Moni kylän viisaista miehistä on vahvasti sitä mieltä, että varaustilaisuus on pitkälti lottoa tänä vuonna. Scoutit ei ole päässeet katselemaan pandemian johdosta niin paljoa pelejä ja yllättävän moni nyt varausikäisistä pelaajista veti viimekaudella minimaalisen vähän "oikeita" pelejä.
Näin itsekin ajattelin, mutta esim. Mark Kelleyn mielestä viime draft oli enemmän hakuammuntaa. Nyt pelejä on nähty enemmän, mutta livenä nähdyt ovat jääneet vähemmälle.
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As for the actual drafting itself, it’s a little bit less of a crapshoot this year than it was last year, when the pandemic stymied scouts’ ability to watch players and the combine was canceled. There were still hurdles this past year, but the Blackhawks feel confident they’ve seen enough as they hold the No. 12 pick (which is actually the 11th pick, as Arizona’s pick has been declared “voided”).
It’s the digital age, after all. Just about every game is streaming somewhere, and it’s not hard to get video from any game around the world. The problem with that, of course, is that a broadcast doesn’t tell the whole picture.
“You can get a taste, but the live viewing is very important,” Kelley said. “There are certain things the camera doesn’t show you. It doesn’t show you him coming on the ice, it doesn’t show you him going off the ice, his interactions with his teammates, maybe with a coach, something that happens after the whistle. And the camera follows the puck. With some of the players we’re watching, what we’re really looking to see is what they do away from the puck. That’s why the live viewings are so important.”