The NHL Entry Draft has always signaled a time of renewal for NHL hockey fans. The previous season and all of it’s stats and stories have finally been put to bed, as NHL fans, one and all, begin to set their sights on a new day and the approaching season ahead.
This years draft will take place Friday and Saturday, July 23-24, and once again, will be virtual. Round one will begin Friday night at 8:00 PM ET on ESPN2, with Rounds 2-7 taking place on Saturday beginning at 11:00 AM ET on the NHL Network.
The Capitals selections in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft:
The bad news for this year’s draft? The Capitals wont have a first round pick as their most coveted selection was shipped to Detroit as part of the Jakub Vrána and Richard Panik deal for Anthony Mantha.
The good news? Top tier draft selections are a bit of a wildcard this year. Because of the pandemic, the number of games played and chances for scouts to view prospects in the wild were greatly reduced over the last 12 months, leaving a bit more uncertainty regarding prospect evaluations. In addition, there was no scouting combine this spring and one-on-one player interviews were essentially relegated to Zoom calls. Simply put, picking players in this year’s draft will be a bit of a crap shoot.
The Capitals have created a draft guide for this year’s draft which can be found here:
Next up on the Capitals calendar is free agency, which is set to open on Wednesday, July 28. Eyes will also be on the trade market throughout, as the draft itself has become a bit of a busy time for teams shuffling pieces around. Stay tuned.
We added up all the points scored by every player selected in each #NHLDraft year, and the results are fantastic.
📺: 8p ET on ESPN2 and @Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/uV7u4C2nTs
— NHL (@NHL) July 23, 2021
By Jon Sorensen
