Thursday, June 2, 2011

DOGS PUSHING FOR DRAFT LOTTERY

The Saint John Sea Dogs are pushing for a lottery to determine the order for the Lewiston Maineiacs dispersal draft.

Over 24 hours after the league purchased the Maineiacs and folded the franchise, there has still be no decision or announcement on how the dispersal draft will work. The obvious options seem to be either to hold a draft lottery or to simply have a snake draft with the first round being in the reverse order of the standings.

From the Telegraph-Journal:

Saint John Sea Dogs president Wayne Long said they'll push for a lottery-type draw as opposed to picks based on reverse finishing positions. With the Dogs winning the President's Cup, that would mean they'd get last pick in the dispersal draft.

"We don't think that's fair," said Long. "We would support a lottery where there's names put in a hat and drawn accordingly."

The board of governors will vote on the format for the dispersal draft, said Long.
It’s not surprising the Sea Dogs are pushing for the lottery format because it would at least give them a chance to move up from the No. 17 position.

Associate coach and hockey operations director Mike Kelly told the Summerside Journal Pioneer that the team’s scouting staff has been preparing for this weekend’s Entry Draft for quite some time while the Sea Dogs were winning the President’s Cup and the Memorial Cup.

"What we'll have to do is make sure that we're ready for any player movement, movement of draft picks and the dispersal draft (of the Lewiston Maineiacs),” said Kelly. “The dispersal draft is something that we will spend the next couple of days preparing for."

The dispersal draft is expected to be some time tomorrow. It is still unclear if teams will be able to trade dispersal draft picks.

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