On Thursday morning, TSN reporter Bob McKenzie got an inside look at how the NHL is going to conduct its draft lottery Saturday night for the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.
He revealed the details on Twitter.
Just saw the NHL’s format/timing for Saturday’s draft lottery. Picks 15 thru 4 between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m. ET, picks 3 thru 1 in the second intermission of an 8 p.m. ET game. Huh. I suppose we should be happy they aren’t doing one pick a day for two weeks. 🤔
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) April 26, 2018
Much of the suspense surrounding the Blackhawks could be over by the time picks 4 through 15 are announced in that 6:30-7 p.m. Central time window. The Blackhawks currently sit in seventh place in the draft lottery, giving them 6.5 percent odds at moving up to the No. 1 overall pick and a 7.1 percent chance at moving up to the top three.
If not, though, the second intermission of Game 1 between the San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights will be the moment when the Hawks learn their fate. That second intermission will likely occur around 8:45 p.m.
The reaction to the format, at least on social media, was a mixed bag.
I know Twitter isn’t a representative sample, necessarily, but I’ve rarely seen such universal condemnation of an idea as dragging the draft lottery out for hours. Perhaps the league changes its mind between now and Saturday?
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) April 26, 2018
Get the hell out. https://t.co/jqbCYdQe4k
— Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) April 26, 2018
The NHL…over-complicating things since 1917. 🤦♂️ https://t.co/toAzSs3SNf
— Jay Zawaski (@JayZawaski670) April 26, 2018
You have 15 teams waiting around for a month for the lottery. You don’t have to just belch out all the results in a few minutes. Build some suspense. Fans of the top three teams will be going nuts on Saturday. It will be great.
— Down Goes Brown (@DownGoesBrown) April 26, 2018
We’ll learn a lot about the Blackhawks future this Saturday night.