Kevin Weekes is quite notorious for breaking trades in the hockey world, but this is maybe the one NHL thing he shouldn’t have leaked.
On Monday, the Chicago Blackhawks won the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery, jumping both the Anaheim Ducks and Columbus Blue Jackets to nab the No. 1 overall spot. With said spot, the Blackhawks will be able to draft generational hockey talent Connor Bedard after the franchise completely dismantled their team this past season in order to tank for a better position.
Given the Blackhawks are still reeling from a sexual assault cover-up that took place during their Stanley Cup victories in the early 2010s, hockey fans were… less than pleased about the results.
But before all that, ESPN seemingly spoiled the results before deputy commissioner Bill Daly could reveal the top three. Going into a commercial break before the top three was announced, Weekes noted that the Blue Jackets — who had the second-best odds for the top pick — had dropped to No. 3 overall. Here’s how the moment played out on the broadcast.
Quite the snafu here during ESPN's Draft Lottery broadcast. Host Kevin Weekes announces that the Columbus Blue Jackets are drafting third. pic.twitter.com/yLpJoautLo
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 9, 2023
And, what do you know, the Blue Jackets did drop to No. 3 — the first change in draft order of the night — once ESPN came back from commercial and Daly revealed the results.
In an interview after the draft order was revealed, Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said the broadcasting snafu “spoiled the moment” for his club.
"I think it was pretty evident what was going to happen. Spoiled the moment, I guess."
— GM Jarmo Kekalainen on the @BlueJacketsNHL dropping to No. 3 being spoiled before the card was flipped.
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) May 9, 2023
No kidding. Weekes no doubt made a mistake, but we are only human and mistakes do happen. Still, NHL fans could not help but joke about ESPN spoiling the results of the draft lottery minutes early.
