littleD said:
We all got a little ticked when we thought the lottery wouldn't be broadcast. No one cares that the draft isn't open to the public? I guess if you're outside Ottawa, it's not a big deal.
Surely the Westin is big enough that they can fit even 100 or 200 people in to see the proceedings. I mean, who's going to be there to boo Gary Bettman - the draft picks' families?
I wonder if any of the top 20 prospects have any "tickets" to the event they can part with.
First of all, as you mentioned, it is in a hotel and not an arena, so the public can't fit.
But we all know it is because the draft is "scaled down", and rumor is that the teams and their scouts won't even be there as in years past, just a team rep. like at the lottery. So there isn't anything to see anyways.
I am sure your question is bigger than this, and you may be asking "why didn't the NHL make the draft as big as normal so the public can go", and I think it all comes down to why they had to cancel the original draft, there were problems with hotel reservations and other logistics that made them have to cancel the event, and now they weren't left with enough time to make all of those arrangements, so what it boils down to is that they couldn't get the logistics to work for all the NHL and team personnell and the normal amount (100+) of prospects and their families that would attend, and without any of that, there is no reason for the public to be there.
But I am with you, I go every year, and would like to be there this year, its too bad
