attention and will likely be taken before pick No. 15 by a team willing to bet on the most important position.
How has the pandemic impacted scouting?
Beyond changing the date and format the COVID-19 pandemic has also impacted how teams scout and evaluate players, for both the 2020 draft and beyond.
Play in every league around the world was paused in March and only the NHL was able to resume later in the summer, meaning the playoffs in the CHL and leagues across Europe were cancelled. Additionally, the World U-18 tournament in April, which is typically the final competition in the scouting calendar for draft-eligible players to compete against their peers, was cancelled this season.
One other wrinkle as a result of the delayed draft is that some players have already resumed play in the 2020-21 season. The QMJHL, KHL, SHL and Liiga have all returned to play and prospects such as Lucas Raymond and Yaroslav Askarov have continued to add to their resumes. Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman, when asked how these extra games will impact his team’s final list, said his staff are watching but “ultimately, it’s not really swaying our list that much.”
Finally, the 2021 NHL Draft has already been affected by the pandemic, too. The scouting calendar for the next draft typically begins in early August with the Gretzky-Hlinka Cup, the first tournament that pits draft-eligible players against each other. But the 2020 edition of the tournament was cancelled and, on top of that, the start of the OHL and WHL seasons have been delayed to December, meaning players trying to get scouts’ attention for the 2021 draft will have to wait a bit longer to do so.
Teams that could make headlines
By being virtual, the 2020 draft won’t have the crowded arena floor where all 31 general managers can talk trades in close quarters that normal drafts have. But with the flat salary cap and lots of teams looking to improve, there should still be plenty of activity on draft day.
Here are three teams who could be at the centre of the action.
New Jersey Devils
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has reported that the Devils are shopping two first round picks, No. 18 and No. 20, for young NHL-level talent.
“New Jersey has made it known that if you’ve got a youngish player 26 or under with some term or team control, (they) would be willing to move one of the first rounders for that kind of help,” Friedman said on a recent Saturday Headlines, adding that pick No. 7 is not on the table.
The Devils made a big splash at the 2019 draft by acquiring P.K. Subban from the Nashville Predators. While Tom Fitzgerald is calling the shots this time around, it looks like the Devils will be busy working the phones once again.
Ottawa Senators
Senators GM Pierre Dorion declared the team was entering a rebuild in the spring of 2018 and ever since then, the club has been positioning itself to hit big at the 2020 draft. The Senators have two things every rebuilding team wants, cap space and plenty of draft picks, and Dorion will have lots of options come draft day as a result.
After buying out Bobby Ryan, the Senators have more cap space ($43 million) than committed salary ($38 million) for next season so the team could add more picks in the coming days to help other teams get out of cap trouble, similar to what the Red Wings did by acquiring Marc Staal and a second-round pick from the Rangers.
On the other hand, with 13 picks including seven in the first two rounds, the Senators have the ability to move up in the draft if a certain player they like is still available.
Winnipeg Jets
The Jets are a wild card due to the fact that the club could be entertaining trade offers for Patrik Laine. As Friedman has reported, the club is weighing whether trading the 21-year-old would help fill holes down the middle or on the blue line.
The Jets already have the 10th overall pick but could add another first-rounder plus an NHL-ready player if they decide to move Laine. It would be a franchise-altering move for both the Jets and the team acquiring the high-profile sniper, which is why the draft might be the best place for this trade to happen.
STAVANGER, Norway (AP) — Few chess players enjoy Magnus Carlsen‘s celebrity status.
A grand master at 13, refusing to play an American dogged by allegations of cheating, and venturing into the world of online chess gaming all made Norway’s Carlsen a household name.
Few chess players have produced the magical commodity that separates Norway’s Magnus Carlsen from any of his peers: celebrity.
Only legends like Russia’s Garry Kasparov and American Bobby Fischer can match his name recognition and Carlsen is arguably an even more dominant player. Last month, he beat both men to be named the International Chess Federation’s greatest ever.
But his motivation to rack up professional titles is on the wane. Carlsen, 33, now wants to leverage his fame to help turn the game he loves into a spectator sport.
“I am in a different stage in my career,” he told The Associated Press. “I am not as ambitious when it comes to professional chess. I still want to play, but I don’t necessarily have that hunger. I play for the love of the game.”
Offering a new way to interact with the game, Carlsen on Friday launched his application, Take Take Take, which will follow live games and players, explaining matches in an accessible way that, Carlsen says, is sometimes missing from streaming platforms like YouTube and Twitch. “It will be a chiller vibe,” he says.
Carlsen intends to use his experience to provide recaps and analysis on his new app, starting with November’s World Chess Championship tournament between China’s Ding Liren and India’s Gukesh Dommaraju. He won’t be competing himself because he voluntarily ceded the title in 2023.
Carlsen is no novice when it comes to chess apps. The Play Magnus game, which he started in 2014, gave online users the chance to play against a chess engine modeled against his own gameplay. The company ballooned into a suite of applications and was bought for around $80 million in 2022 by Chess.com, the world’s largest chess website.
Carlsen and Mats Andre Kristiansen, the chief executive of his company, Fantasy Chess, are betting that a chess game where users can follow individual players and pieces, filters for explaining different elements of each game, and light touch analysis will scoop up causal viewers put off by chess’s sometimes rarefied air. The free app was launched in a bid to build the user base ahead of trying to monetizing it. “That will come later, maybe with advertisements or deeper analysis,” says Kristiansen.
While Take Take Take offers a different prospect with its streaming services, it is still being launched into a crowded market with Chess.com, which has more than 100 million users, YouTube, Twitch, and the website of FIDE the International Chess Federation. World Chess was worth around $54 million when it got listed on the London Stock Exchange.
The accessibility of chess engines that can beat any human means cheating has never been easier. However, they can still be used to shortcut thousands of hours of book-bound research, and hone skills that would be impossible against human opponents.
“I think the games today are of higher quality because preparation is becoming deeper and deeper and artificial intelligence is helping us play. It is reshaping the way we evaluate the games,” especially for the new generation of players, says Carlsen.
At the same time, he admits that two decades after becoming a grand master, his mind doesn’t quite compute at the tornado speed it once did. “Most people have less energy when they get older. The brain gets slower. I have already felt that for a few years. The younger players’ processing power is just faster.”
Even so, he intends to be the world’s best for many years to come.
“My mind is a bit slower, and I maybe don’t have as much energy. But chess is about the coming together of energy, computing power and experience. I am still closer to my peak than decline,” he said.
Chess has been cresting a popularity wave begun by Carlsen himself.
He became the world’s top-ranked player in 2011. In 2013, he won the first of his five World Championships. In 2014, he achieved the highest-ever chess rating of 2882, and he has remained the undisputed world number one for the last 13 years.
Off the table, chess influencers, like the world No. 2, Hikaru Nakamura, are using social media to bring the game to a wider audience. The Netflix series “The Queen’s Gambit” burnished chess’ unlikely cerebral sex appeal when it became one of the streamer’s biggest hits in 2020.
And in 2022 Carlsen’s refusal to play against Hans Niemann, an American grand master, who admitted to using technology to cheat in online games in the past, created a rare edge in the usually sedate world of chess. There is no evidence Niemann ever cheated in live games but the feud between the pair propelled the game even further into public consciousness.
Whether chess can continue to grow without the full professional participation of its biggest celebrity remains to be seen.
Canadian pairs team Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps along with ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier headline a strong field at Skate Canada International. The Canadians say they’re excited to perform in front of a home crowd as the world’s best figure skaters arrive in Halifax. (Oct. 24, 2024)
INZAI CITY, Japan (AP) — Nico Echavarria shot a 6-under 64 on Friday — matching his 64 on Thursday — to lead by two shots over Taylor Moore and Justin Thomas after the second round of the Zozo Championship in Japan.
Thomas shot 64 and Moore carded 67 with three others just three shots off the lead including Seamus Power, who had the day’s low round of 62 at the Narashino Country Club.
Thomas has twice won the PGA Championship but is winless in two years on the PGA Tour.
Eric Cole (67) and C.T. Pan (66) were also three behind heading to Saturday.
Nick Taylor, of Abbotsford, B.C., is the top Canadian at 5-under and tied for 16th.
Ben Silverman, of Thornhill, Ont., is two shots back of Taylor and tied for 31st.
“I’ve never had a lead after 36 holes,” said Echavarria, a Colombian who played at the University of Arkansas. His lone PGA win was last year in Puerto Rico.
He had a two-round total of 12-under 128.
“I’ve had it after 54, but never after 36, so it’s good to be in this position. There’s got to be some pressure,” he added. “Hopefully a good round tomorrow can keep me in the lead or around the lead. And how I said yesterday — the goal is to be close with nine holes to go.”
Rickie Fowler, a crowd favorite in Japan because of his connections to the country, shot 64 to go with an opening 68 and was four shots back going into the weekend. Max Greyserman was also four behind after a 68.
“It would be amazing to win here,” said Fowler, whose mother has Japanese roots. “Came close a few years ago.”
Fowler tied for second in 2022
Fowler described his roots as “pretty far removed for Japan, but I’m sure I have relatives here, but I don’t know anyone. Japanese culture’s always been a fairly big part of life growing up. I always love being over here.”
Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama shot his second 71 and was 14 shots off the lead.
Defending champion Collin Morikawa shot 67 and pulled within eight shot of the lead, and Xander Schauffele — British Open and PGA winner this season — shot 65 and was 10 behind after a 73 on Thursday.
“I feel like I’ve got a good game plan out here,” Morikawa said, another player with Japanese connections. “I just have to execute shots a little better.”
“I am the defending champ, but that doesn’t mean I’m immediately going to play better just because I won here,” he added. “It’s a brand new week, it’s a year later. I feel like my golf game is still in a good spot. I just haven’t executed my shots. When that doesn’t happen it makes golf a little tougher.”
Schauffele turned 31 on Friday and said he was serenaded before his opening tee shot. He also has ties to Japan. His mother grew up in Japan and his grandparents live in the Tokyo area.
