Sabres To Use Bills Stadium Facilities For Decentralized Draft
The NHL will hold the first – and possibly only – decentralized draft at the end of June, which is similar in structure to the annual NFL Drafts where each team's management remains in their respective towns and calls in their picks to a central location, which this year will be in Los Angeles, CA. For this occasion, the Buffalo Sabres will be using the draft room facilities of their NFL counterpart, the Buffalo Bills, for the Draft on June 27th and 28th at Highmark Stadium.
'The synergies between the Sabres and Bills are genuine and we are well positioned for the new NHL draft process by utilizing the space and experience at One Bills Drive for our Sabres draft this season,' Sabres and Bills Chief Operating Officer Pete Guelli said in a press release. 'There's a strong relationship between both staffs which has made the process seamless and we are grateful to be able to take advantage of an environment that's been tested and proven on a large scale. Utilizing the Bills' draft room will also allow us to see what works best and what we can implement to enhance our capabilities even more for future drafts.'
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The Sabres are expected to have all of their managerial and scouting staff in Orchard Park, including general manager Kevyn Adams, newly hired senior advisor Jarmo Kekalainen, the Sabres and Rochester Americans coaching staffs, and members of the analytics, scouting, and development departments.
It is very possible that this decentralized draft may be a one shot deal. There are indicators that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is not a fan of the new setup based on statements made to the media, and Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported earlier this year that the league may return to a centralized draft as part of a setup similar to Majorr League Baseball's Winter Meetings, with the NHL Awards, the Draft and the beginning of free agency will all be held in the same location.
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