Need to Know: 2020 NHL Draft

BostonBruins.com -The Bruins are currently slated to have five picks in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, which kicks off with the first round on Tuesday night (7 p.m. ET on NBCSN) and continues with rounds 2-7 on Wednesday (11:30 a.m. ET on NHL Network).
Here is everything you need to know ahead of what will be one of the most unique drafts in NHL history:

Going Virtual

With the unprecedented COVID-19 shutdown pushing the 2019-20 season well into the Fall, the Draft is being held some three-plus months later than usual. Originally, the 2020 NHL Draft was set to be staged on June 26 and 27 at Bell Centre in Montreal.
Given the restrictions still in place because of the ongoing pandemic, teams will be participating virtually from their club's facilities. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly will announce the picks from the NHL Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey, while each of the prospects will take part from their homes.
The Draft Lottery, which was altered significantly because of the pandemic, was held in late June and awarded the first overall selection to a team to be determined. During the second phase of the lottery, all eight teams that were eliminated in the qualifying round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs had an equal chance to earn the first pick.
Ultimately, the New York Rangers were awarded the No. 1 overall selection, moving up nine spots from where they finished in the final standings. Alexis Lafreniere, an 18-year-old winger from Saint-Eustache, Quebec, is widely expected to be the first overall pick. He notched 35 goals and 112 points in 52 games for Rimouski Oceanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in 2019-20, his third season with the club.
Other top prospects include Quinton Byfield (Canada, forward), Jamie Drysdale (Canada, defenseman), Jake Sanderson (United States, defenseman), Cole Perfetti (Canada, forward), and Tim Stutzle (Germany, forward).
Players born between January 1, 2000 and September 15, 2002 are eligible for selection.

Meeting from Afar

The disrupted schedule and coronavirus restrictions also forced the NHL to cancel the annual Scouting Combine, as well as the usual process for in-person interviews that take place during the event and in the lead-up to the Draft. The lack of in-person testing, evaluation, and meetings has posed a unique challenge for Bruins general manager Don Sweeney and the rest of his hockey operations and scouting staff.
"It has certainly been a challenge. And everybody has had to adjust to it," said Sweeney. "Not being able to be at the combine, both in the interviews and from a testing standpoint, presents some challenges. You don't test these kids throughout the year, you rely on a lot of intel. Your strength and conditioning coaches are involved, you're trying to gather reports from every different circle, and the communication. There have certainly been some challenges.
"I think guys have done a good job. The Zoom opportunities to interview kids. You are watching kids, their reactions, not unlike what you would in a short window of opportunity at the Combine. I think those things have probably been satisfied to a large degree.
"Whether or not teams have dived into a little more of the psychological testing, I think everybody is trying to scratch as much as they possibly can and use the time as effectively as possible."

Not a First

For the second time in three years, the Bruins will be without a first-round pick after Sweeney flipped what will be the 27th overall selection to Anaheim as part of the trade for Ondrej Kase just ahead of February's trade deadline. Sweeney acknowledged that is "certainly difficult" to be idle during the opening night of the Draft.
"Your scouts do a tremendous amount of work and you'd like to reward them," said Sweeney. "Clearly, the first round is talent laden, the Draft is deep overall. I think if the opportunity presents itself [to re-acquire a first], we're going to have to explore it. There has been plenty of talk overall.
"There hasn't been a heck of a lot of player movement and such, but we're getting down to the final stages so if anything is going to happen, it has to happen within the next 48 hours to get in, if you're trying to trade back in. There's been some discussions. It's just expensive this time of the year."

2020 Bruins Draft Board

| 1 | Pick (27th) traded to Anaheim Ducks with David Backes & Axel Andersson for Ondrej Kase on February 21, 2020. | | 2 | 58 | | 3 | 89 | | 4 | Pick (120th) traded to New Jersey Devils with 2019 second-round draft pick (Nikita Okhotyuk) for Marcus Johansson on February 25, 2019. | | 5 | 151 | | 6 | 182 | | 7 | 213 | | Round | Pick | | --- | --- |