Last time we checked in from the offices at the Nest, the Loons were mid fire sale. Looking at our roster, I feel comfortable saying the fire sale is complete. The Loons look to be a shoe in for the lottery next year. That means another top prospect ready to come to Capeside - wrong. In one of the worst trades in Capeside history we sent our 2021 first rounder to Niagara along with the hefty contract of Travis Zajac for renowned ladies man, and CCHL vagabond - Phil Kessel. At the time, that deal didn't seem too bad. We expected our pick to be toward the lower end of the first round and we were shedding the salary of Travis Zajac. Kessel looked to still have a lot in the tank and seemed to be inspired after being paired with Taylor Hall. Well it didn't work out and we had to basically pay Minnesota to take that portly gigolo off of our hands and away from our women. This single terrible decision set our franchise back years and pushed us to a complete rebuild.
So with nothing left of value on our 30 man roster let's take a look at where the Loons stand. General Manager Czepiel's first priority was strengthening the minor league system. After adding top prospects like Jake Bean, Jake Oettinger, Owen Tippett, David Farrance and Filip Zadina - I would say that was a success. Czepiel's second goal was adding depth to fill in behind our high end prospects. As of today we own 33 picks in the 2020 draft. The majority are late round selection , but 9 picks in the top 100 isn't bad, including the 5th overall selection. Lafreniere and Byfield appear to be locks to go 1 - 2 in the draft. However, the top 7 project to be can't miss studs which leaves us in a good place to land a top line forward.
There has been a lot of controversy around this years draft due to the pandemic. For the first time ever the CCHL draft will precede the NHL draft. Without that blueprint in place this year, research will be crucial. Our scouts have been working overtime going through scouting reports and holding zoom meetings with potential draft day targets. We expect that our hours of research will land us a couple of solid CCHLers - and at worst we will have brought in plenty of trade assets to sweeten future deals.
In order to acquire all these draft picks a lot of cash was sent out of Capeside. This year's budget has really been dealt a blow. Right now it is projected to be near $105 million. With no expectations of playoff revenue or any on-ice bonus revenue this year, we expect to lose money this year. Ownership did sign off on this spending only because our payroll appears to be very low for the next few years as our philosophy will be to build through our farm system. By the time Zegras and company are ready for raises - our budget will be ready. Hopefully.
The next step for us in the draft in a few weeks. Sudbury has been announced as the home of this year's draft. We have already let the league know that we have no interest in being quarantined in Sudbury and will conduct the draft remotely from here in Capeside. We have already reached out to Bill Belichick to see if Nike is available to help with our selections. Fingers crossed!
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