I'd do it for the PR move. I also thought Snow drafting Song was a very savvy move, and to me one of his best moves as a GM. If only he kept at it. He cracked open a market with 1.37 billion people in terms of potential fans AND potential athletes.
- You'd not only get instant feel good press
- You'd get a lot of bandwagon fans for 2018-19 (I'd root for whomever did that as sort of my 2nd team)
- You'd get some good karma
- You'd do a nice thing for a community that needs nice things to happen
- Imagine the fashion forward movement if you had your jersey with the draftees name on the back. Imagine what that message says when you wear something like that. Even in the darkest of times, there is light.
- You'd undoubtedly have your team featured in podcasts, books, and inevitably the We Are Marshall-esque Disney movie - Think of what the Mighty Ducks, Minnesota Twins (Little Big League), Tampa Rays (The Rookie) among so many other teams got from their time in the sun. Those teams, are cult favourites for fans that aren't even real fans of the sport.
Ya you could miss out on a player in round 7, but the NHL is first and foremost a business. The PR from that move is worth millions and millions of dollars. How many 7th rounders in the last 5-10 years have that kind of earning potential?