ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Dawson Mercer is as much in the dark about the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and how it’s going to unfold as much as anyone, but he is fairly certain about this: It will be a draft unlike all others.
There’s a very good chance Mercer of Bay Roberts, expected to be a first-round selection, and consensus No. 1 pick Alexis Lafreniere, won’t be shaking hands with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman as the draft picks have done years previous. There will be no tugging on baseball caps and smiling for photos with teams execs.
There will be no interviews with the cable television networks.
This will be a different draft, if there even is one. Thanks to COVID-19.
For starters, the NHL doesn’t even know when the draft is scheduled.
Originally set for June 26-27 in Montreal, those plans were scrapped back in March. This past weekend, deputy commissioner Bill Daly raised the idea of a draft in early June, even with the season in an indefinite suspension.
The NHL, however, is still hoping to stage a Stanley Cup final, maybe even this summer. That would mean a draft before the season is done, which left some NHL people grousing.
The idea is to have hockey in the spotlight, and to give broadcast partners TSN and Sportsnet something to air.
“My thought is,” Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman told reporters regarding a draft before the season is officially done, “is, ‘Why would you do that? Why do you need to do that?’
“I haven’t heard a good reason why we should do it prior to the end of the season, if we do conclude the season over the course of the summer.”
"I don’t like comparing players but if I had to compare I think he could become a little like Patrice Bergeron." @NHLCentralScout J-F Damphousse on Dawson Mercer & more on the latest NHL Draft Class. https://t.co/SnJK61MenQ pic.twitter.com/8sDKGcBe0M
— Adam Kimelman (@NHLAdamK) May 8, 2020
Another reason for the possibility of an early June draft is the NFL’s successful virtual draft held last month.
That draft was held via videoconferencing, with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell broadcasting picks from his home.
“It would be nice to enjoy the full experience of the draft, to walk up on stage, meet everyone, including the commissioner,” Mercer said. “But health and safety is primary right now.”
Things are about to change in the days and weeks leading up to the draft. There will be no meeting face-to-face with NHL teams, no Draft Combine when players work out for teams and numerous interviews are conducted.
Rather, NHL teams will have to rely on their early-season scouting, and it’s here where Mercer has an advantage.
He performed very well in the CIBC Canada-Russia Series, scored in the Kubota CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game and made Canada’s world junior team which won gold in the Czech Republic.
“The wait is over...”
— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) December 21, 2019
Dawson Mercer on ending Newfoundland's #WorldJunior drought on Team Canada’s 🇨🇦 roster: https://t.co/VsGxEivMVG #TSNHockey pic.twitter.com/ih3EfS8Jwf
He registered 42 points in 26 games with the Drummondville Voltigeurs before getting traded to Chicoutimi after the world juniors, where he accumulated another 18 points in 16 outings.
The Sagueneens were loading up for a run at the President’s Cup league championship until the pandemic shut down the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League season.
“I’m happy with the performance I’ve had this season,” he said. “I feel my game progressed and improved, with the potential to keep going up.
“I was given different roles in different situations, and think I was able embrace them and deliver.”
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If there is a downside, Mercer, who enters the draft as the 10th-ranked player amongst North American skaters by the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau, won’t be sitting across a table from NHL team officials during draft interviews.
He’s an engaging individual, who enjoys conversing, be it with media or hockey people. He was a finalist for the QMJHL’s Paul Dumont Trophy as personality of the year. The Dumont Trophy recognizes individuals who had a positive media impact and helped improve the league’s image throughout the season.
“Whether it’s Facetime or Zoom, NHL teams are still getting a good insight into who I am,” he said. “It really feels one-on-one with the guys during those interviews, feels like you’re in the room.
“I’m well-spoken and able to communicate with others, and I think that shows the qualities of maturity and leadership, on the ice and off the ice.
“But I would have liked to have enjoyed the experience of the Combine, and have all the interviews.”
Mercer household feeling a draft
It’s an exciting time inside the Mercer household in Bay Roberts these days.
Not only is Dawson Mercer expected to be a first-round NHL Draft pick next month, his younger brother, Riley, is the top-ranked Newfoundland and Labrador prospect for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League bantam draft June 5-6.
The younger Mercer is a 16-year-old goalie, ranked in the third round, 43rd overall, by QMJHL Central Scouting.
Three of the top four players from this province ranked by CSB are goalies. Cruz Loughlin is ranked in the fourth round, 67th overall, and Dekon Randall-Snow in the fifth round, 85th overall.
The only non-goalie is forward Christian Reardon of Tri-Pen, in the fifth round 73rd overall. Reardon was sixth in major midget scoring, with 13 goals and 31 points in 31 games.
Mercer, 6-1 and 185 pounds, was 10-5-2 with a 2.33 goals against average and .930 save percentage for the Tri-Pen Osprey in the Newfoundland and Labrador Major Midget Hockey League this season. Loughlin played major midget for the East Coast Blizzard where was 10-3-2 (2.77 GAA and .919 save percentage) and Randall-Snow played at the Ontario Hockey Academy in Cornwall, Ont.
The first round of the draft will be shown on the QMJHL’s YouTube Channel June 5. Rounds 2-14 will be on YouTube June 6.
Dawson Mercer was a first-round QMJHL draft pick two years ago, selected eighth overall by the Drummondville Voltigeurs.
The Mercer brothers, along with their sister, Jessica, who is a AAA bantam female player in the province, are all home in Bay Roberts and are working out daily in a home gym.
“It’s everything we need,” Dawson said. “It’s the same program I had last summer, which improves strength and will have us ready for camp.
“Our sister is down working out before me and my brother each morning. We’re all on the same workout, on the same schedule.”
In the QMJHL Draft last year, Mount Pearl’s Zach Dean went fourth overall to the Gatineau Olympiques.
For the second straight year in 2019, six players from this province were selected in the QMJHL draft. Twelve were taken in 2017, eight each in 2016, ’15 and ’14, nine each in 2013 and ’12 and six in 2011.
Robin Short is The Telegram’s Sports Editor. He can be reached by email [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @TelyRobinShort
