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While many of the NHL's general managers seem opposed to holding the draft in June if the season remains paused, a representative for some of the prospects said they'd like it to happen sooner rather than later.
"Surprisingly, they want to get it over with," player agent Andy Scott told Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch. "They’d rather have the draft in June and not have all of the anxiety the entire summer of where they’re going to go in the draft. They’d rather ... understand what team owns their rights, and be able to have some communication with that team throughout the summer."
Scott works for Octagon Hockey, which is representing several draft-eligible players, including top-ranked European skater Tim Stuetzle. He also works with current players such as Leon Draisaitl, Patrik Laine, Kaapo Kakko, and Rasmus Ristolainen, according to PuckPedia.
The player rep believes time is of the essence when it comes to figuring out when the draft is going to be held.
"I think they need to make a decision soon on whether there’s going to be a draft in June because guys want to know," he said. "There needs to be at least a month of lead time to make sure everybody understands their marching orders."
The 2020 draft was originally scheduled for late June in Montreal before it was postponed in late March, less than two weeks after the league paused the season. In April, deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league was considering conducting a virtual version of the draft in June before the season potentially resumes.
Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman publicly questioned the idea, Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan said most of their contemporaries don't want it, and outspoken player agent Allan Walsh echoed the latter when he said none of the GMs he'd spoken to were in favor of an early draft.
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