On Tuesday night, the NHL held its annual draft lottery, with many speculating 17-year-old standout forward prospect Connor Bedard to be the ultimate prize to whomever came out the winner. The Blackhawks entered the draft with the third-best odds to land the No. 1 pick (11.5%), while the Anaheim Ducks and Columbus Blue Jackets were first and second, respectively. The city of Cleveland, Ohio does not have an NHL team, but there are many hockey fans of the area who root for the Blue Jackets since Columbus is only two hours south. As a result, many fans were disappointed in the outcome of the top three – Chicago, Anaheim, Columbus – but the manner in which it was communicated caused a larger issue, according to 92.3 The Fan’s morning show, The Ken Carman Show with Anthony Lima.
“They got down to the final three and you’re like, ‘Alright, let’s brace yourselves,’” co-host Anthony Lima said. “When that happens in the NBA, there is all this lead-up; we certainly know that you have all the representatives from the teams…Instead of showing the card [yesterday], what happened on the broadcast?”
The show then proceeded to play audio from ESPN where analyst Kevin Weekes revealed the first change in the order with the Blue Jackets dropping to third. That meant it would either be the Chicago Blackhawks or Anaheim Ducks receiving the No. 1 pick. The problem was that Weekes revealed which team would receive the third overall pick before it was officially announced by NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly.
“Anaheim has never selected first overall,” Weekes said on the broadcast just before a commercial break, “and the last time Chicago drafted No. 1 was when they took future Hall of Famer Patrick Kane.”
“They didn’t even show it,” 92.3 The Fan personality Garrett Bush reacted. “They went to commercial.”
Following a commercial break, Daly formally revealed that the Blue Jackets would be selecting third overall, leaving many fans disappointed and viewers somewhat confused as to what had just happened.
“The whole point of the lottery is to build the tension; to build the drama; to build the intrigue one card at a time, and then show how baffled and/or just upset [or] heartbroken the representative is,” Lima said. “Really, they should show the fans too. That would be awesome.”
Most hockey fanatics and insiders believe Bedard will indeed be chosen first overall, but nonetheless, the way in which it was revealed that the Blue Jackets would not win the lottery caught everyone a bit off guard.
“They didn’t even show the card,” Lima said. “Everybody is thinking, ‘This is going to be it.’ When you get to the final three, you think you’re going to win. You think this is going to be the total change of everything in your franchise.”
